The Buffalo Bills have already secured a playoff berth, while the Philadelphia Eagles have clinched the NFC East title. In practice, the Eagles are virtually locked into the No. 3 seed in the NFC. The Bills, meanwhile, are almost certain to enter the postseason as an AFC Wild Card, although their exact seeding could still shift quite a bit over the next week.

Mathematically, Buffalo still has a — small, but real — chance to claim the AFC’s No. 1 overall seed. To do so, they’ll need help from teams such as the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, who are already essentially playing out the stretch. There’s even a scenario in which the Bills can capture their sixth straight AFC East title. While it’s more likely that the New England Patriots end up winning the division, stranger things have happened.

On the other hand, there’s also a path in which Buffalo drops to the No. 7 seed in the AFC, depending on how other games play out combined with potential Bills losses. That raises the obvious question: Is it in the team’s best interest to keep pushing hard over the next two weeks, assuming the top seed is still in play? Or should they rest some key players and focus on being as healthy as possible heading into the playoffs?

At least for this week, Buffalo is going full throttle — and I agree with that approach. As Herm Edwards famously said, “You play to win the game.” The Bills are missing a few starters today, but Philadelphia is also without some key players, which should make for a competitive matchup.

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