ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills earned a huge 20-17 victory in Week 14 in Kansas City, helping create a chaotic wild card race.
Six teams headed into Week 15 with 7-6 records, and only two of them would make the playoffs, if they started today. The other four would fail to make the cut, losing on several tiebreakers.
RELATED ARTICLE: The Bills' NFL postseason odds entering Week 15
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:
- No. 1 Baltimore Ravens (11-3), bye
- No. 7 Indianapolis Colts (8-6) at No. 2 Miami Dolphins (10-4)
- No. 6 Cincinnati Bengals (8-6) at No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs (9-5)
- No. 5 Cleveland Browns (9-5) at No. 4 Jacksonville Jaguars (8-6)
That brings us to teams who are on the outside looking in, including the Bills. They are, in order:
- Houston Texans (8-6)
- Buffalo Bills (8-6)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7)
- Denver Broncos (7-7)
- Las Vegas Raiders (6-8)
- Los Angeles Chargers (5-9)
- Tennessee Titans (5-9), eliminated
- New York Jets (5-9), eliminated
- New England Patriots (3-11), eliminated
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 16, Saturday, Dec. 23, at Los Angeles Chargers (5-9), 8 p.m. on Channel 2
- Week 17, Sunday, Dec. 31, vs. New England Patriots (3-11), 1 p.m.
- Week 18, Sunday, Jan. 7, at Miami Dolphins (10-4), TBA