The Buffalo Bills are on bye this week and currently are 6-6 on the season. At this late stage, the focus is on the playoffs and unfortunately for the Bills they are currently on the outside looking in.
They are actually all the way down at 10th in the AFC but are only one game back in the loss column from the 7th seed. This is a perfect week to scoreboard watch and with that in mind these are the five games to pay extra close attention to and which team to root for.
Washington Commanders over Miami Dolphins
While the Bills are more than likely looking at a Wild Card spot, the AFC East is mathmatically still in play for Buffalo. They are chasing the Miami Dolphins who are 8-3 on the season but with one more game on the schedule against them, and already a win over the division rival, the Bills could close the gap quickly.
Unfortunately, the Dolphins have a favorable matchup this week against the 4-8 Washington Commanders. If they were to win, it would be a pretty big upset but would be a huge win for the Buffalo Bills.
Los Angeles Rams over the Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are the sixth seed in the AFC with a 7-4 record and go on the road to play the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams are fighting for a playoff spot in the NFC so they will certainly be fighting for a win but the Browns defense is one of the best in the league and gives Cleveland a great chance in this matchup.
The Browns do have a big question mark at quarterback as Dorian Thompson-Robinson in concussion protocol. If he were to miss this game, it would be Joe Flacco getting the start in his first snaps this season.
Tennessee Titans over Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are currently in the seventh seed and the final spot of the AFC playoffs if the season were to end today. The Colts have been a surprising team as they have remained in contention even after losing their starting quarterback Anthony Richardson and beginning the year without Jonathan Taylor.
The bad news for the Colts is that Taylor is going to be out the next few weeks after having thumb surgery and turn to former Buffalo Bills running back Zack Moss to lead the run game. This is a road game for the Colts but the Titans have struggled this year and is another unlikely game to go in the Bills favor.
Arizona Cardinals over Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs but have the same record as the Browns at 7-4 and only one game ahead of the Colts. The Steelers get the tie breaker based on win percentage in division games.
The Steelers are going to be looking to build off a promising game from their offense and have a great chance to do it against an Arizona Cardinals defense that has struggled most of the season.
Houston Texans over Denver Broncos
If there is one game to watch closely, it is the Denver Broncos at the Houston Texans as both teams are 6-5. They are on the outside looking in currently but both rank ahead of the Buffalo Bills.
While one team is going to have the same record as the Buffalo Bills, fans need to root for a Broncos loss. The reason being that they own the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Bills after their win on Monday night a few weeks ago.
If the Broncos were to get a win this week, they essentially have a two-game lead over the Bills because of that tiebreaker. The focus for the Buffalo Bills is to try and close the gap with as many teams as possible and that is why they should be rooting for a Texans win.