By Joe Buscaglia, Tim Graham, Zack Rosenblatt and RJ Kraft
The Buffalo Bills secured the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs with a 40-14 win over the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium on Sunday.
Quarterback Josh Allen tallied three touchdowns on the day (one rushing and two passing) — the last of which was an across-the-field throw to rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, backup Mitchell Trubisky played for Allen, who sat for the entirety of the quarter with Buffalo in command of the game.
Running back James Cook added his league-leading 15th rushing touchdown in the blowout win.
The Bills defense forced three turnovers, notched a safety and sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers four times. Rodgers had a forgettable game with season lows in passing yards (112) and QB rating (44.0) and was also flagged for unnecessary roughness on his second interception before giving way to backup Tyrod Taylor in the fourth quarter. Rodgers remains one touchdown short of 500 for his career.
Defensive back Sauce Gardner did not return in the second half with a hamstring injury. Wide receiver Garrett Wilson went over the 1,000 receiving yards mark for the third straight season and is the first Jets player to have three such campaigns in his first three years.
The Bills (13-3) will travel to the New England Patriots to close the regular season, while the Jets (4-12) will host the Miami Dolphins in Week 18.
Josh Allen adds to MVP case
Buffalo exploited a disintegrating opponent to break more team records in the 16th game, calibrating with Allen’s previous campaigns and the franchise’s great offenses of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Allen’s scrambly, gorgeous, 14-yard strike to leaping rookie Keon Coleman late in the third quarter gave the Bills a 33-0 lead and a record 61 touchdowns and 502 points this season, one more point than they scored four years ago. Before Allen arrived in 2018, the club scoring record was 458 points in 1991, Buffalo’s second of four straight Super Bowl seasons. By the game’s end Sunday, Buffalo had 62 touchdowns and 509 points on the season.
Josh Allen throws across the field for the TD to Coleman!
📺: #NYJvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/XEMD52SiS6— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2024
Allen bolstered his MVP case, going 16-of-27 for 182 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions, fumbles or sacks. He ran five times for 17 yards and his 65th rushing TD to tie Hall of Fame running Thurman Thomas for most career rushing touchdowns in franchise history.
Trubisky relieved Allen at the start of the fourth quarter and connected with practice-squad callup Tyrell Shavers on a 69-yard touchdown. It marked Shavers’ first NFL touch and gave Buffalo its 13th touchdown catcher, an NFL record. — Tim Graham, Bills senior writer
What securing the No. 2 seed means for Buffalo
The Bills made it abundantly clear throughout the week of practice that they wanted to secure the AFC’s No. 2 seed this weekend. Although it was slow going in the first half, the Bills scored on four straight second-half possessions to go up 40-0.
Now, with the No. 2 seed locked in for the postseason, the Bills have guaranteed themselves at least two home playoff games should they advance past the wild-card round while maintaining the best chance to host the AFC Championship game should the No. 1-seeded Kansas City Chiefs falter in the divisional round.
On top of that, the Bills will have the flexibility to rest several key starters in Week 18 when they face the Patriots. It would serve as a bye week of sorts heading into the wild-card round, which helps take some of the sting out of missing the AFC’s top spot. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer
Bills’ defense makes a statement
The Bills’ defense kept it interesting at times, but after three conspicuous games of struggles in a row, they offered a statement game against the Jets.
Early in the game, it was all about their cliché bend-but-don’t-break style, pushing aside two solid Jets offensive drives to have them result in turnovers. The first was getting a stop on 4th-and-1 while in Bills territory, and the second was a tipped pass picked off by a standing-in-place defensive tackle. The ensuing Jets drive was a safety to give the Bills a 9-0 lead, and Buffalo disarmed New York’s offense the rest of the way.
First career safety for @ajepenesa24!
📺: @paramountplus & @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/chxIbwv5VC
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 29, 2024
In the second half, the Bills provided constant pressure, brought Rodgers down three times, got an interception from top cornerback Christian Benford and forced a Wilson fumble on the first play of a drive to put the Bills on the doorstep of points.
The Bills’ defense certainly has lingering questions about them against more potent offenses in the playoffs, but this was the best feel-good performance they could have. — Buscaglia
Rest vs. rust debate ahead of postseason
With Buffalo’s seeding secured, the Bills can rest players however they wish for next Sunday’s meaningless finale in Gillette Stadium. Allen might start to preserve his streak of 114 starts, including playoffs, but there’s no point in playing beyond that. Thus begins the annual rest versus rust debate.
The Bills have some key players who have returned recently from injuries and could use some quality reps to prepare for the postseason, but will coach Sean McDermott risk it? Most notably, former All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano hasn’t looked crisp, although he did record five tackles, a quarterback hit and a fumble recovery against the Jets. He suffered a biceps injury this summer while working back from last year’s broken leg.
Buffalo’s secondary also has been playing with a revolving cast lately. While cornerback Rasul Douglas returned after missing two games with a knee injury, safety Damar Hamlin was sidelined a third straight time with a rib injury. — Graham
Rough day for Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers desperately wanted to get his 500th touchdown pass. Instead, he was benched to start the fourth quarter in one of the worst games of his career. He threw two interceptions, one on a tipped pass in the red zone targeting Davante Adams and another on a thrown ball targeting Allen Lazard. Rodgers finished 12-of-18 passing for 112 yards and zero touchdowns — a performance that will survive as a footnote to one of the most disappointing seasons in Jets history.
It’s fair to wonder whether Rodgers should play in Week 18 — interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said after Sunday’s game that he anticipates Rodgers playing. Taylor, who might be the Jets starter in 2025, engineered two fourth-quarter touchdown drives. — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets beat writer
Jets’ disastrous season is nearly over
As for the rest of the team, they appear to be already looking toward the offseason in one of the worst, low-effort performances the Jets have had in recent memory. The league’s most penalized team added 16 more penalties for 120 yards.
The Jets could only muster 148 yards of offense before Rodgers was taken out of the game — and turned it over a third time on a bad fumble from Wilson. The Jets have only one more game left — and then the most positive development of their season will come to pass: It will be over. — Rosenblatt
Required reading
(Photo: Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images )
