Bills Central

Dolphins’ loss clears way for Bills to set franchise record in Week 13

The Buffalo Bills are in line to clinch their fifth consecutive AFC East title this weekend.

Kyle Silagyi

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The Buffalo Bills are in line to accomplish a feat no other NFL club has completed in 15 years – clinch their division after Week 13.

After an offseason’s worth of discourse that purported Buffalo was doomed for regression given its roster turnover, the Bills have been dominant through the first 12 weeks of the 2024 campaign, constructing a record of 9-2 as it’s positioned itself well to earn the top playoff seed in the AFC. Pundits expected the AFC East to be one of the NFL’s more hotly contested divisions entering the campaign, but it’s been anything but competitive thus far, as Buffalo boasts a four-game lead in the division entering its Week 13 Sunday Night Football clash with the San Francisco 49ers.

Related: AFC Analytical Power Rankings: Do Bills remain on top entering Week 13?

It could improve its lead to five games with a primetime win, which would be enough for the team to clinch its fifth consecutive division title. The Miami Dolphins’ Thanksgiving Night loss to the Green Bay Packers clears the way for the Bills to secure the division crown this weekend; per NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano, this would be the first time in 15 years that an NFL team clinched its division after just 13 weeks.

Winning this Sunday would not only allow Buffalo to create a bit of recent NFL history, but also set a franchise record, as the team has never won five straight division crowns. Emerging from the imminent inter-conference bout with a victory would allow the Bills to do so.

Buffalo currently has a 3-0 record in the AFC East, winning both of its games against Miami and its sole clash against the New York Jets. It’s been a wholly underwhelming season for the rest of the teams that make up the division; Miami (5-7) never firmly established itself after Tua Tagovailoa suffered an early concussion that sidelined him for several weeks, the Jets (3-8) have looked like a parody of an organization as they’ve already moved on from their head coach and general manager, and the New England Patriots (3-9) are amid a rebuild.

The Bills’ divisional destiny is firmly in their own control, and they look to be well on pace to earn their fifth consecutive division title even if they’re unable to do so this Sunday. That said, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott has never lost coming off a bye week, and with Mother Nature figuring to lend an assist in the way of significant lake effect snow, the makings of a potentially historic weekend are there.

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

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