AFC Playoff Picture. Who Bills Fans Should Root for in Week 8

The 5-1 Bills come off the bye and host the Ravens on Sunday at 1. Seattle did Buffalo a big favor last week with a 20-3 win over Kansas City, so the Bills and Chiefs are now tied for the best record in the AFC. For the Bills, the goals are to win the AFC East and secure the 1 seed. Worst case, keep a wild card spot locked up. Beat Baltimore first. After that, here is who Bills fans should be pulling for in Week 8.

Dolphins over Patriots (Sunday, 4:25pm)

New England is 4-3 and still the only AFC East team close enough to matter. Miami is 1-5 but just picked up its first win against the Jets. A Dolphins upset, paired with a Bills win, puts Buffalo 2.5 games up in the division and further keeps Miami from securing the #1 pick in the upcoming draft, meaning they can’t take whichever QB they like best.

Broncos over Chiefs (Sunday, 4:25pm)

This is the big one. Kansas City is 5-1 and holds the top seed for now on tiebreakers. A Denver win at home drops the Chiefs to 5-2, and a Bills win would put Buffalo alone atop the AFC.

Titans over Bengals (Sunday, 1pm)

Cincinnati just dropped 35 on Baltimore and is up to 4-2. With a weak schedule ahead, every Bengals loss is a premium from Buffalo’s perspective. Tennessee is 1-6, but it hung tough in a three-point loss to Cleveland last week.

Colts over Jaguars (Sunday, 1pm)

Jacksonville is 4-2, should easily win that division, and secure no worse than the 4 seed. However, with their schedule, they have a real look at the #1 seed. A Jaguars loss pulls them back toward the pack and leaves less room for error from here on out.

Jets over Raiders (Sunday, 1pm)

It feels wrong, but here we are. Las Vegas is 3-4 and still hanging around the AFC wild card race, even though we don’t really view them as a real threat. The Bills already own the tiebreaker on the Raiders, but a loss to a 2-5 Jets team keeps them under .500 and out of the way. Plus, it keeps the Jets loving in mediocrity, which, let’s face it, we all love to see.

Browns over Steelers (Sunday, 1pm)

Both teams are 5-2, so one of them gets to 6-2 no matter what (unless they go all Dan Quinn on us). I believe in the Steelers more than the Browns, so give me Cleveland. Plus, it keeps the AFC North a dogfight.