Week 14 AFC East predictions: Can Bills kick-start unlikely playoff push?

The Miami Dolphins' magic number to clinch the AFC East title is down to three, and while that race may seemingly be over, their division rivals still have plenty to play for this week. Coming out of their bye, the Buffalo Bills aim to kick-start an improbable playoff push, while the New England Patriots and New York Jets simply hope to regain some dignity.

Here are predictions for the AFC East in Week 14.

New England Patriots (2-10) at Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5): On a positive note, the Patriots have been dominant defensively of late, but their offensive ineptitude continues to hinder their chances of winning. According to CBS Sports, last week's 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers made New England the first team since 1938 to lose three straight games in which its opponents scored 10 points or fewer. The offense doesn't seem to be trending up anytime soon either, with starting RB Rhamondre Stevenson expected to be out for "a few weeks" after suffering a high-ankle sprain. 

Although the Steelers are coming off a blowout loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals and will start backup QB Mitchell Trubisky on Thursday, last week's poor weather conditions make it difficult to predict that they're starting to spiral. Nonetheless, in a matchup with two backup quarterback-led teams that rank in the bottom five in scoring, this should be a tightly contested, low-scoring affair, which should favor the Steelers, who are 7-1 in one-score games this season.

PREDICTION: Steelers, 13-10

Houston Texans (7-5) at New York Jets (4-8): The Jets, losers of their last five games, continue to invent new ways to humiliate themselves and will make another quarterback change after the Tim Boyle experiment couldn't even last two starts. Boyle was cut on Tuesday, leaving the Jets to turn back to Zach Wilson in hopes of igniting an offense that has scored just 10 touchdowns this season. While Wilson is clearly the best option the Jets have at this point, he's still the same ineffective quarterback who ranks last among qualified passers in QBR (30.3). 

Despite being the league leader in passing yards (3,540), Texans QB C.J. Stroud should look more like a rookie against the Jets defense, especially since WR Tank Dell is out for the season. Nevertheless, while a matchup against a desperate opponent could be a letdown spot for a young Houston team that is coming off a thrilling win, the Jets' offensive woes suggest that their losing streak will continue.

PREDICTION: Texans, 20-10

Buffalo Bills (6-6) at Kansas City Chiefs (8-4): Neither team has emerged as the powerhouse many expected this season, with the Bills holding a mediocre 6-6 record and the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs already exceeding last season's loss total. Nevertheless, since both teams are desperate for a win, this could create a potentially chaotic game environment and another instant classic between them. However, taking into account that Buffalo must win to keep its slim playoff hopes alive and is coming off its bye, there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about a possible upset.

Even though the Bills suffered a devastating loss to the Eagles in their last game, their offense had another encouraging scoring outburst. Josh Allen and company have started clicking after the firing of former offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, with the team averaging 33 points and 449 yards across its last two games. Kansas City has averaged the 12th-fewest points among teams during its current 2-3 skid (19.4), and it could fall behind quickly if it struggles out of the gate, though QB Patrick Mahomes should be able to keep things close.

PREDICTION: Bills, 28-24

Tennessee Titans (4-8) at Miami Dolphins (9-3): The Dolphins have all but locked up the AFC East title and will play their remaining games in hopes of holding on to the top seed in the conference. Miami erupted for 45 points against the NFC East's bottom-dwelling Washington Commanders last week and should produce a similar result against a struggling Titans team that is last in the AFC South. 

For as much praise as the Dolphins offense gets, the defense has been outstanding since CB Jalen Ramsey made his season debut, allowing just 15.8 points over the last five games, the second-lowest mark in that span. This does not bode well for Tennessee, which is the NFL's eighth-worst offense in terms of points (18.2) and yards per game (300.7) since Will Levis took over at quarterback. Considering Miami boasts a +165 point differential against sub-.500 teams this season, this should be another instance where it easily defeats another inferior opponent. 

PREDICTION: Dolphins 35-17