It all comes down to Week 17…the Buffalo Bills along with their loyal fanbase will find out if the 17 year long playoff drought will end this Sunday. The Bills will face off against the Dolphins, who are no longer in contention for a playoff spot. They will be looking to knock out the Bills from making it the playoffs.
The Bills need to win no matter what. If they lose, the drought continues on and it will be yet another long offseason for Bills fans. Although, the Bills will need help to secure a spot. What are the possible scenarios in order for the Bills to make the playoffs?
Bills Win and Ravens Lose
If the Bills defeat the Dolphins and the Baltimore Ravens fall to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bills automatically secure their spot. This is going to be the easiest way for the Bills to get into the playoffs.
The only problem with this equation? It’s Andy Dalton and the Bengals that will need to defeat the Ravens, in Baltimore. In Week 1, the Ravens shut out the Bengals 20-0 in Bengals territory. The Ravens are a hot team right now and are looking to get into the playoffs by dominating the Bengals.
So while this is the best way for the Bills to make the playoffs, it can also be the hardest.
Bills Win, Titans and Chargers Lose
Once again, the Bills will need to win against the Dolphins. If the Ravens are beating up on the Bengals, it’s best to check out the scores of the Titans vs. Jaguars game and the Chargers vs. Raiders game.
With the Titans game against the Jaguars, the Jags are clearly the better football team ever since their matchup in Week 2 when the Titans beat the Jaguars. Although, the Jags are already in the playoffs and now have no chance at securing a first round bye in the playoffs. Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone could very well rest his starters and just start to get ready for the playoffs. Or he could eliminate the Titans from playoff contention by playing all starters, or at the least keep the key players in the entire game.
As far as the Chargers taking on the Raiders, the Chargers defeated the Raiders 17-16 in Week 6. The Chargers have a really strong offense that can light up the scoreboard. The good news about this game, it’s in Los Angeles and the Chargers have only won four games this season at home.
Finish Strong and Bill-Eve!
Bills fans need to be rooting for the Bills, Bengals, Jaguars and the Raiders. All four games are playing at 4:25PM so there will be four games that Bills fans will need to look out for. This Sunday will either end the longest playoff drought in NFL history, or continue yet another year for the Bills and go into offseason mode and focus on free agency and the draft.
Make sure to follow Brandon Ray on Twitter at @brandon_ray79 and @FPC_Bills for Buffalo Bills Coverage.
