ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — It all comes down to one more weekend for the Buffalo Bills and their playoff hopes.
While the New York Times gives the Bills a 95 percent chance of making the postseason, there's also one scenario where Buffalo will miss the cut entirely.
Here's a breakdown of every way the Bills (10-6) can clinch a playoff berth, and how they could also fall short, heading into their regular-season finale against the Miami Dolphins (11-5). That game will air at 8:20 p.m. Sunday on Channel 2.
How the Bills clinch the No. 2 seed and the AFC East title:
This is straightforward: Beat Miami, and Buffalo will host a wild-card weekend game next week at Highmark Stadium.
Of course, if the Bills lose, that means they need some help elsewhere. This is where it gets more complex.
How the Bills clinch the No. 6 or 7 seed as a wild card:
If Buffalo loses Sunday night, there are four more ways it can make the playoffs.
- Buffalo ties with the Dolphins;
- The Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) lose or tie Saturday evening against the Baltimore Ravens (13-3);
- The Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7) lose or tie Sunday afternoon at the Tennessee Titans (5-11);
- The Houston Texans (9-7) and Indianapolis Colts (9-7) finish in a tie Saturday night.
So, how can the Bills miss the playoffs? Combine a Buffalo loss with wins by both the Steelers and Jaguars, and the Bills are out, so long as the Colts-Texans game doesn't end in a tie.
In that scenario, the Bills would lose tiebreakers on conference record.