Bills playoff scenarios: Who should Buffalo fans root for in Week 18?

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The Buffalo Bills head into Week 18 with a unique opportunity. They can still clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but even if they do not, they have an opportunity to force the AFC title game into a neutral site location. They don't even need to win to do so!

The Bills host the Patriots at Highmark Stadium with kickoff set for 1 p.m. ET. Buffalo is a 7.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook. The Patriots can clinch a wild card berth with a win, otherwise they'll need some help. The Bills are already in the playoff field, and win or lose, they have a couple things to watch for in Week 18.

If you are a Bills fan, here are the two games you'll be paying attention to as the team looks to improve their playoff seeding.

Chiefs vs. Raiders

The Chiefs currently have a half game lead on the Bills due to the cancellation of Bills-Bengals in Week 17. If the Chiefs win and the Bills lose, Kansas City claims the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage through the AFC Championship Game. If the Chiefs lose and the Bills win, Buffalo claims all of that.

It gets interesting if both teams win or both teams lose. If both teams win, a Bills-Chiefs AFC title game would take place on a neutral field. The same would hold if the Bills and Chiefs both lost and the Ravens beat the Bengals. If the Bills and Chiefs both lost and the Bengals won, a Bills-Chiefs or Bengals-Chiefs AFC title game would be on a neutral field.

The Bills are a 7.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Bengals vs. Ravens

If the Bills win on Sunday, this game will have no impact. If the Bills lose on Sunday, this game could have significant impact. If the Ravens beat the Bengals, Buffalo would be the No. 2 seed and Cincinnati the No. 3 seed. If the Bengals beat the Ravens, Buffalo's seeding would go to a tiebreaker. Since their Week 17 game was canceled, there is no head-to-head tiebreaker. With a Bengals win and a Bills loss in Week 18, they would be tied in the conference record tiebreaker and the common games tiebreaker. It would move to strength of victory, which accounts for the win-loss record of the teams each team beat.

The Bengals are a 9.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook.

  
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