The Buffalo Bills find themselves in a tough spot going into the final month of the NFL season. It’s not the worst spot to be in, but it’s something that they aren’t used to from the past five seasons. At this point, their chances of winning their sixth straight division title is gone. So, the focus is now to just make the playoffs.
In Week 12, the Bills lost a big game against the Houston Texans that gives Houston the tiebreaker over Buffalo, and Houston is only one game behind Buffalo in the standings. If Buffalo and Houston end up with the same record at any point, Houston jumps ahead of them.
Well, Buffalo could be in a similar spot this Sunday if they drop their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are also just one game behind the Bills. However, they may also have a chance to take the AFC North back from the Ravens, but the last thing the Bills need is another AFC team with a tiebreaker on them.
The good news going into this game against Pittsburgh is that the Bills got some well-needed help from the Thanksgiving games, specifically the ones that involved the Ravens and Chiefs.
Bills are still very much in playoff race after Thanksgiving games
Both the Ravens and the Chiefs were both 6-5 going into their respective games yesterday, and even though they both lost to Buffalo this season, the Bills did not need them right behind them going into December. Instead, Baltimore was blown out by Cincinnati and Kansas City lost a close 31-28 battle to the Dallas Cowboys.
The Ravens and Chiefs now drop to 6-6 on the season and still remain 1.5 games behind Buffalo. While the Bills must focus on themselves and not hope for any help, it is a great feeling knowing that both Baltimore and Kansas City are slipping down more away from the Bills to avoid them going over the Bills in a wild card spot.
As it stands right now, the Bills are currently the 7th seed in the AFC. With the Steelers officially going back up to 4th seed with Baltimore’s loss, things could be changing a lot moving forward.
Not only do the Bills have to win this game against Pittsburgh to avoid losing the tiebreaker against the Steelers, but if the Bills lose and the Texans win their game against the Colts, Houston will jump ahead of Buffalo and the Bills will be on the outside looking in going into December.