Two weeks ago, the clock struck triple zeroes in Philadelphia, and Bills players, coaches, and fans alike were once again left wondering how they let another win slip away.

As usual, Josh Allen played fantastic. He threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding 81 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Also as per usual, unfortunately, he was let down by bad defense and conservative coaching, as the Eagles overcame a 17-7 deficit and scored 30 second-half points to defeat the Bills in overtime. 

Now, Buffalo currently sits at .500 and the current No. 11 seed in the AFC playoff picture, one game behind all three Wildcard teams. And while it's been doom and gloom in the land of blue cheese and breaking tables, they've had a string of luck in the form of other teams' misfortunes that could clear a path to a playoff spot.

Of the 10 teams currently ahead of the Bills in the AFC standings, five have injured quarterbacks, and four will be playing their backup for the foreseeable future. 

The Cincinnati Bengals share the same 6-6 record as the Bills and will have Jake Browning under center for the remainder of the year after Joe Burrow's season-ending wrist injury. While the Washington product played fantastic against the Jaguars, do we really expect him to do that for the rest of 2023? Or was it likely that it was a lightning-in-the-bottle game? I'd bet on the latter. 

The Colts have been on quite the run with Gardner Minshew, currently sitting at 7-5 with a top-10 scoring offense. Three of their final five games, though, are against other current playoff teams- that will be a tough trial to overcome for a team allowing the fifth most points-per-game in the NFL.

The Browns are on their fourth quarterback of the season with Joe Flacco now under center. Their defense is fantastic — arguably the best in the league — but they are certainly beatable and can fall out of the playoff picture. Their AFC North-rival Steelers will also be playing their backup, Mitch Trubisky, for what looks like the next four weeks.

Then comes Jacksonville, who saw their own superstar quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, suffer an ankle sprain against the Bengals on Monday night. While his status for Sunday against Cleveland is unknown, it goes without saying that his injury will limit him even if he can take the field and avoids missing time. We saw what a lower leg injury did to Joe Burrow in the beginning of the season, and how it hampered the Bengals- we could see the same thing happen to the Jaguars.

Now, even with several quarterbacks injured and/or on the shelf indefinitely, the Bills still have to take care of business. They travel to Kansas City to play the Chiefs this week. Buffalo has won the last two regular season matchups in Arrowhead, and Allen has a career passer rating of 114.1 in Kansas City. Next week, they host Dallas, who could be leading the NFC East by that time if they defeat the Eagles on Sunday. Allen has played just one game against the Cowboys in his career- a win in Dallas on Thanksgiving in 2019 where he threw for 231 yards and put up a 120.7 passer rating. 

At 6-6, and with a gauntlet still in front of them, many may say there's a grave behind the Buffalo Bills' eyes. But with the aforementioned string of misfortune for their respective AFC counterparts, as well as their quarterback's great track record against their upcoming powerhouse opponents, Buffalo may still have a sign of life.

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