Had the Buffalo Bills lost Sunday’s game to the Miami Dolphins, they would be 10-7 and sitting in the seventh seed. Because they won, however, they go into the postseason with an 11-6 record and the second seed, able to remain at home unless they face the Baltimore Ravens in the conference finals.
With so much of their status swinging on a single game, against a divisional opponent trudging through a mountain of injuries, some have questioned the legitimacy of their playoff status. They had the second-best record in the conference (tied with Cleveland, Kansas City, and Miami), but how much better are they than the teams seeded behind them?