Buffalo Bills Week 11 rooting interests in AFC playoff race

Nothing went the Buffalo Bills’ way in Week 10, which makes this week and every week moving forward uber-important. The Bills lost to the Miami Dolphins while the New England Patriots pulled off an overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons. That means that not only did Buffalo fail to regain the AFC East title spot, they failed to even keep pace.

The Bills are deeply rooted in the Wild Card position, dropping to the sixth seed thanks to that Week 10 loss to the Miami Dolphins, and we’ll have to pay close attention to what the rest of the conference is doing. It’s no longer a “quest for the one seed” and more of a “stay in the AFC’s Top 7” kind of race this month.

Here’s a look at how things stand before Week 11 kicks off with Thursday Night Football between the New York Jets and New England Patriots.

AFC East Week 11 standings

1. New England Patriots (8-2)
2. Buffalo Bills (6-3)
3. Miami Dolphins (3-7)
4. New York Jets (2-7)

AFC Playoff Picture heading into Week 11

1. Indianapolis Colts (8-2)
2. Denver Broncos (8-2)
3. New England Patriots (8-2)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)
6. Buffalo Bills (6-3)
7. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4)
8. Kansas City Chiefs (5-4)
9. Houston Texans (4-5)
10. Baltimore Ravens (4-5)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (3-6)
12. Miami Dolphins (3-7)
13. New York Jets (2-7)
14. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)
15. Cleveland Browns (2-7)
16. Tennessee Titans (1-8)

The Bills can’t reclaim the AFC East’s top position in Week 11, but they could put themselves back in control of that if they take care of business Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Jets pull of a big win. Cincinnati is trying to keep stride while they wait for Joe Burrow to be back under center — something that looks like it will happen by the time the Bengals make the trip to Western New York in December. The Chiefs are fighting for their playoff lives, sitting just a game over .500, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see three AFC West teams in the playoffs in January. That’s not something that will thrill any other team in the conference.

So, here’s a look at how we’d like to see things go this weekend. Get ready Bills Mafia, it’s going to be a wild weekend!

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AFC East Week 11 Bills rooting interests

Buffalo Bills (6-3) over Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3), Sunday 1 p.m. EST (CBS)

This one goes without saying, but root for the Bills. A win, at the least, keeps Buffalo right where they are in the playoffs, and at best could move them back to the five-seed position. As it stands right now, Buffalo would be traveling to New England on Super Wild Card Weekend. Moving back up would slate them with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Of course, the ultimate goal is to get back to the top of the AFC East...