The Bills won against the Patriots but they could be locked into their spot really soon.
The Buffalo Bills won a closer game than they would have liked on Sunday, beating the New England Patriots to nab their 12th win of the season. In the process, they clinched a top-3 seed in the AFC, but beyond that everything is still up in the air.
At 12-3, the worst they can finish is 12-5 while the Houston Texans can’t get better than 11-6, so Buffalo has clinched at least the three seed.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are still fighting for the AFC North title, which greatly impacts the Bills. Buffalo lost to Baltimore but has a tiebreaker edge over Pittsburgh for now. It would benefit the Bills if the Steelers win the division.
All that being said, Christmas is a very important day for Buffalo with the Chiefs playing the Steelers and the Ravens playing the Texxans. If the Chiefs win, they clinch the one seed meaning Buffalo could only get the two or three seed. A Ravens loss would help the Bills with some tiebreakers.
Even Buffalo’s wild card opponent is in flux after Thursday night as the Chargers passed the Broncos. The last two weeks are going to be full of drama, just as the NFL wants.
AFC standings after Week 16
1. y-Kansas City Chiefs (14-1)
2. y-Buffalo Bills (12-3)
3. x-Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5, 7-3 AFC)
4. y-Houston Texans (9-6)
5. x-Baltimore Ravens (10-5, 6-4 AFC)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (9-6, wins over DEN)*
7. Denver Broncos (9-6, losses to LA)*
8. Indianapolis Colts (7-8, 6-5 AFC, win over MIA)*
9. Miami Dolphins (7-8, 5-5 AFC, loss to IND)*
10. Cincinnati Bengals (7-8, 4-6 AFC)*
11. New York Jets (4-11) — eliminated
12. Cleveland Browns (3-12, 3-7 AFC. win over JAX) — eliminated
13. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-12, win over TEN, 3-7 AFC, loss to CLE) — eliminated
14. Tennessee Titans (3-12, 3-7 AFC) — eliminated
15. Las Vegas Raiders (3-12, 3-8) — eliminated
16. New England Patriots (3-12, 2-8) — eliminated
Teams with an asterisk (*) have been eliminated from divisional contention
Teams with an (x) have clinched a playoff spot
Teams with a (y) have clinched their division