It’s every Buffalo Bills fan’s favorite season. Not winter, but ‘In the Hunt’ season.

It’s almost too familiar for Bills fans – it always creeps up near the end of November, and all throughout December, the Bills are labeled as ‘In the Hunt’ for a playoff spot. Nevertheless, that label changes to ‘Out of the Playoffs’ year after year … every year since 1999.

This year? Most likely the same result. I have as much optimism as Rex Ryan does, but with the record at 6-5 and with Miami on a hot streak at 7-4, the Bills will have to formulate a comeback bigger than ‘The Comeback’ in 1993.

Currently, the Bills are in third place in the AFC East behind the Dolphins and Patriots, and are ninth in the AFC.

If the team finishes strong in December where they play three out of the four games at home, and a New Year’s Day game at the Jets, they could end up 10-6 (given a loss to the suddenly good Raiders). 10-6 would give Rex Ryan and company a winning record and job security. But playoffs? Well, it’s all up in the air. It all depends on how well Miami plays the rest of the year and how other AFC teams vying for a wildcard spot fare.

My thoughts: Buffalo will miss the playoffs for the 17th consecutive year. It absolutely kills me to put it in print this early in the wild card race, but let’s get real people, with a thirty percent chance of making the playoffs, the Bills have no realistic chance according to statistics.

However, on paper, it looks like they have a chance. On paper, this team can be dangerously good. With LeSean McCoy tearing it up week after week in the run game and Sammy Watkins back on the field, this team can be a threat in the remaining five games of the season. But Shady, Sammy, Dareus and basically the whole team has to stay healthy. They can’t afford any more injuries to key players.

Although my thoughts on the Bills making the playoffs are impractical, anything can happen at this point. The team is in a decent position within the AFC playoff race and with the effort, determination and – pray to God – no injuries, the Buffalo Bills very well could snap the longest active playoff drought in the NFL, currently held by the Buffalo Bills. 16 long years.

Happy ‘In the Hunt’ season, everyone!

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