Before we can start to think about analyzing the Buffalo Bills’ playoff chances, we have to get through Week 18 where the Bills will host the New York Jets that could very well be the last game in the old Highmark Stadium. In addition, there is a slim chance that the Bills won’t know who they will be playing until maybe after Sunday Night Football.
If the Bills win, and both the Texans and Chargers lose, the Bills are going to the 5-seed and they will have to wait for the winner of Ravens vs. Steelers to find out their first playoff opponent. However, I firmly believe that the Bills will either be the 6-seed of 7-seed and they should know who they will travel to next weekend after their game.
The automatic top seeded teams in the AFC are the Patriots and Broncos, who have won their respective divisions. Both the AFC South and North are still up for grabs.
For the first time since 2019-2020, the Bills will be on the road to open up the playoffs. They still have yet to get a road playoff win under Sean McDermott so no matter who they play, it will be a tough test for them.
Predicting who Bills will face in Wild Card round
The current wild card team's Week 18 matchups
The Chargers will be playing a majority of their backups against the Broncos, who could win the 1-seed with a win over LA. I believe that the Broncos should have no issue beating the Chargers. The Texans will host the Indianapolis Colts, who will have Riley Leonard back under center. Houston should be able to beat the Colts with no issue.
The current top four AFC playoff team's Week 18 matchups
The Patriots could still win the top seed if they beat the Dolphins and the Broncos lose to the Chargers. New England has always struggled a bit against Miami, and they could be playing their backups against Miami eventually. However, even if they win, I still believe that Denver will have the 1-seed by the end of Week 18. Still, I'll take New England beating Miami in Foxborough.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, who are currently the 3-seed, will host the Tennessee Titans. What’s funny is that Jacksonville can still win the 1-seed if they win, and both the Broncos and Patriots lost. However, that seems highly unlikely. I’ll take the Jaguars over the Titans though and they stay at the 3-seed.
We all know that the 4-seed will be determined between the Ravens and Steelers in primetime tonight. Right now, Pittsburgh holds the 4-seed. For both of these teams, it’s either win the AFC North or go home.
My prediction is that the Bills will beat the Jets, even if the starters aren’t in for a majority of the game. Based on what my predictions for the other wild card team’s games, that would put the Bills at the 6-seed, and they would be traveling to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars.