Buffalo Bills Week 9 rooting interests

The Buffalo Bills won on Sunday, and they won big with Josh Allen and James Cook (who went over 200 yards on the ground for the first time in his career) sitting out the final quarter as they cruised to a 40-9 win over the Carolina Panthers. Unfortunately, all the teams ahead of the Bills won too, most importantly the New England Patriots.

That means Buffalo’s still sitting a half game out of first place in the AFC East. The Kansas City Chiefs have crept their way up to the seven seed, the Indianapolis Colts have a strong-arm hold on the conference’s one seed, and the Denver Broncos are clinging to the AFC West lead.

So, with all that in mind, here’s a look at what the standings look like before we begin a weekend full of big games.

AFC East Week 9 standings

1. New England Patriots (6-2)
2. Buffalo Bills (5-2)
3. Miami Dolphins (2-6)
4. New York Jets (1-7)

AFC Playoff Picture heading into Week 9

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

The Chiefs are in the playoff picture this week thanks to a win paired with a Jacksonville bye. If the Jaguars win this week, whoever loses the game between Buffalo and Kansas City is the team looking in from just outside the Playoff Picture window next week. It will be temporary (surely both of these teams will find themselves still playing football in January), but it won’t feel good for Bills Mafia if Buffalo has fallen from one to eight in a month’s time. On the flip side, if the Bills win and the Patriots lose, Buffalo can jump back into the top three.

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 9 Bills rooting interests

Buffalo Bills (5-2) over Kansas City Chiefs (5-3), Sunday 4:25 p.m. EST (CBS)

This one goes without saying, but root for the Bills. Yes, over the past several seasons Buffalo has come out on top during the season and been on the wrong end of the scoreboard when facing the Chiefs in the playoffs. We don’t want a reversal, we want to win them both. Obviously, avenging the loss in Orchard Park, NY this past January is going to be a hot topic. Getting a win over a team with a winning record is going to be important too.

Keeping pace (or hopefully surpassing) the Patriots is the real story here. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, the answer is “just...