It’s official, the Buffalo Bills are heading back to the playoffs for the 7th consecutive season making them the only team with the longest playoff streak in the entire league. As it stands today, the Bills are the 6-seed but they still have a slim chance at winning the AFC East but the New England Patriots have a near perfect path to clinch the division.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Buffalo has to finish on a strong note. Get the best seeding possible and gain some momentum going into the first round of the playoffs. The Bills will host the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday, and then will host the New York Jets on January 4th that could be the Bills’ final game at the current Highmark Stadium.
While the Bills are guaranteed to play atleast one more game after the regular season, they still have to finish strong in the next two weeks, but the main focus will now be on who Buffalo could be facing in the wild card round.
This season, the AFC is wide open and anyone has the chance to play anyone at this point. However, no matter whether the Bills are one of the top four teams in the conference or just a wild card team, there are three teams that the Bills and Josh Allen should not want to face in their first playoff game.
What teams should Bills hope to avoid playing in the first round?
3.) Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers are currently the top wild card team in the standings, but there is still a chance that they could win the AFC West from the Denver Broncos. If the dominos fall the way that sets the Chargers up to play the Bills in LA, Buffalo will have to find a way to match the physicality that LA has under Jim Harbaugh.
Even with the Chargers dealing with multiple injuries this year, they still find a way to beat opponents. Justin Herbert has been solid this season and Omarion Hampton would be a big problem against Buffalo’s run-defense.
2.) New England Patriots
I know that the Bills and Patriots split the regular season series, but New England has shown that they are more of a complete team than Buffalo. While the Bills had a phenomenal comeback win against the Pats in Week 15, the fact that Buffalo had to play near perfect complimentary football to barely win is highly unlikely to happen again.
Don’t think for a second that the Patriots won’t want revenge for being embarrassed on their home turf not too long ago.
1.) Houston Texans
The Texans still haven’t clinched a playoff spot yet, but they are well on their way. They are set up to clinch the final AFC playoff spot but there is still a chance that they could win the AFC South if they win out and the Jacksonville Jaguars slip up the next two weeks.
We all know what happened in Week 12 between the Bills and Texans. Josh Allen was constantly being pressured by Houston’s ferocious defensive line. If Buffalo had to go on the road again to Houston, it would be another setup for yet another beatdown by Houston.