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May be somewhat surprising but the Bills outcome tonight will not impact the AFC East race whether they win or lose Unless I’m mistaken, here are the scenarios.
Bills lose to Steelers, dropping to 9-5. Bills would then need to beat Patriots, Patriots lose to Dolphins, and Bills beat the Jets. Both teams are then 11-5 and Bills win tiebreaker since Patriots loss to Miami gives Bills division tiebreaker edge.
Bills beat Steelers, improving to 10-4. Bills would then need to beat the Patriots, the Patriots lose to the Dolphins, and Bills beat the Jets. This gives the Bills a 12-4 record while Patriots finish at 11-5. (If the Bills lose to the Jets and Patriots lose to the Dolphins, Patriots win tiebreaker with both teams at 11-5...the Jets loss would swing the tiebreaker back again).
So to break it down, regardless of tonight’s outcome, the Bills would win the AFC East only if:
Bills lose to Steelers, dropping to 9-5. Bills would then need to beat Patriots, Patriots lose to Dolphins, and Bills beat the Jets. Both teams are then 11-5 and Bills win tiebreaker since Patriots loss to Miami gives Bills division tiebreaker edge.
Bills beat Steelers, improving to 10-4. Bills would then need to beat the Patriots, the Patriots lose to the Dolphins, and Bills beat the Jets. This gives the Bills a 12-4 record while Patriots finish at 11-5. (If the Bills lose to the Jets and Patriots lose to the Dolphins, Patriots win tiebreaker with both teams at 11-5...the Jets loss would swing the tiebreaker back again).
So to break it down, regardless of tonight’s outcome, the Bills would win the AFC East only if:
- The Bills beat the Patriots AND
- the Dolphins beat the Patriots AND
- the Bills beat the Jets