Bills Central

Bills have chance to cement themselves in interesting trend vs. 49ers

The Buffalo Bills have the opportunity to accomplish something no NFL team has achieved since 2009 in Week 13.

Kyle Silagyi

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The Buffalo Bills overcoming the criticism of offseason doomsayers and ultimately clinching a franchise-record fifth-consecutive AFC East title in the 2024 NFL season always seemed like a realistic possibility, but nobody expected the team to do so as early as Week 13.

And why would anybody anticipate that? Only three teams have clinched their division with five or more games remaining in a specific season since 2002, so securing a division crown with a significant stretch of the schedule remaining is not necessarily a common occurrence; besides, the Bills were expected to regress in the 2024 season given their offseason turnover – pundits didn’t expect Buffalo to even win its division, let alone do so in five games left in the campaign.

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Fast forward to Week 13, and the Bills have the opportunity to cement their standing atop the AFC East this season with a win over the San Francisco 49ers. Their sustained excellence throughout much of the 2024 campaign has resulted in a 9-2 record, which, when paired with the disastrous seasons suffered by all other teams in the division, leaves Buffalo in quite an advantageous position. The team, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, would become just the fourth club since 2002 to secure its division title with five or more games remaining in the season should it triumph over San Francisco, joining the 2004 Philadelphia Eagles, 2007 New England Patriots, and 2009 Indianapolis Colts.

There’s an ambivalent constant amongst those dominant teams – they all reached the Super Bowl before losing. The 2004 Eagles fell to the Patriots, the 2007 New England squad (which was undefeated entering the Super Bowl) lost to an elite quarterback in New York, and the 2011 Colts were trampled by the Saints as they came marching in. If history is any indication, a win over the 49ers on Sunday night would secure Buffalo a spot—and loss—in Super Bowl LIX.

But never fear, Buffalo faithful, as this year’s rendition of the Bills is no stranger to bucking expectations. Pundits, again, widely expected the team to take a significant step back in the 2024 campaign given the spring departures of Stefon Diggs, Micah Hyde, and Jordan Poyer, amongst others, but they’re off to their best start in over 30 years. All the team needs is a spot in the proverbial dance; should Buffalo ultimately represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIX, the results of games from 15-to-20 years ago will have no bearing on the outcome.

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

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