After Week 8 and Thursday’s Jaguars-Ravens game, three NFL clubs sit at 6-1: the San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings. Nobody else is there. Chicago, Pittsburgh, Denver and Jacksonville are next at 6-2.

Point differential separates the trio. San Francisco leads at plus-58. Buffalo is plus-52. Minnesota is plus-47. Jacksonville still owns the league’s best margin among the 6-2 group after a 33-10 win in Baltimore, but the 6-1 line belongs only to these three.

The 6-1 club by point differential

1. Week 849ers on bye; Bills beat Baltimore 36-10; Vikings fall 19-15 at Detroit.
2. Thu NightJaguars beat Ravens 33-10 and move to 6-2.
3. NowOnly SF, BUF and MIN remain at 6-1.

San Francisco is 6-1 with a plus-58 point differential — second in the league behind only Jacksonville’s post-Thursday margin — and averages 28.1 points scored with 19.9 allowed. The 49ers are 4-0 at home. Their only loss was 29-20 at Atlanta in Week 7; they spent Week 8 on bye.

Week 9 brings the Las Vegas Raiders (4-4) to Levi’s Stadium at 4:25 p.m. ET. Brandon Aiyuk has reported, met with club leadership and said he is back to full strength as the deadline week opens.

49ers scoring profile

Buffalo is 6-1 with a plus-52 differential and the league’s most explosive offense at 33.3 points a game. The Bills have won three straight, capped by a 36-10 home win over the Ravens in Week 8. Josh Allen threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns in that game as Baltimore managed only 144 total yards.

The defense that night was a jump in aggression; the bigger test is Monday night in Minnesota against another 6-1 club.

Bills vs. the other 6-1 clubs

Minnesota is 6-1 with a plus-47 differential built the opposite way: 20.0 points scored and 13.3 allowed — the stingiest defense among the three. The Vikings’ first loss was 19-15 at Detroit in Week 8, a game that finally broke a string of one-score escapes.

They still lead the NFC North by half a game over the 6-2 Bears. Monday night against Buffalo is the heaviestweight home game of their season so far.

Vikings defensive edge

1. Weeks 1–7Minnesota won close games behind the defense.
2. Week 8Lost 19-15 at Detroit — first defeat.
3. Week 9Host Buffalo on Monday night.

Week 9 starts in Madrid with Bengals-Falcons at 9:30 a.m. ET, then a full Sunday slate. The 49ers host the Raiders at 4:25 p.m. ET. The Bears (6-2) host Tampa Bay in the Sunday night game. Pittsburgh is on bye.

Then comes the headline: Buffalo at Minnesota on Monday night — two of the three 6-1 teams in the same building. One will leave 7-1. One will leave 6-2 and share the second tier with Chicago, Pittsburgh, Denver and Jacksonville.

Records to watch this weekend

Three 6-1 clubs at this stage of a season are already in the thick of seeding races. San Francisco leads the NFC West by 2.5 games over the Rams and Seahawks. Buffalo leads the AFC East by 1.5 over New England. Minnesota leads the NFC North by half a game over Chicago.

Sunday’s 49ers-Raiders result and Monday’s Bills-Vikings result will decide whether the 6-1 club shrinks to one — or stays at two with San Francisco waiting for the rematch picture after Week 9.