It’s going to take quite a few fortuitous bounces for the Bills to make the playoffs this season, but they remain mathematically alive even though Sunday’s loss knocked them to 5-8 on the season.
Coach Chan Gailey might not be aware of that. During a radio interview on WGR on Monday morning, Gailey was asked about how far the team is from reaching its goals. He said that the team’s goal is to win a championship and explained why they won’t be doing that.
“The playoffs are out of the picture for us now,” Gailey said.
The team’s Twitter account sent out Gailey’s read on the situation, but they’re all jumping the gun.
If the Bills win out and get loads of help from around the AFC, they can still secure the sixth seed with an 8-8 record. It’s as long a shot as exists, but it was just 2009 when Jets coach Rex Ryan reacted to a 10-7 loss to the Falcons by saying the Jets were out of the playoff race. They weren’t, they got the help they needed to make the playoffs (the Colts punted on a chance to go for an undefeated season by playing Curtis Painter the next week) and wound up in the AFC Championship Game.
Gailey will likely be proven right, but it’s always best to wait until you’re sure of death before you start filling in the grave.