These are the teams to root for in Week 12 to help the Buffalo Bills playoff seeding and chances.
The Buffalo Bills were off last week but couldn’t have had a better week in terms of their chances of securing their first AFC East title since 1995. Entering Week 11, the Miami Dolphins were surging with five straight wins, three with Tua Tagovailoa under center.
However, the Dolphins fell short against the Broncos as well as the New England Patriots losing to the Houston Texans.
This week, Buffalo Bills fans will likely be rooting against most of the same teams but the chances of having a repeat don’t look great.
Miami Dolphins at New York Jets
Team to root for: New York Jets
While the Dolphins did lose last week, they are far from being written off in the division race. This week though they are facing the winless New York Jets. While the Dolphins should be the favorite, the Jets have to like their chances at pulling an upset.
The first is Sam Darnold is back and under center and will have his full complement of wide receivers in Denzel Mims, Breshard Perriman, and Jamison Crowder. Meanwhile, Tagovailoa is dealing with a thumb injury and won’t be 100% if he plays.
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts
Team to root for: Indianapolis Colts
When looking outside of the division race and focusing on playoff seeding, the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts are right there with the Buffalo Bills as all three teams are 7-3. The Titans and Colts though are competing for the AFC South title while the loser will end up being a wild card team.
This is why the Buffalo Bills fans should be rooting for the Colts in this one. The reason is that the Titans hold the tiebreaker over the Bills with their head-to-head win so if the Titans win the division and finish with the same record, they get the higher seed.
However, if the Titans don’t win the division they become a wild card team and the tiebreakers don’t matter.
Kansas City Chiefs at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Team to root for: Tampa Bay Bucs
Based on the schedules, the Buffalo Bills’ best case scenario at this point appears to be to finish third in the AFC. While they do still have a matchup on the schedule with the Pittsburgh Steelers, they are three games behind them currently. They are also essentially three games back of the 9-1 Chiefs because the Chiefs have the head-to-head tiebreaker.
If the Buffalo Bills hope to catch the Chiefs they will need to be rooting for them to go on a losing streak starting this week with one of the better matchups in Week 12 between the Chiefs and Bucs.
Other teams to root for in Week 12
In addition to the games previously mentioned, there are three other games that could play a role down the road. However, if these three teams end up losing it creates even more distance between them and the Bills.
Atlanta Falcons over Las Vegas Raiders
Jacksonville Jaguars over Cleveland Browns
Arizona Cardinals over New England Patriots