ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Bills season comes down to tomorrow afternoon’s game at Miami Gardens against the Dolphins … sort of.
Buffalo, at 8-7, must win to have even a sniff of its first playoff berth in 17 years.
But that’s only Step 1.
There are three other results that will impact whether their 2017 season ends on Sunday.
Assuming the Bills win, their easiest path will be played out in Baltimore where the Ravens (9-6), 10-point favorites, host the Bengals (6-9), playing their final game under coach Marvin Lewis, a popular figure in the Cincinnati locker room.
Baltimore is in with a win, but a loss would hand that wild-card spot to Buffalo if it beats the Dolphins (6-9).
The Bills second path, if they beat Miami, needs two things to happen. First, Jacksonville (10-5), with the AFC South title clinched and nothing to play for, must go into Nashville and beat the Titans (8-7), who are 3½ -point favorites. Doug Marrone, the former Bills coach who walked away from the franchise after two seasons, says he’ll still play the Jaguar starters … we’ll see.
The other piece to that scenario is Oakland (6-9) going into Los Angeles and beating the Chargers (8-7), favored by eight points. The Raiders went 12-4 last season — though five of their wins were by a field goal or less — but immediately lost their wild-card playoff game. This season, Oakland, with plenty of talent, has underachieved to the point where coach Jack Del Rio could be fired.
All four games involving the AFC wild-card hopefuls will be at 4:25 p.m. tomorrow as the Chargers, playing at home, already had their kickoff set for that time. The NFL, in a drama-enhancing move, rescheduled the other three games for the same time.
Of course, that didn’t stop Ravens coach John Harbaugh from embarrassing himself, saying the later kickoff would conflict with Baltimore fans’ New Year’s Eve plans and keep them from coming out and supporting his team. He said, memorably, “I don’t think the NFL did us any favors by moving (game time) back … but they don’t care about us.”
Does he really think the league makes its decisions based on what’s best for the Ravens?
In any case, the four involved teams playing simultaneously leaves them in must-win games, but with an eye on the scoreboard.
As Bills middle linebacker Preston Brown noted, “We all play at the same time, so you can’t really check your phones to see what they’re doing. We all have to focus on what we have to do.
“I know a lot of people on the Bengals, so I try to talk to them to see what they have going on.
“We have to handle our business and try to get a win in Miami. The city (of Buffalo), I’m sure, will be super excited to have this happen, especially where a lot of people aren’t sure if you can make it, what the scenario is, what can happen.”
Of course, veteran guard Richie Incognito is equally excited for himself.
“We’re definitely going to be focused, locked into our game but the scores are pretty accessible in the stadium, you can see them. But that doesn’t take us out of our game. We still have to go out there and produce.
“This isa chance for me to go the playoffs for the first time, a chance for me to be on a 9-7 team for the first time. It’s exciting … it’s special, and being this close, being able to taste it, waking up has a different feeling at this point in the season.”
Running back LeSean McCoy, who was in the playoffs three of his six seasons in Philadelphia, likes the fact that all four teams are playing at the same time.
“I think it makes it a lot easier because you’re playing and you have one thought in mind, ‘Hey, we’ve got to win,’” he said. “Anything can happen (in the other games). You’re not playing a game and then scoreboard watching.
“Sometimes, I get caught up in looking at scoreboards during the game. We should just focus on winning this one game. I’ll tell Coach (McDermott) I won’t (watch the scoreboard) but I probably will just to see what’s going on.”
However, quarterback Tyrod Taylor’s approach will be different.
“I probably won’t (watch the scoreboard) … I’ll just be focused on the game because the best scenario is when we win. Everybody knows what’s at stake, and everyone knows we need our best performance on Sunday. We understand how big of a game this is, and we’re excited for the opportunity.”
(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
