8 AFC Teams Fighting For 2 Wild Card Playoff Births - Remaining Schedules

[BillsImpossible]

5 games to go.

Buffalo Bills - Cleveland, at Denver, Green Bay, at Oakland, at New England

Cincinnati Bengals - at Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, at Cleveland, Denver, at Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Steelers - New Orleans, at Cincinnati, at Atlanta, Kansas City, Cincinnati

Cleveland Browns - at Buffalo, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, at Carolina, at Baltimore

Baltimore Ravens - San Diego, at Miami, Jacksonville, at Houston, Cleveland

Miami Dolphins - at New York Jets, Baltimore, at New England, Minnesota, New York Jets

Kansas City Chiefs - Denver, at Arizona, Oakland, at Pittsburgh, San Diego

San Diego Chargers - at Baltimore, New England, Denver, at San Francisco, at Kansas City

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Hardest remaining schedule? San Diego.

Easiest remaining schedule? Miami.

2nd hardest remaining schedule? Buffalo.

2nd easiest remaining schedule? Baltimore.

[Ingtar33]

we might get to 8 wins though 7-9 is looking pretty realistic at this point.

[cookie G]

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[imbondz]

We'll go 2-3

[Fletch]

we might get to 8 wins though 7-9 is looking pretty realistic at this point.


We'll go 2-3

If we can't beat Cleveland we'll be 7-9 at best. Our D is going to get rolled by Denver, GB, and NE. If we lose to Cleveland we shouldn't rule out an 0-5 finish either.

[DesertFox24]

Our defense will not be rolled by Denver or Green Bay. I am sorry they will keep us in the game.

The question is how will our offense fair.

Denver is not unbeatable and neither is Green Bay. Our defense will force third and longs and our pass rush will get us off the field. Can the def do anything is the question.

Main thing is win Sunday first the. We can talk about denver

[YardRat]

Still no games that are guaranteed wins or losses IMO. The defense is good, but not good enough to put the team on it's shoulders against anybody, let alone this last five game stretch. The offense is going to have to have a game or two that makes fans say 'Whoa, where did that come from?'

[MikeInRoch]

Denver's main issue lately has been their offensive line. With the way our front 4 have been playing, we do have a shot in that game.

[better days]

If we can't beat Cleveland we'll be 7-9 at best. Our D is going to get rolled by Denver, GB, and NE. If we lose to Cleveland we shouldn't rule out an 0-5 finish either.

It is up to the offense to take some time off the clock & put some points on the board.

No defense can play for 50 minutes & keep a GOOD team scoreless.

[Forward_Lateral]

Anything can happen. Rodgers, Manning and Brady could all blow knees this week and be done. Every team is one injury away from the season drastically turning.

First task at hand is beating Cleveland. That should be Buffalo's only focus right now.

[Fletch]

It is up to the offense to take some time off the clock & put some points on the board.

No defense can play for 50 minutes & keep a GOOD team scoreless.

We shouldn't have much trouble doing that with Jackson back in the lineup. He's not what he once was, but between him, Brown, and Dixon, even if they can average just 4.0 ypc we should be able to do that against Cleveland. Their rushing D sucks. It's their primary weakness. So Dixon and Brown are going to have to kick it up a notch.

They've allowed over 120 yards rushing in 7 of their 11 games.

[OpIv37]

We have the hardest schedule of those teams and the fewest tiebreakers in our favor.

Houston, Miami, KC, SD. Win one of those games and we have a small shot. Win 2 and we have a good shot. Win 3 and se have a really good shot despite the brutal schedule.

The sad part is that 3 of the 4 were winnable. Houston was better than us that afternoon but we absolutely should have beat Miami, KC and SD.

[Fletch]

We have the hardest schedule of those teams and the fewest tiebreakers in our favor.

Houston, Miami, KC, SD. Win one of those games and we have a small shot. Win 2 and we have a good shot. Win 3 and se have a really good shot despite the brutal schedule.

The sad part is that 3 of the 4 were winnable. Houston was better than us that afternoon but we absolutely should have beat Miami, KC and SD.

And to my points about the D, they didn't do anything special in three of those four games and were above average but far from stellar in the fourth.

ProFootballTalk says this about the Ravens/SD game:

I think we can officially write off the loser of this one. The AFC playoff pool is just too deep for the loser to remain in contention.

I would agree with that, but we own fewer tiebreakers than either of those two teams and we're already a game behind, what the loser will be if we can beat the Browns.

So it would seem that we can write ourselves off at this point in time as well.

[Historian]

I'm sorry, but in all fairness, we should beat Cleveland, Oakland, and Green Bay at home.

They have a good shot at 9-7, particularly because of this stingy defense.

Denver is tough but they're not perfect either.

[OpIv37]

I'm sorry, but in all fairness, we should beat Cleveland, Oakland, and Green Bay at home.

They have a good shot at 9-7, particularly because of this stingy defense.

Denver is tough but they're not perfect either.
Unfortunately 9-7 would give us 7 AFC losses. I'm not sure a 9 win team gets in this year, but it def won't be enough for us. Even 10-6 (assuming NE as the loss) may not get us in.

[justasportsfan]

Our defense will not be rolled by Denver or Green Bay. I am sorry they will keep us in the game.

The question is how will our offense fair.

Denver is not unbeatable and neither is Green Bay. Our defense will force third and longs and our pass rush will get us off the field. Can the def do anything is the question.

Main thing is win Sunday first the. We can talk about denver

:up:

well said. Our biggest problem is which bills O will show up vs Broncos and GB ? The bills O vs the fins (2nd game) or the O from last Monday?

[Historian]

Oh I agree OP, I don't think there's any way we still make the playoffs this year, but even 9-7 would be the best record in a decade.

And the football has been pretty entertaining to watch, be it a Jet *****-slapping, a nail biter against the Vikes, or an opening day surprise against the Bears.

[streetkings01]

We beat the Browns and Broncos and then i'll start talking realistically about playoffs. This game agains the Browns is a game the Bills typically lose. A chance to gain some ground and make a playoff push only to crap the bed........we shall see.

- - - Updated - - -


Oh I agree OP, I don't think there's any way we still make the playoffs this year, but even 9-7 would be the best record in a decade.

And the football has been pretty entertaining to watch, be it a Jet *****-slapping, a nail biter against the Vikes, or an opening day surprise against the Bears.Is it much of a suprise anymore? The Bears blow!

[Fletch]

I'm sorry, but in all fairness, we should beat Cleveland, Oakland, and Green Bay at home.

They have a good shot at 9-7, particularly because of this stingy defense.

Denver is tough but they're not perfect either.

I agree with you that if the D is really as good as everyone says, that makes sense. I question whether it is.

Let me ask you though, what if Cleveland, Green Bay, and Denver all put up their average amount of points per game as a whole, are you still going to insist that our defense is stingy and great? I mean it's one thing to be stingy against Minnesota, Detroit, and the Jets, altogether another to be stingy against top-10 scoring teams. Wouldn't you agree?

[better days]

I agree with you that if the D is really as good as everyone says, that makes sense. I question whether it is.

Let me ask you though, what if Cleveland, Green Bay, and Denver all put up their average amount of points per game as a whole, are you still going to insist that our defense is stingy and great? I mean it's one thing to be stingy against Minnesota, Detroit, and the Jets, altogether another to be stingy against top-10 scoring teams. Wouldn't you agree?

If the Bills give up less points than they score, then the Defense is doing its job.

And like I said, if the defense has to play the majority of the game because the offense can't stay on the field, then the defense is not totally at fault either.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Denver's main issue lately has been their offensive line. With the way our front 4 have been playing, we do have a shot in that game.

That and losing Moreno to FA, Julius Thomas to injury, and Welker declining has taken away some of the "pick your poison" potential of their offense.

[Buddo]

I'm starting to feel a lot better about the game against the Browns, tbh. Assuming we actually run the rock. I'm of the opinion that it's looking like a more favorable match up with Fred getting back into the swing of things. We can run the football, and they do have difficulty stopping the run. They like to run the football, yet we actually have improved enormously against the run this year.

It won't be easy, but I'm sensing that the way we now match up, and being home, will be enough to give us a solid, though tough, win.

We should beat the Raiders.

Historically, we've done well against the Packers at home, and with our D, I suspect that might be another win.

The Broncos aren't unbeatable, especially if you can stop them short of TDs. They aren't exactly blessed with a proven kicker atm.

I don't think for one moment that we will get to the playoffs, but I do think we have a decent shot at a winning record now. Chances are we will end up at 8-8, but I still think if we take care of the Browns and Raiders as I expect us to do, we will get one 'upset' from the other 3 games, and it would most likely be the Packers at the Ralph.

[Mr. Pink]

Green Bay is the only game left on the schedule the Bills can potentially afford to lose.

[wmoz11]

I'm hoping that the Patriots have locked up home field by the time we play them and will be resting key players.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

I'm hoping that the Patriots have locked up home field by the time we play them and will be resting key players.

They never, ever do this. In 2010, they had the #1 seed locked up and a Week 17 home game against a divisional opponent. And, well...

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201101020nwe.htm

[YardRat]

We have the hardest schedule of those teams and the fewest tiebreakers in our favor.

Houston, Miami, KC, SD. Win one of those games and we have a small shot. Win 2 and we have a good shot. Win 3 and se have a really good shot despite the brutal schedule.

The sad part is that 3 of the 4 were winnable. Houston was better than us that afternoon but we absolutely should have beat Miami, KC and SD.

I'd switch Houston and San Diego.

[Fletch]

I'm hoping that the Patriots have locked up home field by the time we play them and will be resting key players.

Maybe Gronk since he's so injury prone, but that's not Belicheat's MO. I think he'd rather bludgeon his remaining opponents into oblivion. He's an odd cat like that.

[The Jokeman]

5 games to go.

Buffalo Bills - Cleveland, at Denver, Green Bay, at Oakland, at New England

Cincinnati Bengals - at Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, at Cleveland, Denver, at Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Steelers - New Orleans, at Cincinnati, at Atlanta, Kansas City, Cincinnati

Cleveland Browns - at Buffalo, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, at Carolina, at Baltimore

Baltimore Ravens - San Diego, at Miami, Jacksonville, at Houston, Cleveland

Miami Dolphins - at New York Jets, Baltimore, at New England, Minnesota, New York Jets

Kansas City Chiefs - Denver, at Arizona, Oakland, at Pittsburgh, San Diego

San Diego Chargers - at Baltimore, New England, Denver, at San Francisco, at Kansas City

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Hardest remaining schedule? San Diego.

Easiest remaining schedule? Miami.

2nd hardest remaining schedule? Buffalo.

2nd easiest remaining schedule? Baltimore.

Actually the "fight" is with only 7 of those teams since one of the 4 of Cincy, Baltimore, Pittsburgh or Cleveland will have to win the AFC North.

[Patrick76777]

Don't worry about the other teams. Worry about us.

Beat Cleveland

Find a way to split Denver and Green Bay (Defense?)

Beat Oakland

Go to New England at 9-6.

That's all I want.

Don't even think about beating New England right now. Let's just get there with a chance at 10 wins. Then, we go all out. Gronk makes them go. I'd love another shot at them with Aaron Williams in the lineup.

[Fletch]

. Gronk makes them go.

I'd say that there's a good chance that Gronk isn't even capable of playing that game.

[Patrick76777]

I'd say that there's a good chance that Gronk isn't even capable of playing that game.

I agree. BB doesn't rest players, but he's also not an idiot. He knows that Gronk makes that offense what it is. If he's questionable at all and the game is meaningless for them, my guess is that he would sit him. Brady would still get a half at least.

[better days]

I agree. BB doesn't rest players, but he's also not an idiot. He knows that Gronk makes that offense what it is. If he's questionable at all and the game is meaningless for them, my guess is that he would sit him. Brady would still get a half at least.

Gronk got injured while blocking for an exra point in a game the Pats* were ahead.

Yeah, Belicheck can be an idiot.

[feldspar]

This a very unusual year in the NFL with 10 teams having seven wins at the Week 12 mark in the season. In 2013, there were four teams, three in 2012, five in 2011, and four in 2010.

[BillsImpossible]

Actually the "fight" is with only 7 of those teams since one of the 4 of Cincy, Baltimore, Pittsburgh or Cleveland will have to win the AFC North.

Technically true, I agree. Just thinking that the last game of the year in week 17 for each team in the, "Norris Division," will be like a playoff game.

Win and you're in, lose and hope for a wildcard.

[Mr. Pink]

This a very unusual year in the NFL with 10 teams having seven wins at the Week 12 mark in the season. In 2013, there were four teams, three in 2012, five in 2011, and four in 2010.

This year reminds me of 2007 when Cleveland missed out on the playoffs at 10-6 because of tiebreakers.

Someone will end up 10-6 and staying home this year.