MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Anyone who has been a Buffalo Bills fan for a minute had to know that the team’s clinching of an AFC playoff berth wasn’t going to be as simple as the Pittsburgh Steelers losing to the Baltimore Ravens Saturday night.

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It was foolhardy to even think that the Bills - who nothing comes easy for, not in 2023, and not throughout their 64-year history - would be able to go to sleep down here at their hotel in South Florida knowing that no matter what they did Sunday night in their game against the Miami Dolphins, they had a spot secured.

Steelers 17, Ravens 10.

The Ravens pummeled the Dolphins 56-19 last week, which the Bills were grateful for because that opened the door for them to play for the AFC East division title at Hard Rock Stadium.

However, that victory also secured for Baltimore the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye which in turn led to coach John Harbaugh sitting out quarterback Lamar Jackson and several other key Ravens for a game that meant nothing to them.

And so the Steelers, playing for their playoff life and needing a win just to stay in the hunt, took full advantage on a miserable, rainy night at M&T Bank Stadium as their stout defense completely shut down overmatched Ravens backup QB Tyler Huntley.

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So now the focus for Bills fans shifts to Tennessee Sunday afternoon when the 5-11 Titans host the 9-7 Jaguars at 1 p.m. If Jacksonville were to lose, that would also lock up a playoff berth for Buffalo before it kicks off against the Dolphins.

But like the Steelers game, no one should be pinning their hopes on the Jaguars losing because a victory locks up the AFC South division title and a wild-card round home game in Jacksonville. It seems a little far-fetched that they would blow that opportunity against the walking dead Titans.

Obviously, what the Bills want more than anything is to beat Miami because not only does that clinch their fourth straight division title, it also locks up the precious No. 2 seed. That means the Bills will be home for wild-card weekend, and should they win, home again for the divisional round weekend.

Pushing it out further, if they win twice and the Ravens were to stumble in their divisional matchup, the Bills would host the AFC Championship Game. We’ll tap the brakes here, though, because that’s a dream scenario and it’s way too early to be thinking about that.

First things first. Beat the Dolphins, that’s the focus, and if that happens, nothing the Steelers did or the Jaguars might do matters.

“We’ve just kind of taken the mindset that we’ve been in the playoffs, it’s been survive and advance, win or go home,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “It’s no different this week. We don’t want to rely on anybody else; in our minds it’s a must-win game. We gotta go get this done and they’re a hungry team, a team that’s really good that’s played very well throughout the season standing in front of us.”

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out twice a week during the season, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills still not in playoffs as Steelers win: What needs to happen