Bills Still can Earn No. 2 Playoff Seed With Some Help

The most likely scenario is a No. 3 seed, which would guarantee only one home playoff game.

With two weeks to go in the regular season, the Buffalo Bills (9-6) still have a chance to earn the No. 2 playoff seed in the AFC.

Technically, they're still alive for the top seed, albeit with a 0.2% chance, according to FiveThirtyEight. But that would require an extraordinary set of circumstances in which the Kansas City Chiefs (11-4) and the Tennessee Titans (10-5) lose out or the Bills tie at least two other division winners for the best record in the conference at 11-6.

That's not going to happen.

The most realistic scenario is the Bills winding up with the third seed. But mathematically, anything from the top seed to failing to make the playoffs is still in play.

They can make it to No. 2 in a variety of ways, considering all four division leaders are within two games of each other. The Bills beat Kansas City to secure the first playoff tiebreaker but then lost to Tennessee the following week. They also would lose a playoff tiebreaker to the Indianapolis Colts (9-6), who beat them in November. 

No team can clinch the AFC East title, in which the Miami Dolphins (8-7) incredibly have not fallen out of the race with the Bills and the New England Patriots (9-6), this weekend. But the Bills can clinch a playoff spot with a win at home over the Atlanta Falcons and a Baltimore Ravens loss or tie or the Los Angeles Chargers (8-7) and Las Vegas Raiders (8-7) each losing or tying.

Ravaged by injuries, including one that has sidelined quarterback and 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, the Ravens (8-7) are in a free fall, having gone from being in great position as a potential top playoff seed to losing four in a row and fighting just to stay alive for any kind of berth. Jackson is questionable for Sunday's home game against the Los Angeles Rams (11-4), who lead the NFC West and already have clinched a playoff spot but still don't have the division locked down.

More astonishing data that underscores the league's parity: 11 teams remain alive for the four division titles (AFC East, AFC South, AFC North, NFC West) that haven't been settled and only eight of 32 teams have been eliminated from playoff contention.

So needless to say, the Bills Mafia will have their eyes on more than one game this weekend.

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.