That was some kind of ugly beautiful.
I’m not sure what we watched for the first hour of Monday Night Football, but I’m glad we got back to our regularly scheduled programming before halftime.
That’s when the NFL’s No. 1 offense shifted gears and dared the NFL’s No. 1 defense to keep up. They couldn’t. Not because the Buffalo Bills were playing with the gas pedal down, but because Josh Allen and Co. were flipping the script. Let the pass rush in, and James Cook gets out. Then Josh Allen gets out. And
just when it looked like the Minnesota Vikings might have things figured out, the Bills changed it up again.
Was it glorious? Nope. But it was brilliant, and somehow, by the fourth quarter, the stress level of Bills Mafia was actually down. And when does that ever happen?
Anyway, when Kyle Allen (yep, Josh got to sit out the entire victory formation so he didn’t accidentally drop back below that 5,000-yard rushing mark) took the final knee, the Bills were on top.
Of the Vikings. Of the AFC East. Of the AFC. Heck, of the whole league.
Yes, you read that right. Buffalo is currently the NFL’s top team. But all that really matters to us right now is the AFC playoff picture and what needs to happen for the Bills to keep their grip on the conference’s No. 1 seed and force everyone else to make a trip to the icy tundra of Western New York in January.
So, let’s take a look at who Bills fans should be rooting for this week.
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- Buffalo Bills (7-1)
- Denver Broncos (7-2)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-2)
- Cincinnati Bengals (6-2)
- New England Patriots (5-4)
- Cleveland Browns (5-4)
- Las Vegas Raiders (4-5)
- Baltimore Ravens (4-5)
- Houston Texans (3-5)
- New York Jets (2-7)
- Indianapolis Colts (2-7)
- Miami Dolphins (1-7)
- Tennessee Titans (1-7)
- Los Angeles Chargers (0-8)
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AFC East
Buffalo Bills at New York Jets
Root for: Bills
You don’t need me to tell you why, but here it is anyway. The Bills control their own destiny from here until they lose. And the longer they put that next loss off (I mean, none of us here are going to complain if it doesn’t happen until next August, right?), the less effect it will have on the standings. As long as they keep winning, it doesn’t matter what anyone else does. Go Bills!
New England Patriots at Detroit Lions
Root for: Lions
The Patriots are still Buffalo’s closest competition in the AFC East, and they’re heading to Munich with a 5-4 record and one of those wins came at Buffalo’s expense. A loss to Detroit would give the Bills a little more breathing room in the East, and we certainly aren’t going to complain about that.
Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts
Root for: Colts
Miami isn’t exactly threatening Buffalo’s division lead at 1-7, but there’s no reason to give the Dolphins anything to celebrate. Indianapolis is sitting at 2-7, so neither team is making much noise in the AFC playoff race. We’ll take a Colts win and another Miami loss, thank you very much.
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Rest of the AFC
Houston Texans at Cleveland Browns
Root for: Texans
A Houston win would give Buffalo a little help in the strength-of-victory department while moving the Texans a little farther away from the top of next year’s draft. Neither is a bad thing for the Bills. But if Cleveland wins, we won’t complain too much. A Browns win, paired with a Patriots loss, could knock New England out of the playoff picture, at least for now. So, either way, there’s a little something in it for Buffalo.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
Root for: Steelers
Both teams are sitting at 6-2, so somebody has to get that third loss. And looking at the remaining schedules, we’d rather it be Cincinnati. The Bengals have Kansas City and then a bunch of teams sitting below .500 on their schedule, while Pittsburgh still has to face Denver, Jacksonville, and Baltimore twice (and the Ravens are always a threat for a late-season rebound). There are plenty of opportunities for the Steelers to pick up a few losses down the stretch. Let’s give Cincinnati its third one now and worry about Pittsburgh later.
Kansas City Chiefs at Atlanta Falcons
Root for: Falcons
Kansas City is sitting at 6-2, just behind Denver in the AFC West and still very much in the hunt for the conference’s No. 1 seed. A loss to Atlanta would give Buffalo a little more breathing room and maybe take some of the stress out of that Thanksgiving night showdown between the Bills and Chiefs. Besides, do we really need an excuse to root against Kansas City?
Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans
Root for: Titans
Jacksonville is sitting at 6-2 and currently holds the AFC South lead. That’s a little too close to Buffalo for comfort. Tennessee, meanwhile, has managed just one win all season, and now that Buffalo owns the Titans’ fifth-round pick in the 2027 draft, we don’t need them getting too win-happy. But knocking Jacksonville down a notch in the AFC standings is worth more than a few spots in the fifth round. Titan Up!
Seattle Seahawks at Las Vegas Raiders
Root for: Seahawks
The Raiders are sitting at 4-5, outside the playoff picture but not completely out of the race. Seattle is an NFC team, so a Seahawks win keeps Las Vegas from gaining any ground in the AFC without helping another conference contender. A Raider win would help the Bills’ strength of victory, but right now we aren’t playing for ties.
Los Angeles Chargers at Baltimore Ravens
Root for: Chargers
The Chargers haven’t won a game all season, and we’d certainly appreciate it if they decided to start now. Baltimore is sitting at 4-5, and while the Ravens are floundering around right now, Lamar Jackson is promising to return to the field soon. We’d prefer he didn’t have much of a playoff race left to return to. Another Baltimore loss would make that climb even harder. Plus, a winless team knocking off the Ravens on Monday night? We’d happily watch that.
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NFC Rooting Interests
- Minnesota Vikings over Green Bay Packers – Strength of Victory
- Los Angeles Rams over Arizona Cardinals – Strength of Victory
Games that don’t move the needle for Buffalo:
- San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys
- Washington Commanders at New York Giants
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Teams on Bye
Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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If the football gods are feeling generous this weekend, the Bills could wake up Monday morning with a little more room to breathe at the top of the AFC. Denver and Pittsburgh would still be close enough to make things interesting, but Kansas City and Jacksonville would need binoculars to see Buffalo two full games ahead of them. And the Patriots? Three and a half games back sounds like a lovely place for them to be.
Of course, none of those favors mean a thing if the Bills don’t handle business against the Jets. So, let’s beat New York, enjoy a little scoreboard watching, and see just how much separation we can put between the Bills and everyone chasing them.
Go Bills!
