Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - After back-to-back wins against AFC East opponents, the Buffalo Bills continue to hold the No. 1 seed in the overall AFC standings.
The Bills improved to 10-3 on the 2022 season with their 20-12 win over the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium, and also earned a fourth-straight win in the process.
It was a very rough start for both the Bills and Jets to open the game with punts being the name of the game. However, Buffalo was finally able to break through just before halftime with a big 24-yard touchdown reception from tight end Dawson Knox, who went end-over-end to get the Bills on the board.
From there, the Bills managed to do enough offensively to put up enough production in some mixed wintry conditions. As for the defense, they were able to shut down the Jets and limit their offense under the leadership of Mike White.
While the end result did not look all too pretty, the Bills still end up with the all-important win to inch closer to another playoff berth.
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The Bills can secure their spot in the playoffs for a fourth-straight season on Saturday night with a win at home over the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins currently sit at 8-5 in the AFC East after a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on "Sunday Night Football" at SoFi Stadium. The Dolphins offense failed to put up any consistency in their game against a banged up Chargers defense, while the defense couldn't find a way to contain Justin Herbert.
While Buffalo can't quite clinch the division just yet, the team would put itself three games ahead of the Dolphins in the race for the division with a victory.
If the Bills don't secure a win on Saturday, there are still a few scenarios where they can clinch a playoff berth:
1.) Bills tie plus a Chargers loss
2.) Bills tie plus Jets loss plus Patriots loss
3.) Bills tie plus Jets loss plus Patriots tie plus Chargers tie
A win Saturday would mark the third time in franchise history the Bills have made the playoffs in, at least, four-consecutive years.
The Bills will be hoping to avenge a Week 3 loss to the Dolphins on Saturday. Back in late September, the Bills took a beating in the hot Miami sun, falling short of a late comeback in a 21-19 defeat.
This time around, the forecast is calling for conditions to be cold with the potential for some lake effect snow showers before and during the game.
Although Howard Simon has taken the Week 3 loss to heart on a number of occasions this season during "Howard Picks the Bills", Miami's latest downfall has him feeling quite confident in this week's outcome, allowing Buffalo to win and clinch a playoff berth.
As for the rest of the regular season, despite the Bills sitting atop the AFC standings, Howard is picking the Bills to finish with one more loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17, resulting in Buffalo securing the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, according to the ESPN Playoff Machine.
While Howard picked the Bills' road to the Super Bowl to be that much more difficult, he still has Buffalo making a run to Glendale, Arizona, which includes wins over the Chargers in the Wild Card Round, the Bengals in the Divisional Round, and (finally) a win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Then in the Big Game on Sunday, Feb. 12, Howard is picking the Bills earn their their first Super Bowl victory with a win over the Philadelphia Eagles!
Be sure to 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: @BraytonJWilson.
You can listen to the latest edition of "Howard Picks the Bills" in the player, or watch the Week 15 edition below:
