The final week of the 2020 regular season in the National Football League is finally upon us as a number of teams continue to fight for the final spots in the playoff picture in both the AFC and the NFC.
Luckily for the Buffalo Bills, their playoff spot is already secured after clinching the AFC East division title back in Week 15 with a win over the Denver Broncos.
However, this week's game will go quite a way with determining the seeding for the AFC playoff picture. Buffalo currently holds on to the No. 2 seed in the AFC, holding on to the tie-breaker with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who also hold on to a 12-3 record heading into Week 17.
With a Bills win or a Steelers loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Buffalo will clinch the No. 2 seed in the AFC, guaranteeing the team, at least, two home playoff games if they get to that point. However, if the Bills lose and the Steelers beat the Browns, Pittsburgh jumps back up to the second seed and the No. 3 seed goes to Buffalo.
So who is coming to Orchard Park on Sunday to close out the regular season schedule? That would be the Miami Dolphins, who are also fighting for their playoff lives.
The Dolphins are currently sitting as the top-seed in the AFC Wild Card picture with a 10-5 record. With a win over the Bills, Miami would clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2016.
According to the New York Times' NFL Playoff Picture, the Dolphins have an 85% chance to make the playoffs this Sunday. Meanwhile the Tennessee Titans (95%), Baltimore Ravens (90%), Indianapolis Colts (71%) and the Browns (60%) are also in competition for a playoff spot this weekend.
While all the playoff scenarios can be toyed with in a number of ways, Howard Simon is not too worried about the outcome of this game from a Bills perspective. All that is on his mind heading into the weekend is to keep everyone healthy and well-rested once the playoffs begin, starting Saturday, Jan. 9.
While Howard picked the Bills to lose to the Dolphins on Sunday and finish the 2020 campaign with a 12-4 record, his picks for the playoffs are what matters in the end.
Very much like last week, Howard sees the Bills advancing as far as the AFC Championship Game as the No. 2 seed in the conference, upending teams like the Browns and Titans along the way. However, the one team that remains standing between the Bills and a trip to Tampa Bay, Florida for Super Bowl LV is the Kansas City Chiefs.
Follow along on Twitter for the latest picks from Howard by using the hashtag #HowardPicksTheBills. You can also track all of Howard's picks throughout the season with Brayton Wilson's picks tracker on Twitter: @BJWilsonWGR.
You can listen to the latest edition of "Howard Picks the Bills" below: