Who will Bills play in NFL playoffs? Scenarios, potential wild card matchups

The Buffalo Bills are hoping it's finally their year.

Josh Allen, James Cook, and co. have consistently run into the Kansas City Chiefs' wall in January, but that won't be the case this year. The Chiefs are home, meaning the AFC is as open as it has been in years. Whether Buffalo can take advantage of that remains to be seen, but they certainly have high hopes entering the dance.

Those hopes were dashed slightly in Week 17, since the Bills were officially eliminated from AFC East contention. That means Buffalo will be a wild-card when the playoffs begin.

The Bills can slot in as the No. 5, 6, or 7 seed when the dust settles, creating some uncertainty about their first-round opponents heading into Week 18.

Here's a look at who could be on Buffalo's schedule to open the playoffs.

Who will the Bills play in playoffs?

The Bills will slot in as a wild-card team in the postseason. Here is who they could match up against:

• AFC North winner (Baltimore Ravens or Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Denver Broncos
• Houston Texans
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• New England Patriots

Bills playoff scenarios

Here are the scenarios that would lead to each first-round matchup:

Baltimore Ravens or Pittsburgh Steelers

• Bills win (vs. NYJ) and Texans loss (vs. IND)

Denver Broncos

• Bills win (vs. NYJ), Broncos loss (vs. LAC), Patriots loss (vs. MIA), Texans win (vs. IND) and Jaguars win (vs. TEN)
• Bills win (vs. NYJ), Broncos loss (vs. LAC), Jaguars win (vs. TEN) and Texans loss (vs. IND)

Houston Texans

• Bills win (vs. NYJ), Broncos loss (vs. LAC), Patriots loss (vs. MIA), Texans win (vs. IND) and Jaguars loss (vs. TEN)

Jacksonville Jaguars

• Bills loss (vs. NYJ), Broncos win (vs. LAC), Patriots loss (vs. MIA), Texans win (vs. IND) and Jaguars win (vs. TEN)

New England Patriots

• Patriots win (vs. MIA), Broncos win (vs. LAC) and Bills lose (vs. NYJ)
• Patriots loss (vs. MIA), Broncos win (vs. LAC), Bills win (vs. NYJ), Jaguars win (vs. TEN) and Texans win (vs. IND)

NFL playoff schedule

The NFL playoffs kick off on Jan. 11 with the league's Super Wild Card Weekend before concluding on Feb. 9 with Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.

Super Wild Card weekend

All times Eastern

Wild Card weekend

All times Eastern

Saturday, Jan. 10

• AFC/NFC wild card game: 4:30 p.m.
• AFC/NFC wild card game: 8 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 11

• AFC/NFC wild card game: 1 p.m.
• AFC/NFC wild card game: 4:30 p.m.
• AFC/NFC wild card game: 8:15 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 12

• AFC/NFC wild card game: 8:15 p.m.

Divisional round

Saturday, Jan. 17

• AFC/NFC divisional game: 4:30 p.m.
• AFC/NFC division game: 8:15 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 18

• AFC/NFC divisional game: 3 p.m.
• AFC/NFC divisional game: 6:30 p.m.

NFL conference championship round

Sunday, Jan. 25

• AFC championship game: 3 p.m.
• NFC championship game: 6:30 p.m.

Super Bowl 60

• Date: Feb. 8, 2026
• Location: Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, California)
• Time: 6:30 p.m.
• TV: NBC

NFL playoff picture Week 17

AFC

1. Denver Broncos (13-3, AFC West winners)*
2. New England Patriots (13-3, AFC East winners)*
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4, AFC South leaders)*
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7, AFC North leaders)
5. Houston Texans (11-5, wild card No. 1)*
6. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5, wild card No. 2)*
7. Buffalo Bills (11-5, wild card No. 3)*

In the hunt: Baltimore Ravens (8-8)

NFC

1. Seattle Seahawks (13-3, NFC West leaders)*
2. Chicago Bears (11-4, NFC North winners)*
3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5, NFC East winners)*
4. Carolina Panthers (8-8, NFC South leaders)
5. San Francisco 49ers (11-4, wild card No. 1)*
6. Los Angeles Rams (11-4, wild card No. 2)*
7. Green Bay Packers (9-6-1, wild card No. 3)*

In the hunt: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9)

An asterisk (*) denotes teams that have clinched a playoff spot. Teams that have clinched division titles are noted accordingly.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who will Bills play in playoffs? Breaking down wild card scenarios