ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) \u2014 Josh Allen got his much-needed rest while still extending his starting streak to 135 consecutive games with an opening-play handoff. James Cook got his NFL rushing title, becoming Buffalo\u2019s first player to do so since O.J. Simpson in 1976.<\/p>\n
And the Bills produced a fitting send-off, playing what\u2019s likely their final game at the 53-year-old Highmark Stadium on Sunday before moving into their new digs across the street next season.<\/p>\n
Now comes the hard part: the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Whatever warm feelings the Bills got by having fans serenade them off the field following a 35-8 thumping of the Jets must be put aside with sixth-seeded Buffalo (12-5) traveling to play AFC South champion Jacksonville (13-4) in the wild-card round on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The outing presents a new challenge for Allen and the Bills in opening the playoffs on the road for the first time since 2019. That\u2019s when Allen, in his second NFL season, made his playoff debut in a 22-19 overtime loss at Houston.<\/p>\n
Though much has changed since for a player and team that would go on to win five straight AFC East titles, several familiar questions remain.<\/p>\n
For all of Allen\u2019s remarkable exploits, the NFL\u2019s reigning MVP is still missing one major career checkmark \u2014 a Super Bowl appearance.<\/p>\n
The same goes for coach Sean McDermott.<\/p>\n
In his ninth season at the helm, McDermott deserves plenty of credit for transforming the franchise into a perennial contender. After going 17 seasons without a playoff berth, Buffalo finally broke through in McDermott\u2019s first year, ending with a 10-3 loss in the 2017 wild-card round at Jacksonville.<\/p>\n
And yet McDermott carries the stigma of a coach who can lead his team only so far \u2014 a criticism mentor Andy Reid faced in Philadelphia before finally winning three times in Kansas City.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/NA3I5QGNK327KC3QXLYFKUKVIA.jpg\")
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott waves to fans after an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo\/David Richard) Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott waves to fans after an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo\/David Richard) (David Richard) <\/p>\n
In the Bills\u2019 favor is an AFC field that doesn\u2019t include familiar nemesis Kansas City, which has eliminated Buffalo in four of the previous five playoffs. Joe Burrow and the Bengals, who eliminated the Bills three years ago, are out, too.<\/p>\n
Buffalo has held its own in going 3-3 against this year\u2019s playoff teams, with the three losses decided by a combined eight points, including a 23-19 loss at Houston in November.<\/p>\n
At issue is having to hit the road, where the Bills are 0-4 in the postseason under McDermott. Including two Super Bowl appearances, Buffalo has lost its last nine playoff outings outside of Orchard Park, New York, since a 29-10 win at Miami in the 1992 AFC championship game.<\/p>\n
More daunting is the prospect of having to win three straight road playoff games to reach the Super Bowl. Only five teams have done so, beginning with New England in 1985 and ending with Tampa Bay in 2020.<\/p>\n
Buffalo\u2019s only hope at playing one more home game features the long-shot scenario of the Bills hosting the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC championship game.<\/p>\n
McDermott doesn\u2019t need to be reminded of what\u2019s at stake; he previously addressed the team\u2019s playoff shortcomings in August.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take a lot of pride in what we\u2019ve done here. And nobody has more internal drive and internal expectations than I do or we do. And very confident in who we are,\u201d McDermott said. \u201cThere\u2019s one thing that remains. We know what that is. But you can\u2019t get there tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some four months and 12 regular-season wins later, tomorrow has arrived.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s working<\/p>\n
A James Cook-led running attack in which the fourth-year player led the NFL with 1,621 yards. Buffalo\u2019s 2,713 yards rushing this season are the third most in team history, and best since 2,974 in 1975.<\/p>\n
What needs help<\/p>\n
A shaky run defense. Though Buffalo limited its past two opponents to a combined 151 yards rushing, the team still allowed 2,315 yards overall, the most since 2012. The 24 touchdowns rushing scored against Buffalo are the second most in team history.<\/p>\n
Stock up<\/p>\n
RB Ray Davis. The second-year backup had a career-best 151 yards rushing and a TD catch while filling in for Cook, playing in front of a line featuring four backups.<\/p>\n
Stock down<\/p>\n
WR Josh Palmer. The prized offseason free agent fails to play up to expectations, managing just one catch on three targets for 1 yard while on the field for 63 of Buffalo\u2019s 72 offensive snaps.<\/p>\n
Injuries<\/p>\n
McDermott listed rookie CB Maxwell Hairston (ankle) as week to week and said he\u2019s unlikely to play this weekend. K Matt Prater was listed as day to day after aggravating a quadricep injury to his kicking leg. McDermott said the Bills will bring in kickers for tryouts as a precaution in case Prater can\u2019t play.<\/p>\n
Key number<\/p>\n
6,000 \u2014 With 6,397 yards of offense, the Bills topped 6,000 for a sixth consecutive season and seventh time overall.<\/p>\n
Next steps<\/p>\n
The Bills are 0-2 against Jacksonville in the playoffs, including a 30-27 loss in the 1996 wild-card round in what was Buffalo Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly\u2019s final game.<\/p>\n
John Wawrow, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) \u2014 Josh Allen got his much-needed rest while still extending his starting streak to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-390580","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}