Buffalo Bills Week 11 Rooting Interests: The top five AFC teams have a big week ahead.
It’s Chiefs week, Bills Mafia! If you ask quarterback Josh Allen, he’ll tell you that this is the most important game on the Bills’ schedule—not because of the opponent, but because it’s the next one. We’re not going to question him because every Buffalo Bills fan understands how much is at stake when Buffalo and Kansas City meet on the field.
The outcome of this week’s game at Orchard Park, NY, will determine whether the one seed and a playoff bye are secured. And, while being the two-seed isn’t a bad place to start the playoffs, a Bills loss and a Pittsburgh Steelers win put it in peril as well. Plus, there’s bragging rights – the whole “Mahomes vs. Allen” debate, the “Reid vs. McDermott” saga, the “Buffalo vs. the Refs” drama — it’ll all be talked about leading up to, during, and after the game.
Despite all of this, there are 13 additional games being played in Week 11, and 11 of them have the potential to alter Buffalo’s final seeding at the conclusion of the week 18.
Here are the current AFC standings as we start Week 11: AFC East Buffalo Bills (8-2)
Miami Dolphins (3-6).
New York Jets (3-7).
The New England Patriots (3-7) finished the AFC playoffs.
Complete AFC Playoff Picture
1. Kansas City Chiefs (9-0).
2. Buffalo Bills (8-2).
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2).
4. Houston Texans (6-4).
5. Baltimore Ravens (7-3).
6. LA Chargers (6-3)
7. Denver Broncos (5–5)
8. Indianapolis Colts (4-6, 3–4 AFC)
9. Cincinnati Bengals (4–6, 2-4 AFC)
10. Miami Dolphins (3-6).
11. New York Jets (3-7, 2-1 in Northeast common games)
12. New England Patriots (3-7, 0-3 in New York Jets common games).
13. Cleveland Browns (2-7; 2-3 AFC)
14. Tennessee Titans (2-7; 2-4 AFC)
15. The Las Vegas Raiders (2-7, 2-5 AFC)
16. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8).
In terms of playoff contenders, Baltimore and Houston have tiebreakers over Buffalo, and the tiebreaker against the top-seeded Chiefs is up for grabs this week. The Bills do not meet the Steelers, Chargers, or Broncos until the end of the regular season. While Denver or Los Angeles are unlikely to dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, and the Bills are equally unlikely to lose their lead in the AFC East, the chance exists mathematically.
So, now that we’ve established our priorities, let’s look at which games are critical to the Buffalo Bills’ future success.
Buffalo Bills (8-2) defeated Kansas City Chiefs (9-0).
Sunday at 4:25 p.m. EST (CBS).
As members of the Bills Mafia, we understand how vital bragging rights are when Allen and company outperform the Chiefs. Add with the fact that Kansas City has not lost a game in 2024, and a victory would be even sweeter. If Buffalo wins, the top two AFC teams will only play one game, with the Bills holding the tiebreaker.
It goes without saying, but… Go, Bills!
AFC EAST: Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) beat Miami Dolphins (3-6).
Sunday at 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Sure, a Dolphins victory would boost the Bills’ Strength of Victory (SOV). However, if Buffalo wins and Miami loses, the Dolphins, who some analysts believed would win the division this year, will be one loss away from elimination as a division champion contender.
Los Angeles Rams (4-5) defeated New England Patriots (3-7)
Sunday at 1 p.m. EST (FOX)
Buffalo has yet to play either of these teams—they will in a few weeks—so this is similar to the Miami game above. A Bills victory, a Patriots loss,
And then another loss next week, while Buffalo is on bye and New England is officially out of the AFC East.
Indianapolis Colts (4-6) defeated New York Jets (3-7)
Sunday at 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
The Bills defeated both the Jets and the Colts, but with one game remaining against New York at the end of the season, that victory could be nullified if the Jets pull off an upset in Buffalo in December. Of course, the Colts defeated the Steelers, and the Bills defeated the Colts, thus Buffalo wins in terms of common games. However, the Jets are another team that was picked to be at the top of the AFC East back in the summer.
It would be wonderful to give them their exit slips early. Just like the two teams mentioned above, that may happen the first weekend of December if everything goes well.
The remaining AFC games include the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) against. Detroit Lions (8-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.
The Bills must do everything they can to avoid finishing with the same amount of wins and losses as any other AFC club, but if they do find themselves there with the Pittsburgh Steelers, they will need the highest SOV score they can obtain — and thus far, theirs isn’t too high. The Jaguars’ victory will make this a reality immediately. The Bills face the Lions in Week 15, but since that game has yet to be played, it’s ideal
is yet to be played, it’s best to support what we know.
The New Orleans Saints (3-7) defeated Cleveland Browns (2-7) on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST (FOX).
Buffalo does not play either of these teams, but the Steelers will face the Browns. While Cleveland has very few wins, the more losses the better in terms of Strength of Schedule (SOS) (and possibly, but not likely, SOV) for Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2) defeated Baltimore Ravens (7-3) on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST (CBS).
I understand, all we’ve done is talk about bringing the Steelers down. But here’s the problem: if the Ravens tie with the Bills, they get the better seed. Buffalo has little chance of coming out on top if Baltimore wins. Head-to-head matches are
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