Top 3 Things We Learned

Presented by

Top 3 things we learned from Bills vs. Eagles | Week 17

Dec 28, 2025 at 10:29 PM

Alec White

Content Manager

The Buffalo Bills, who had come back from down 10+ three times already this season, could not recreate the same magic in the penultimate game of the regular season, falling 13-12 to the Eagles.

Buffalo (11-5) will host the Jets (3-13) in the regular season finale at Highmark Stadium next week.

Here's what we learned from Bills vs. Eagles.

1 — Multiple missed scoring opportunities for Buffalo

Buffalo squandered a handful of chances to put points up on the board during Sunday's rain-soaked affair and those missed opportunities impacted the outcome of the frenetic final moments.

One of those failed chances was compounded by another as a blocked extra point on Buffalo's first touchdown of the game with 5:11 to play forced the Bills to decide between a game-tying point attempt and a potential game-winning two-point conversion with 0:05 remaining.

Instead of trying to send the game to OT, the Bills lined up to go for the win.

"I trust Josh Allen with the ball in his hands, and I do it over again," head coach Sean McDermott said.

Instead of a dramatic game-winning play, Josh Allen's pass sailed wide of Khalil Shakir in the back of the end zone on the two-point conversion, sealing the Bills' fate.

"I just missed rolling left. Got to get a better ball," Allen lamented.

Buffalo's missed extra point and subsequent missed two-point conversion the following drive encapsulated what was an evening of execution struggles for the Bills in pivotal situations.

The Bills defense forced a three-and-out to begin Sunday's contest game, the team's fifth opening drive stop without allowing a first down this season. The offense moved the ball into Philly territory but Allen was sacked on third-and-five for a loss of 10, bringing out the punt unit.

On the following offensive series, Allen was once again under duress in Eagles territory, this time fumbling after scrambling, back-tracking and trying to get a pass off. The play was ruled a fumble on the field and upheld by replay.

"I didn't have a better replay of what was going on, but it did not look like there was a grab of the ball, and then the ball comes out a split second later. It just looked like his hand came down, the ball flew out at the same time, and it was ruled a fumble," McDermott said.

Related Links

The turnover wiped away a drive that had moved to the Eagles 26 yard line with a scoreless game. Philadelphia took advantage with their first scoring drive of the night to go up 7-0.

Late in the third quarter, the Bills turned the ball over on downs at the Eagles one-yard line as Allen's fourth down run came up inches short of a touchdown.The Bills trailed 13-0 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Buffalo's defense stood tall in the second half, holding the QB Jalen Hurts to zero completed passes and the Eagles offense to 16 total yards. Sunday marked the 12th time this season the Bills have held their opponent to under 200 net passing yards, tied for the most in the NFL.

"Our defense played an incredible game. They gave us a chance, and obviously we don't take advantage of that opportunity," said TE Dawson Knox.

Despite the previous missteps, Buffalo still had a chance to come away with a win in the final moments. Allen placed the blame on himself for the failed two-point conversion as the Bills are now 1 for 7 (14%) on attempts this season.

"It just comes down to us executing, making one more play than they did. And obviously we saw that. We didn't make that last play. I didn't make that last play," Allen said.

2 — Eagles D controls line of scrimmage

One of the league's top rushing attacks was held in check, managing 120 rushing yards on 33 carries. It marked the Bills' fewest rushing yards since Week 11 and the team's 3.6 yards per carry was the lowest since Week 1.

Buffalo produced just one explosive rush of 12+ yards; had generated 16 over the previous four games. RB James Cook had 20 carries for 74 yards, the fewest yards he's had this year when recording at least 20 rushing attempts.

When Allen dropped back to pass, the Eagles found ways to disrupt the passing attack with just four rushers. The QB was sacked five times, the second-most in a game this season, despite being blitzed less than 10 times.

"I'm always concerned," McDermott said about Allen taking hits. "I said this after the Houston game. Similar type in terms of how they're built. So you're going to see it again in the playoffs. That's usually teams that are built up front or in the playoffs, and they have long success in the playoffs. So we get that's a part of us making sure we're sharing that piece of what we do up front."

McDermott confirmed that Allen went to the X-ray room postgame for his right foot injury as he dealt with increased soreness during the game. Allen felt better as the week went on, going from a limited practice Wednesday to a full participant Friday.

"He's sore right now, but nothing new has popped up at this point," McDermott added.

Allen said the injury had "zero" impact on his play.

3 — The Bills will be a Wild Card team, all seeding options on the table

After Sunday's events — a win by New England and a loss by Buffalo— the Bills now know they will be heading into the playoffs as a Wild Card team.

New England has officially clinched the AFC East, snapping the Bills franchise record of five consecutive division titles (2020-2024).

"That sucks, not giving ourselves a chance," Allen said. "We're still in the playoffs and that's the main thing."

Going into Week 18, the Bills will be the No. 7 seed and currently project to face the Patriots in the Wild Card round. A win over the Jets and losses by either the Chargers (at Denver) or Houston (vs. Indianapolis) could see the Bills rise to the No. 6 or No. 5 seed.

Wins by both the Chargers and Texans in Week 18 would lock Buffalo into the No. 7 seed, regardless of the outcome against the Jets.

All seven AFC teams have clinched a playoff spot but two divisions have yet to be settled, the AFC North and AFC South. The full schedule for Week 18 has yet to be announced.

"It doesn't make me happy," McDermott said about not winning the division. "We focus on getting better. That's the piece we can control… We all want to win the game. But there's also things you learn from what went on that field tonight."