The Buffalo Bills must thank the Indianapolis Colts if ever they clinch the AFC East title for a second-straight year.
Before Week 15, it looked like the Bills must defend the seventh and last playoff spot that they’re holding.
But the New England Patriots’ defeat against Jonathan Taylor and the Colts kept Buffalo’s division title hopes alive.
Only one game separates the two teams, and every game during the final three weeks will help settle this race.
Down To The Wire
All seven AFC playoff spots are still up for grabs because of the tight races in every division.
The AFC West has the widest margin between first and second place.
However, the Kansas City Chiefs are just two games in front of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Meanwhile, the remaining three divisions have a margin of one game or less.
The Colts are one game behind the Tennessee Titans in the AFC South.
The AFC Playoff Race is neat pic.twitter.com/jNnuIM3jr8
— Geoff (@Stats87) December 20, 2021
On the other hand, the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals have the same record on top of the AFC North.
Finally, the Bills are also one game behind the Patriots, putting the division battle far from over.
It looked like New England would run away with the AFC East crown after winning seven straight games.
But the Colts had other plans and gave head coach Bill Belichick a dose of his medicine.
Taylor delivered an MVP-worthy performance with 29 carries for 170 yards and a touchdown.
.@danorlovsky7 thinks Jonathan Taylor should be NFL MVP 👀
"I told you guys six weeks ago it was Jonathan Taylor!" pic.twitter.com/LroL7HRukM
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 20, 2021
Meanwhile, Carson Wentz’s numbers were close to Mac Jones’ stat line against the Bills, completing only five passes for 58 yards and a touchdown.
If the Patriots won, they would have gone up to 10-4, which is challenging to overhaul for the Bills.
Instead, New England is clinging to the division lead at 9-5.
One Game To Rule The AFC East
Perhaps the schedule-makers knew that a Buffalo-New England showdown would help determine the division.
The winner of the Bills versus Patriots showdown in Week 16 will essentially take the AFC East.
Welp….Bills beat Panthers tomorrow and next week at Patriots is for the AFC East lead with two games left.
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) December 19, 2021
After that game, each team will have two winnable games left.
Buffalo will have the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Jets to close the 2022 NFL regular season.
Meanwhile, the Patriots still have games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Miami Dolphins.
Brian Flores’ crew is one of the hottest in the NFL because they own the second-longest active winning streak at six games.
The Bills Can Win By Making Some Adjustments
The Patriots exposed Buffalo’s inability to stop the run.
Therefore, they must put an extra defender at the line of scrimmage if Belichick uses the same tactic.
On offense, the Bills cannot let Josh Allen do all the lifting by himself, like what happened against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Devin Singletary and the rest of the Buffalo backfield must establish the ground game to wear down the solid Patriots defense.
They must let Allen focus on the passing game to put them on level ground with the Patriots.
NEXT: Josh Allen Being Asked To Do Too Much For The Bills