Buffalo Rooting Guide: How Josh Allen's Bills Can Have The Happiest Holiday
The Buffalo Bills have already secured a merry Christmas for themselves by escaping with a 24-22 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday night.
With the win, Buffalo took another step towards clinching a playoff spot and now holds the AFC's sixth seed heading into Sunday's slate. The spirit of the holiday is to be grateful for what you have, and the Bills certainly have a lot to be grateful for with their recent turnaround. However, there is certainly a way to make the holiday weekend even happier in Buffalo, and that's if the Bills can get some extra help in the remaining Week 16 games.
With that said, here is a quick guide on who to root for over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Atlanta Falcons: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
The Colts have been a surprise team this season, sitting at 8-6 after winning five of their last six games. As great as their storyline is, the Bills and other teams in the AFC playoff race don't care for sentimentality, especially considering the Colts have a tiebreaker over them. With the Falcons in the NFC, there's no drawback to an Atlanta win on Sunday.
Cleveland Browns vs. Houston Texans: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
There isn't exactly a great outcome with this game, as both Cleveland and Houston are competing with Buffalo for wild card spot. While a Texans win could potentially help the Bills when it comes to seeding, it would also create even more of a logjam of 9-6 teams. Meanwhile, the Browns are very likely to make the playoffs anyways, so it's almost a lost cause to root for them to miss it. In short, Bills fans should root for Cleveland in this game.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
The Jaguars are currently leading the AFC South at 8-6 thanks to tiebreakers, but they're on thin ice after losing three in a row. Another loss would hurt their playoff chances even further, but if they still lead the division, that doesn't matter much for the Bills' cause. That is unless the Bills win the AFC East, in which case they would greatly appreciate moving up in the seeding order. As a nice bonus, a Buccaneers win would help the Bills' strength of victory, which is big for tiebreakers.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Miami Dolphins: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Speaking of winning the AFC East, this is by far the biggest game of the week in regards to that race. Buffalo and Miami face off in Week 18, and if they're within a game of each other, that game will be for all the marbles. The Dolphins still need to lose another game for that to happen, though, and there's no time like the present to get that done, especially because a Cowboys win would help the Bills in tiebreakers.
New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos: Sunday, 8:15 p.m. ET
As disgusting as it may be for Bills fans to root for the Patriots, they are the easy choice in this specific scenario. While New England is well outside the playoff picture, Denver is hot on Buffalo's tail at 7-7 and has already won the head-to-head tiebreaker. Simply put, the farther away the Broncos are in the standings, the better it is for the Bills.
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Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Monday, 1 p.m. ET
Similar to the Jaguars, the Chiefs will likely only be competing with the Bills for seeding if both teams are division winners. Still, a KC loss on Christmas Day would mean the Chiefs and Bills have the same record, and Buffalo has the head-to-head tiebreaker. Who knows if both teams will win their division, but a Chiefs loss can't really hurt the Bills in any meaningful way.