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The Buffalo Bills remain the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture with three weeks remaining in the 2022 NFL regular season after Week 15 action.
The race for the first-round bye in the AFC is shaping up to be a three-team sprint, with the Bills (11-3) clinging to the top spot over the Kansas City Chiefs (11-3) and the Cincinnati Bengals (10-4), for the moment.
Cincinnati has already beaten Kansas City this season, and will play Buffalo on Monday Night Football in Cincinnati in Week 17. That game will go a long way toward determining which of these three teams emerge as the top seed; the Chiefs don’t play a team with a winning record in any of their three remaining games, so could be in line to scoot into the top spot if Buffalo can’t win out. (This also obviously assumes that Buffalo and Cincinnati will both maintain their current divisional leads.)
AFC playoff picture, Week 16
| Rank | Team | REC | DIV | CON | PD | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | REC | DIV | CON | PD | STRK |
| 1 | x — Buffalo Bills | 11-3 | 3-2 | 8-2 | +135 | W5 |
| 2 | z — Kansas City Chiefs | 11-3 | 4-0 | 7-3 | +92 | W2 |
| 3 | Cincinnati Bengals | 10-4 | 2-3 | 6-3 | +81 | W6 |
| 4 | Tennessee Titans | 7-7 | 3-1 | 5-5 | -38 | L4 |
| 5 | Baltimore Ravens | 9-5 | 3-1 | 6-4 | +41 | L1 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Chargers | 8-6 | 2-3 | 6-4 | -28 | W2 |
| 7 | Miami Dolphins | 8-6 | 2-2 | 6-4 | +1 | L3 |
| 8 | New England Patriots | 7-7 | 2-2 | 5-4 | +31 | L1 |
| 9 | New York Jets | 7-7 | 2-3 | 5-5 | +18 | L3 |
| 10 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 6-8 | 2-2 | 5-4 | +6 | W2 |
| 11 | Las Vegas Raiders | 6-8 | 3-2 | 5-5 | +1 | W1 |
| 12 | Cleveland Browns | 6-8 | 3-2 | 4-7 | -13 | W1 |
| 13 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-8 | 1-3 | 2-7 | -58 | W1 |
| 14 | Indianapolis Colts | 4-9-1 | 1-3-1 | 4-5-1 | -92 | L4 |
| 15 | e — Denver Broncos | 4-10 | 0-4 | 2-8 | -35 | W1 |
| 16 | e — Houston Texans | 1-12-1 | 1-1-1 | 1-7-1 | -109 | L9 |
Things are a lot clearer for the Bills in the AFC East: they’re on the verge of winning their third straight divisional title. The New England Patriots and the New York Jets were mathematically eliminated from division title contention this weekend, with Buffalo winning and both teams losing, leaving a Miami Dolphins loophole as the only other possible outcome. Buffalo simply needs one win, or one Miami loss, to wrap up the division.
AFC East Standings
| Rank | Team | REC | DIV | CON | PD | STR | L5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | REC | DIV | CON | PD | STR | L5 |
| 1 | Buffalo Bills | 11-3 | 3-2 | 8-2 | +135 | W5 | 5-0 |
| 2 | Miami Dolphins | 8-6 | 2-2 | 6-4 | +1 | L3 | 2-3 |
| 3 | New England Patriots | 7-7 | 2-2 | 5-4 | +31 | L1 | 2-3 |
| 4 | New York Jets | 7-7 | 2-3 | 5-5 | +18 | L3 | 1-4 |
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