The Buffalo Bills have added their 12th victory of the year in the win column. After a slow start and somewhat of a scary ending, they managed to hold off Drake Maye and the New England Patriots, winning 24-21. This is arguably the worst all-around game the Bills have played since Week 5 against the Houston Texans.
Despite there being more disappointment than excitement, they get the hard-earned win right before the holidays kick in and they are still in contention for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture. However, that could easily come to an end on Christmas Day if the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers. Should the Chiefs win this Wednesday, they will lock up the top seed in the AFC and get the bye week in the wild card round.
Buffalo’s loss in Week 14 may have ultimately cost them a shot at the top seed, but they still have a high chance at being the second seed. Depending on what happens this Wednesday during the Christmas Day games, the Bills may have some choices to make if they get locked into the second spot in the AFC playoffs.
According to Howard Simon, if the Chiefs defeat the Steelers, and the Texans defeat the Ravens on Christmas Day, the Bills would lock up the second seed in the playoffs.
Bills could know their playoff seeding after the Christmas Day games. If KC beats Pittsburgh and baltimore loses to Houston, bills are locked into the second seed. So the remaining games against the Jets and Pats would have no bearing on post season
— Howard Simon (@hsimon62) December 23, 2024
Bills may have some tough choices to make if these scenarios play out
The fact that the Bills would have their playoff spot locked in with two regular season games remaining is unbelievable to think about. When a team gets locked into a specifc slot in the playoff seeds, that’s when you see starters have very limited action before the playoffs to avoid any unnecessary injuries.
On the other hand, players get rusty if they take time off. We have seen it all the time every season where a player who takes time off, they come back and look out of sync before finally getting comfortable. Should Buffalo have to face these decisions if they are locked in to the second seed, Sean McDermott will have to decide whether or not he wants his starters playing all four quarters, or maybe not have them play at all.