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Don’t turn out the lights at Highmark Stadium just yet.
The Buffalo Bills may have played what looks like their final home game in a building that has hosted the franchise for 53 seasons, but the gates to one more night remain cracked open. Barely.
Buffalo routed the New York Jets 35–8 in the regular-season finale, a fitting sendoff for Highmark Stadium. The No. 6 seed Bills are now on the road against the No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars for the wild-card round of the playoffs.
And yet, somehow, a home playoff game is still on the board.
It’s unlikely. It requires chaos. But it’s not impossible.
As Jim Carrey's Lloyd Christmas put it in Dumb and Dumber: “So you’re telling me there’s a chance?”
Yes, but only in the AFC Championship Game.
Buffalo will not host a game in the wild-card round or the divisional round. The Bills are the No. 6 seed and will open the postseason on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even with a win, Buffalo would remain the away team in the divisional round.
The only scenario in which the Bills could play again at Highmark Stadium is if they reach the AFC Championship Game and host it.
Only one team: the Los Angeles Chargers.
The NFL does not use a fixed playoff bracket. Instead, the highest remaining seed hosts the lowest remaining seed after each round.
Buffalo is the No. 6 seed. The Chargers are the No. 7 seed, the only team seeded lower than the Bills in the AFC playoff picture. If both teams advance to the AFC Championship Game, the Bills would host.
Teenagers would be ecstatic if the AFC Championship Game matchup were 6-7. So would the Buffalo Bills.
Four things have to happen:
Wild card roun
Divisional round
That sequence would set up a No. 7 Chargers at No. 6 Bills matchup in the AFC Championship Game, the only path to another game at Highmark Stadium.
Slim.
If each game is treated as a 50/50 proposition, the Bills’ odds of hosting the AFC Championship Game are 1 in 16, or 6.25%.
The AFC Championship Game is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, on CBS.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills playoff picture: How a home playoff game is still possible
Continue reading...
The Buffalo Bills may have played what looks like their final home game in a building that has hosted the franchise for 53 seasons, but the gates to one more night remain cracked open. Barely.
Buffalo routed the New York Jets 35–8 in the regular-season finale, a fitting sendoff for Highmark Stadium. The No. 6 seed Bills are now on the road against the No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars for the wild-card round of the playoffs.
And yet, somehow, a home playoff game is still on the board.
It’s unlikely. It requires chaos. But it’s not impossible.
As Jim Carrey's Lloyd Christmas put it in Dumb and Dumber: “So you’re telling me there’s a chance?”
Could the Bills host a playoff game?
Yes, but only in the AFC Championship Game.
Buffalo will not host a game in the wild-card round or the divisional round. The Bills are the No. 6 seed and will open the postseason on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even with a win, Buffalo would remain the away team in the divisional round.
The only scenario in which the Bills could play again at Highmark Stadium is if they reach the AFC Championship Game and host it.
Who could the Bills play at home in AFC Championship?
Only one team: the Los Angeles Chargers.
The NFL does not use a fixed playoff bracket. Instead, the highest remaining seed hosts the lowest remaining seed after each round.
Buffalo is the No. 6 seed. The Chargers are the No. 7 seed, the only team seeded lower than the Bills in the AFC playoff picture. If both teams advance to the AFC Championship Game, the Bills would host.
How could the Bills play a home playoff game?
Teenagers would be ecstatic if the AFC Championship Game matchup were 6-7. So would the Buffalo Bills.
Four things have to happen:
Wild card roun
- No. 5 Bills win at No. 3 Jaguars
- No. 7 Chargers win at No. 2 Patriots
Divisional round
- No. 6 Bills win at No. 4 Steelers-No. 5 Texans winner
- No. 7 Chargers win at No. 1 Broncos
That sequence would set up a No. 7 Chargers at No. 6 Bills matchup in the AFC Championship Game, the only path to another game at Highmark Stadium.
What are the chances the Bills host the AFC Championship Game?
Slim.
If each game is treated as a 50/50 proposition, the Bills’ odds of hosting the AFC Championship Game are 1 in 16, or 6.25%.
When is the AFC Championship Game?
The AFC Championship Game is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, on CBS.
AFC playoff picture
- Denver Broncos (14–3)
- New England Patriots (14-3)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
- Houston Texans (12–5)
- Buffalo Bills (12-5)
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills playoff picture: How a home playoff game is still possible
Continue reading...
