The Buffalo Bills got a huge Week 16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers to keep their playoff hopes alive and well. However, the 24-22 victory wasn’t pretty for the AFC East squad, and Bills head coach Sean McDermott says that’s because the Chargers, under new head coach Giff Smith had a few new tricks up their sleeves.

“(The Chargers) were doing some things that they hadn’t shown (this season). They came in well-prepared,” McDermott said after the game, per ESPN. “I thought our guys settled in and responded. We did a good job in the red zone and had some big plays on third down to help us out.”

If this were college football, the Bills would fall in the polls after barely beating a team that lost 63-21 to the Las Vegas Raiders last week. But, since this is the NFL, the only thing that matters is taking home the win, which the Bills did, putting them one step closer to an AFC playoff bid.

The Bills are closing in on the postseason

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Left for dead just a few weeks ago after blowing a sure win on Monday Night Football by jumping offside on a game-winning field goal miss by the Denver Broncos, the Bills are now one of the hottest teams in football. They’ve won three in a row and four of their last five, with the only loss coming in overtime to the Philadelphia Eagles.

After the Bills’ Week 16 win over the Chargers, the team holds the No. 6 AFC playoff spot. That could change as the weekend goes along, but after the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans all need to win to keep pace (and the Browns and Texans play each other this week).

Moving to 9-6 opens up a lot of Wild Card potential for Sean McDermott and the Bills, who still have a shot at winning their division as well. If the Miami Dolphins lose to either the Dallas Cowboys or Baltimore Ravens, then the Week 18 Bills-Dolphins showdown will be for the AFC East crown.