Updated AFC playoff standings after Bills fall to Rams in Week 14
The Buffalo Bills suffered their first loss since Week 5, dropping a 44-42 thriller to the Los Angeles Rams on their turf. The loss was costly for the Bills as far as the number one seed is concerned because while they own the tiebreaker over the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL's villains, unfortunately, continued their winning ways and are now 12-1 on the year compared to Buffalo's 10-3 record.
All hope is not lost, of course, but it's going to be tougher sledding to get that top seed in the AFC playoffs. Only the number one seed gets a first-round bye ever since the playoffs expanded to seven teams so it's more important than ever to get that top spot.
With all of that said, let's take a look at the playoff standings after the Bills' Week 14 loss.
Updated AFC playoff standings after Week 14
1. Kansas City Chiefs (12-1)*
2. Buffalo Bills (10-3)*
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3)
4. Houston Texans (8-5)
5. Baltimore Ravens (8-5)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (8-5)
7. Denver Broncos (8-5)
It's worth noting that only three teams remain in the hunt for a playoff spot but all three of those teams have losing records. The Colts and Dolphins are both 6-7 and the Bengals are 4-8 and play on Monday Night Football.
Back to the Bills, they're the two-seed as of this writing and would host the Broncos if these standings were the same for the wild card round. The Steelers would host the Chargers and the Texans would host the Ravens. The Chiefs would get the week off and would then host whoever the lowest seed remaining was when the games wrapped up.
The Bills needed that win over the Rams because next week they head to Detroit to play the Lions and that's their toughest remaining game by a mile. They have a gift for their final three games, facing the Patriots twice and then the Jets sandwiched in there. Now they'll have to go 4-0 to have a shot at the number one seed.
That being said, if the Bills can win out, there's still a chance that KC slips up somewhere along the way. They have three playoff teams in their final four games and the one non-playoff team is against the pesky Browns, who are never to be counted out. With how wonky all Chiefs games go, it wouldn't be shocking for them to lose a game or two. If KC can lose two games while the Bills win out, the top seed will be theirs.