NFL
Bills Playoff Scenarios: How the Bills Can Clinch Home-Field Advantage in Week 17
Luke Norris began his sportswriting career in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2020. The former Section Editor of the NFL and Motorsports sections, he now spends his time here in the role of Senior Writer-Programmer. His well-rounded sports knowledge allows him to cover the NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, MLB, boxing, WWE, and NASCAR for Sportscasting. Luke is an avid golfer who finds inspiration in the way sports can bring people together and provide a distraction from the real world. He hopes to provide a little entertainment or an escape from the real world with every article he writes, even if only for a few minutes. In addition to his work here at Sportscasting, Luke's work has appeared on The Sportster, Inquisitr, GiveMeSport, FanSided, Yahoo! Fox Sports, and Sports Illustrated.
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While the Buffalo Bills have already won the AFC East for the third straight time and clinched a spot in the NFL Playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, they’ve still got work to do to clinch home-field advantage and the AFC’s lone first-round bye.
Coming into their high-profile Week 17 matchup on Monday night with the red-hot Cincinnati Bengals, the Bills are tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the best record in the conference at 12-3. However, due to a 24-20 win over Patrick Mahomes & Co. in Week 6, Buffalo holds the head-to-head tiebreaker and is currently the No. 1 seed in the AFC with two weeks to go.
And the Bills could lock up that No. 1 seed in Week 17.
Bills playoff scenarios: How the Bills can clinch home-field advantage and a first-round bye in Week 17
The formula for Buffalo to clinch home-field advantage is quite simple. If the Bills defeat the Bengals and the Chiefs lose to the Broncos, Buffalo takes the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Of course, it doesn’t seem likely that Kansas City will lose to Denver, a team that just lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 51-14, and fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett soon after.
And there’s certainly no guarantee that the Bills will beat the Bengals, who’ve won seven in a row and nine of their last 10. But Buffalo is riding a six-game winning streak of its own and has won six of eight on the road this season.
This game will go a long way in determining the No. 1 seed in the AFC, as Cincinnati (11-4) is the only other team besides Buffalo and Kansas City that can still win it.
