That was an interesting weekend of football. The Buffalo Bills won, although I’m still trying to figure out how. Seems like that’s happened a lot this season, but, hey, no one ever claimed being a member of Bills Mafia was easy.
Anyway, the Bills won. The Chiefs lost. And, as tough as being a Bills fan can be, there may have been a little sweetness in seeing Patrick Mahomes holding the ball when the clock hit zero, unable to get the job done.
Really, the only thing that could have made Week 8 any better
would have been a Patriots loss. But they say beggars can’t be choosers, and when it comes to New England, the only team to have bested the Bills up to this point, we have to be beggars. At least until Week 13, when Allen and Co. get a chance to even the score.
When the dust settled and the lights went out in stadiums across the league Sunday night, the Buffalo Bills were sitting alone atop the AFC. And that sure looked nice.
So, let’s take a look at who we, as members of Bills Mafia, need to be rooting for this weekend. After all, there’s a lot of football to be played before the Bills take the field Monday night, and we need something to do while we wait.
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AFC Standings — Through Week 8
1. Buffalo Bills (6-1)
2. Denver Broncos (6-2)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-2)
5. Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2)
7. New England Patriots (5-3)
8. Cleveland Browns (5-3)
9. Las Vegas Raiders (4-4)
10. Baltimore Ravens (4-4)
11. Houston Texans (2-5)
12. New York Jets (2-6)
13. Indianapolis Colts (2-6)
14. Miami Dolphins (1-6)
15. Tennessee Titans (1-7)
16. Los Angeles Chargers (0-7)
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AFC East
Buffalo Bills at Minnesota Vikings
Root for: Bills
The Bills have worked their way to the top of the AFC, and now the job is to stay there. A win in Minnesota would keep Buffalo in control of its own path toward the No. 1 seed, regardless of what happens around the league on Sunday. Go Bills!
Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots
Root for: Packers
The Patriots are the only team to have beaten Buffalo this season, and they’re still the biggest threat to the Bills in the AFC East. New England also holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, at least until the two meet again in Week 13. A Packers win would give Buffalo a little more breathing room at the top of the division. Go Pack Go!
Detroit Lions at Miami Dolphins
Root for: Lions
Miami is sitting at the bottom of the AFC East with just one win, and there’s no reason to help the Dolphins climb out of that hole. A Detroit win keeps another division rival further behind Buffalo, and that’s good enough for us.
New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs
Root for: Jets
Yes, we’re rooting for the Jets. Kansas City is still a threat to Buffalo’s hold on the top spot in the AFC, and another Chiefs loss would go a long way toward keeping the Bills there. The Jets, meanwhile, are far enough behind Buffalo that we can afford to let them have this one. Just this once. J-E-T-S! JETS! JETS! JETS!
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Rest of the AFC
Jacksonville Jaguars at Baltimore Ravens
Root for: Ravens
Jacksonville is a little too close to Buffalo in the AFC standings for comfort, so we’d like to see the Jaguars pick up another loss. And since the Bills just beat Baltimore, a Ravens win gives Buffalo a little boost in strength of victory. Two birds, one stone. And we don’t even have to like the Ravens — or whoever they have under center.
Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta Falcons
Root for: Falcons
The Bengals are sitting at 5-2, and that’s a little closer to the top of the AFC than we’d like. Atlanta can do us a favor here by handing Cincinnati its third loss. Nothing complicated about this one.
Denver Broncos at Carolina Panthers
Root for: Panthers
Denver is sitting right behind Buffalo in the AFC standings, and we’d really like to put another game between the two. Yes, a Broncos loss hurts the Bills’ strength of schedule, but with Buffalo and Denver set for a Christmas Day showdown, we’d be happy to see the Panthers play the part of the Grinch in November.
Dallas Cowboys at Indianapolis Colts
Root for: Colts
The Colts aren’t going anywhere in the AFC standings right now, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do us a favor. Indianapolis traded its 2027 first-round pick to the Jets, and the more games the Colts win, the worse that pick gets. The last thing we need is New York getting its hands on a franchise-changing player with the first pick in the draft.
Cleveland Browns at New Orleans Saints
Root for: Saints
The Browns are sitting at 5-3, and that’s close enough to the top of the AFC for us to want them to stay right where they are. Or, better yet, take another step backward. New Orleans hasn’t exactly been setting the world on fire, but we’re not asking the Saints to win the Super Bowl. Just one game on Sunday will do.
Houston Texans at Los Angeles Chargers
Root for: Chargers
The Chargers are 0-7, and the last thing we need is for them to turn that miserable season into the first overall pick in next year’s draft. So, we’re rooting for Los Angeles to finally get a win. Come on, Chargers. Surely you can manage just one.
Las Vegas Raiders at San Francisco 49ers
Root for: Raiders
Buffalo already has a win over Las Vegas in the books, so another Raiders win would give the Bills a little help with strength of victory. Strange how quickly a team can go from an opponent to a temporary friend.
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NFC Rooting Interests
- Los Angeles Rams over Washington Commanders — Strength of Victory
- Chicago Bears over Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Strength of schedule.
Games that don’t move the needle for Buffalo:
- New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
- Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks
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Teams on Bye
Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans
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Being at the top of the AFC is a pretty good place to be. The problem is, now we’re going to spend the rest of the season looking over our shoulders to see who’s coming for that No. 1 seed.
This weekend, we’ll be keeping one eye on the Patriots, another on the Chiefs, and somehow finding a way to root for the Jets without feeling too dirty about it. Being a Bills fan sometimes requires sacrifices.
And if Sunday goes our way, a Buffalo win on Monday night would just be the icing on the cake.
Go Bills!
