The Buffalo Bills won Week 7.
Before you come at me, I know. I KNOW.
The Bills were on their bye week. They didn’t play a single snap. But they may have walked away as the biggest AFC winners of the weekend anyway.
Just about everything that could go right for Buffalo did. The Bills now have a game-and-a-half lead over the New England Patriots in the AFC East, with a chance to make it two if they play their cards — or calls — right this weekend. And they’re just a Patrick Mahomes interception away from
taking over the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
Both Buffalo and Kansas City are sitting at 5-1, but the Chiefs still hold the tiebreaker. Buffalo’s lone loss came against an AFC opponent, while Kansas City’s came against an NFC team, giving the Chiefs the better conference record. For now, anyway. The Bills will get their chance to settle that themselves when the two teams meet on Thanksgiving.
But why wait until Thanksgiving to start getting some help? Week 7 was awfully good to Buffalo. Let’s see if Week 8 can be even better.
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AFC Standings – through Week 7
1. Kansas City Chiefs (5-1)
2. Buffalo Bills (5-1)
3. Cleveland Browns (5-2)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)
5. Denver Broncos (5-2)
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
7. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2)
8. New England Patriots (4-3)
9. Baltimore Ravens (4-3)
10. Las Vegas Raiders (3-4)
11. New York Jets (2-5)
12. Indianapolis Colts (2-5)
13. Houston Texans (2-5)
14. Miami Dolphins (1-5)
15. Tennessee Titans (1-6)
16. Los Angeles Chargers (0-6)
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AFC EAST
Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills
Root for: Bills
The Ravens are coming off an ugly loss to Cincinnati, but that doesn’t make Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry any less dangerous. In fact, they’re probably angry. Buffalo has a chance to strengthen its hold on the AFC East, improve its conference record, and potentially move into the AFC’s top spot with a little help from Denver. Of course, none of that matters if the Bills don’t handle business against Baltimore first.
Go Bills!
New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
Root for: Dolphins
It feels a little strange cheering for Miami, but here we are. New England’s loss to Chicago last week gave Buffalo some much-needed breathing room in the AFC East, and another Patriots loss would make that cushion even more comfortable. The Dolphins aren’t exactly having a season worth celebrating, but they did manage to beat the Jets last week. Asking them to knock off another division rival doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable. Besides, with Miami sitting at the bottom of the division, a Dolphins win does far more damage to New England than it does to Buffalo.
Las Vegas Raiders at New York Jets
Root for: Raiders
Neither of these teams is currently threatening the AFC playoff picture, so this one comes down to a couple of smaller advantages for Buffalo. The Bills already beat Las Vegas, meaning another Raiders victory would give Buffalo a little boost in strength of victory, which could matter if the playoff tiebreakers get complicated down the road. More importantly, the Jets are still the Jets, and they’re still in the AFC East. There’s absolutely no reason to let them get a big head.
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Rest of the AFC
Tennessee Titans at Cincinnati Bengals
Root for: Titans
Cincinnati is 4-2 and still very much in the playoff race. Tennessee, on the other hand, has just one win. A Titans victory would knock the Bengals down a peg without creating another threat for Buffalo. w
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars
Root for: Colts
Jacksonville is holding the AFC’s No. 4 seed, and we’d rather not see the Jaguars get too comfortable there. Indianapolis is sitting at 2-5, so giving the Colts another win isn’t going to hurt Buffalo much. Besides, another AFC loss for Jacksonville could come in handy when the playoff tiebreakers start getting interesting.
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
Root for: Steelers
Cleveland is sitting in the AFC’s No. 3 seed, but Pittsburgh has the same 5-2 record. A Steelers win would pull the Browns back toward the pack and keep the AFC North race tight. Buffalo doesn’t play either team this year, so there’s no strength-of-victory angle to worry about. Just two division rivals beating each other up, and we’re rooting for the one currently looking up at the other.
Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams
Root for: Rams
Buffalo already has a win over the Rams, so another Los Angeles victory would give the Bills a boost in strength of victory. The Chargers are 0-6 and aren’t much of a threat in the AFC race, and, sure, we could argue about getting them away from premium draft spots, but there’s no reason to pass up a little tiebreaker help when it’s available.
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
Root for: Broncos
This is the big one. Kansas City is the only team standing between Buffalo and the AFC’s No. 1 seed, and Denver has a chance to do something about it. Sure, the Broncos are 5-2 and another win would make them a little more dangerous in the playoff race, but that’s a problem for another day. A Chiefs loss, combined with a Bills win, would put Buffalo in the driver’s seat for the conference’s top spot. And if Denver wants to make Patrick Mahomes miserable for an afternoon, who are we to complain?
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NFC Rooting Interests
- Green Bay Packers over Carolina Panthers — Strength of schedule, with a chance for strength of victory in December.
- Detroit Lions over Minnesota Vikings — Strength of victory. Buffalo already beat Detroit.
- Chicago Bears over Seattle Seahawks — Strength of schedule, with a chance for strength of victory later this season.
Games that don’t move the needle for Buffalo:
- Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys
- Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders
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Teams on Bye
Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers
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Week 7 gave Buffalo just about everything it could have wanted. Week 8 offers the chance to make something of it.
Of course, we’re asking the Broncos to beat Patrick Mahomes, the Dolphins to beat the Patriots, and the Titans to win a football game. Nobody said rooting interests had to be realistic. But after the way Week 7 went, who’s to say Week 8 can’t deliver a few more surprises?
Go Bills!
