by TYLER HATHAWAY
The Buffalo Bills enter their final regular season game coming off of a last-second loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. They will need to right the ship in Week 18 as the playoffs are right around the corner. The New York Jets will travel to Orchard Park in what will probably be the final game in Highmark Stadium. Here’s the breakdown:
NEW YORK JETS (3-13)
vs.
BUFFALO BILLS (11-5)
Sunday, Highmark Stadium, 4:25 pm
Storyline #1: Sunday likely the final game in Highmark Stadium
Sunday’s showdown against the Jets will in all likelihood be the final football game ever played in the current Highmark Stadium.
It opened as Rich Stadium in 1973 until 1998 when it was renamed to Ralph Wilson Stadium, and in 2016 it was renamed to New Era Field. It has been named Highmark Stadium since 2021 and the new $1.5 billion stadium set to open up across the street from the old one in 2026 will also be named Highmark Stadium. The 52 straight years played in the stadium is the third most of any NFL team, behind Kansas City’s 53 years in Arrowhead Stadium and Green Bay’s 68 years at Lambeau Field.
“That stadium has been really good to us,”head coach Sean McDermott said. “It really has. I know I’ll miss it, and I’m not in a hurry at this point. I know this weekend’s the last game, but I think we all need to enjoy every last minute of it.”
The only way that the Bills can play another game at Highmark is to somehow host a playoff game, which is unlikely as a wild card team.
The Bills will be wearing throwback red helmets for the occasion. In addition, there will be multiple fan events and giveaways, and various Bills legends such as Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, and Steve Tasker will be in attendance.
Storyline #2: Buffalo’s playoff pathways
Last week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles closed the door on the Bills winning the AFC East, which means Buffalo will be entering the postseason as a wild card team for the first time since 2019.
To earn the No. 5 seed, the Bills would have to beat the Jets and have both the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers lose. The Texans and Chargers play vs. Indianapolis and at Denver respectively.
For the No. 6 seed, Buffalo would have to win and either the Texans or the Chargers would have to lose. Additionally, if all three teams win, and the Jacksonville Jaguars lose to the Tennessee Titans, the Bills would be the No.6 seed because of tiebreakers.
However, if Buffalo, Houston, Los Angeles, and Jacksonville all win, the Bills will be the No. 7 seed for the first time in franchise history (the playoffs expanded to 14 teams in the 2020-21 season). Additionally, a loss against the Jets would automatically make Buffalo the seven seed.
If the Bills are the No. 5 seed, they would be facing the winner of Sunday night’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. If they’re the No. 6 seed, they would face either the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Jaguars, or Texans. If the No. 7 seed, it would be either the Broncos, the Jaguars, or the Patriots.
Storyline #3: Cook in pole position to be NFL’s leading rusher
Buffalo running back James Cook currently leads the NFL in rushing yards with one week to go in the regular season. Cook’s total currently stands at 1,606, which is 47 yards ahead of second-place Jonathan Taylor and 137 yards ahead over third-place Derrick Henry.
If Cook earns the rushing title, he will be the first Bill to lead the NFL in rushing since OJ Simpson did it in 1976. Cook, despite being in only his fourth year in Buffalo, is already sixth all-time in rushing yards, and just over 1,400 rushing yards away from taking third place.
Key to the game #1: Stay healthy
This isn’t really something that a team can choose to do, but the most important thing really Buffalo isn’t that the beat the Jets, but people who are already a little banged up need to not reaggravate anything, and players who are healthy need to not suffer any injury.
If that means pulling players early or sitting them all together, then by all means, do so. The New York Jets are set to clinch the No. 2 or No. 3 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft with a loss, so it isn’t a case where you’re going to be getting a team’s best shot or anything.
Key to the game #2: Get the crowd in it early
If you are going to play everybody, it better be fireworks. The crowd for Sunday’s game will surely be electric, as every fan in the building knows that it’s the final time they will be there. Give them something to cheer for, build an early lead and coast off of it.
Especially after a soul-crushing loss in Week 17, the fans really need something to cheer for and get excited about before the playoffs. The play calling should be aggressive, and everyone should be flying around.
The best case scenario would be the starters playing for the first half, building an early lead, getting the fans into it and then having players like Mitch Trubisky and Ray Davis take the reigns in the second half to make sure Buffalo gets out of the game as scot-free as possible.
X-Factor: QB Josh Allen (if he plays)
It’s important to realize there’s a pretty big asterisk for the Bills quarterback Josh Allen being the X-Factor, and that’s he might not play much, if at all. With all that the Bills have left to play for is seeding, and there being rumblings of him playing limited snaps if at all due to nursing an injury, he might not get that much run on Sunday.
With all of that being said, if he does play for a solid chunk of the game, it’s important that Allen plays well. There’s a serious argument to be made that his performance against the Eagles last week was one of his worst in recent memory, despite his stats looking okay. He missed a touchdown to Brandin Cooks on fourth and goal, took a 25-yard sack on third down, and missed a wide open Khalil Shakir on the game-winning two-point conversion attempt to seal a 13-12 loss.
So if Allen does play this weekend, there’s probably going to be a little fire in the former MVP to get back on track before the playoffs, in addition to the motivation of giving the fans one final classic performance from their beloved quarterback before the Mafia migrates across the street to the new stadium.
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