As the Bills come out of their bye, they have an opportunity in front of them that their other AFC foes do not have. That is three straight matchups against teams that currently have just 1 win each. If the Bills “do their job” then wins against the Dolphins, Jaguars, and Jets should be close to automatic. What will happen around them in the AFC over the next three weeks will go a long way in determining who sits at the top of the AFC at the end of the regular season.
AFC Standings
- Cincinnati (5-2)
- Las Vegas (5-2)
- Tennessee (5-2)
- Buffalo (4-2)
- Baltimore (5-2)
- LA Chargers (4-2)
A log jam of teams with two losses make up the first 5 seeds in the conference. The Bills have played one less game than the rest of the conference leaders at this point, which is why even with a win today they could remain a half game behind those in front of them. Let’s take a look at some of the impactful games this week.
Miami @ Buffalo
A Bills win here would put them at 5-2 overall, 2-0 in the division and 4-2 in the conference. The conference record will be the tiebreaker against teams they will not play this year, such as Cincinnati, Vegas, Baltimore and the Chargers. Right now their two losses were against AFC teams, which does hurt the conference record. If the Bills can finish the year with 2 or 3 conference losses they will be in great shape in a few months.
Tennessee @ Indianapolis
The Titans are rolling with back-to-back- wins against the Bills and Chiefs. Unfortunately for the Bills, the Titans have the easiest schedule left, ranking 32nd according to Tankathon. Their hardest games will be the Rams, Saints and Steelers. If there is a loss that could come back to haunt the Bills it will be the game in Nashville a few weeks ago. Root against the Titans from here on out.
Cincinnati @ NY Jets
The Bengals taking down the Ravens last week was good news for the Bills and helped them in projected standings. Given how the Bengals, and the Jets, played last week it is tough to imagine the Bengals blowing this one, but anything is possible. The Bengals have a tough remaining schedule and play in the AFC North, a division that always beats up on eachother late in the year. I wouldn’t be too concerned about the Bengals, but even so, a Jets win would be a bonus for the Bills today.
New England @ LA Chargers
In theory, the Bills should be rooting for the Patriots in this one. Getting the Chargers to 3 losses is important to break apart the mess of teams at the top of the AFC. Also, the Bills will see the Patriots twice later in the year, so the Patriots can win as much as they want but he Bills will control their destiny against them when the time comes.
There it is Bills fans. A handful of games with implications but none more important than the Bills taking care of business against the Dolphins today.
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