ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — It took 13 weeks, but the Buffalo Bills are finally on their bye week.
While an overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles didn't help in their chase for the postseason, at 6-6, the Bills are by no means out of it with five games to play.
The top four seeds go to division winners, and the next three seeds are wild cards. If the postseason were to start today, here are what the matchups would look like after the New England Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-18 on Thursday night:
- No. 1 Miami Dolphins (9-3), bye
- No. 7 Houston Texans (7-5) at No. 2 Baltimore Ravens (9-3)
- No. 6 Indianapolis Colts (7-5) at No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs (8-4)
- No. 5 Cleveland Browns (7-5) at No. 4 Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4)
That brings us to teams who are on the outside looking in, including the Bills. They are, in order:
- Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6)
- Denver Broncos (6-6)
- Cincinnati Bengals (6-6)
- Buffalo Bills (6-6)
- Los Angeles Chargers (5-7)
- Las Vegas Raiders (5-7)
- New York Jets (4-8)
- Tennessee Titans (4-8)
- New England Patriots (2-10)
Tiebreakers between and among teams are decided by a number of factors, including head-to-head outcomes, records against division opponents, records against AFC opponents, best win percentage in common games, and more.
Here's the remainder of the Bills' schedule:
- Week 14, Sunday, Dec. 10, at Kansas City Chiefs (8-4), 4:25 p.m.
- Week 15, Sunday, Dec. 17, vs. Dallas Cowboys (9-3), 4:25 p.m.
- Week 16, Saturday, Dec. 23, at Los Angeles Chargers (5-7), 8 p.m. on Channel 2
- Week 17, Sunday, Dec. 31, vs. New England Patriots (2-10), 1 p.m.
- Week 18, Sunday, Jan. 7, at Miami Dolphins (9-3), TBA