The Buffalo Bills secured a playoff berth during the early window on Sunday thanks to the Jacksonville Jaguars' loss.
On Sunday night, the Bills went ahead and won their fourth consecutive AFC East title and claimed the conference's No. 2 seed on the strength of their 21-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
In a topsy-turvy campaign for the Bills, they entered the week with the potential of being eliminated from playoff contention or reaching as high as the AFC second seed. Head coach Sean McDermott's squad went the latter route, as everything fell in place for the Bills on a Week 18 to remember.
"This just solidifies that we got a home game next week," quarterback Josh Allen told NBC's Melissa Stark after the win. "We're in the playoffs. If you told me at the beginning of the year we're 11-6, AFC East champs, two-seed playing at home. Sign me up."
Buffalo will now open the playoffs at home next Sunday against the seventh-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 p.m. ET.
The Bills, who have overcome numerous defensive injuries and a change at offensive coordinator, are set for the playoffs for the fifth season in a row and the sixth time in McDermott's tenure, which began in 2017.
Seen as a potential Super Bowl contender before the season, the Bills were 6-6 after a Week 12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. However, they've responded with five straight wins.
"I think the messaging overall was, we're close," McDermott said about his message to the team at that turning point of the season. "It felt like going into the bye, I think it was the Philadelphia game prior to the bye, they hit a 59-yard field goal there at the end. It was a play here and a play there, and it's really just stick with it. Had the players get away and catch their breath a little bit. We had been on the road, prime-time games, we had been to London, back, no bye until later. And that was a hard stretch there just to keep your endurance. They came back led by Josh, and they were very intent on getting this thing done."
The Bills have rallied for a division title and are taking a mountain of momentum with them to the postseason.
