Go ahead, and take your double take of the title of this post. Yes. The Bills can make the playoffs this season. Let’s quickly do a run down of the most likely playoff situation in the AFC. The Patriots, Ravens/Steelers, Chargers, and Texans will likely win their respective divisions. The most common wild-card picks are the Jets and the Steelers/Ravens. Now let’s look at other teams that could be in the mix. The Chiefs, Jaguars, Bills, and maybe the Raiders seem to be the only other teams that could compete for a wild-card spot.
Now let’s dissect this further. The Bills just got done throttling the Chiefs. In that game, the defending AFC West champions looked like one of the worst teams in the league. Not only could they not stop the Bills’ offense, but they couldn’t even move the ball well against the much-maligned Bills’ defense. I’m not quite ready to say the Chiefs are toast, but they have a whole lot of work to do before they get mentioned as a serious playoff contender again.
Next, we’ll look at the Jaguars. This is a team that I believe to have a lot more talent than they’re given credit for. The Jaguars will be playing the Jets this weekend in what could be a wild-card tie-breaker down the road, and we’ll know much more about them after Sunday. Right now, I can tell you that they’ll be waiting for the Texans to have their yearly ‘oops,’ and if that happens, they could win the AFC South, but I don’t see them claiming a wild-card spot. There are just too many questions, and their schedule appears very tough.
How about the Raiders? They edged a poor Broncos team thanks to a record-tying 63 yard field-goal. The Raiders were penalized 15 times for 131 yards last week against the Broncos. Sure, they showed flashes of being a very good team, but they showed next to no discipline. They won’t be making the playoffs anytime in the near future with that many flags against them.
Now let’s take a look at the Bills. This is a team that looked fast on defense, and they moved the ball very, very well against the Chiefs. For the Bills, it all comes down to two games this season against the Jets. Don’t mistake the Bills for the cupcake team that they’ve been for the past decade. This is a team that could beat the Jets. If they’re able to win the wild-card tie-breaker with the Jets, don’t be surprised to see them playing on wild-card weekend. They’ve got a long way to go, but the NFL is all about parity. The Bills may be this season’s version.
It’s too early to form an accurate playoff picture, but I think week 2 will go a long way towards figuring out which teams may be for real. The Bills play the Raiders on Sunday. It’s another potential wild-card tie-breaking game for the Bills. They’re 1 for 1. Let’s see if they can make it 2 for 2 on their road to the playoffs.
