ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 17: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills runs off the field after a game against the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium on December 17, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
With their win over the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night, the Buffalo Bills clinched a playoff birth for the fourth consecutive season. This is their longest string of playoff seasons since the Super Bowl years when the Bills reached the playoffs six consecutive times from 1988-1993.
As Bills Mafia may recall, Buffalo went on a 17-year playoff drought from 2000 to 2016. Enter general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott, who guided the Bills out of “The Drought” in 2017 and then drafted Josh Allen in 2018.
The Bills current playoff streak started in 2019, as they were led by a still-green, “hero ball” Josh Allen and a stout top-5 defense. They surprised many by going 10-6, eventually losing a heartbreaker to the Texans in the playoffs.
The 2020 season saw the rise of Josh Allen that would springboard him into an elite quarterback class and fuel the Bills into winning consecutive AFC East crowns with a probable third coming this season.
However, the Bills have bigger goals than merely winning the division. After two consecutive playoff losses in Kansas City, the Bills hope to attain the AFC’s number one overall seed and bring the road to the Super Bowl through Buffalo.
Here’s how the seedings currently stand in the AFC:
