The Buffalo Bills took a wild card spot in the 1996 NFL AFC wild card race; the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts and Kansas City Chiefs finished tied at 9-7 for the last 2 wild card spots. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts took the last 2 wild card spots on an NFL tiebreaker these standings do not carry.

AFC Wild Card standings, 1996

Team	W	L	Pct	WCGB	L10	Streak
Buffalo Bills (BUF) x	10	6	.625	+1	6-4	W1
Jacksonville Jaguars (JAX) x	9	7	.563	-	7-3	W5
Indianapolis Colts (IND) x	9	7	.563	-	4-6	L1
Kansas City Chiefs (KC)	9	7	.563	-	5-5	L3
Cincinnati Bengals (CIN)	8	8	.500	1	7-3	W3
Houston Oilers (HOU)	8	8	.500	1	4-6	W1
Miami Dolphins (MIA)	8	8	.500	1	4-6	W2
San Diego Chargers (SD)	8	8	.500	1	4-6	W1
Oakland Raiders (OAK)	7	9	.438	2	5-5	L2
Seattle Seahawks (SEA)	7	9	.438	2	5-5	W1
Baltimore Ravens (BAL)	4	12	.250	5	2-8	L3
New York Jets (NYJ)	1	15	.063	8	1-9	L7

The top three teams hold the wild card spots. The dashed line on the chart is the pace of the last spot. A plus figure is the lead over the first team out.

Clinch key

x: clinched a playoff place

1996 NFL AFC wild card

AFC Wild Card standings, 1996

Turning points