The Pittsburgh Steelers host the Buffalo Bills at 4:25 p.m. Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.

For Bills fans clinging to hope in the AFC East race, history offers a reminder. In 2021, the Bills faced a similar uphill battle. After a brutal 14-10 loss to the Patriots in hurricane-like conditions and a 33-27 overtime defeat to Tom Brady’s Buccaneers, Buffalo sat at 7-6, two games behind New England with the tiebreaker against them. They were the AFC’s No. 7 seed, barely ahead of Pittsburgh, with only four games left. Yet, they swept those final four—including a pivotal win in Foxborough—while the Patriots stumbled, and Buffalo claimed the division.

Fast forward to now: the challenge is at least as steep. The Bills trail by 2½ games plus the tiebreaker and again sit seventh, just ahead of t

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