Top 3 Things We Learned

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Top 3 things we learned from Bills vs. Jets | Week 18

Jan 04, 2026 at 09:32 PM

Alec White

Content Manager

The Buffalo Bills routed the Jets 35-8 in Sunday's regular season finale, the final game at Highmark Stadium. Buffalo ends with a 247-163 record at the current Highmark Stadium.

The Bills (12-5) clinched the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs. View Wild Card Matchup info.

Here's what we learned from Bills vs. Jets:

1 — Josh Allen plays one snap, Mitch Trubisky excels in relief

Prioritizing rest ahead of the playoffs, the Bills rested a handful of key starters in Week 18.

QB Josh Allen came out for the first snap of the game, a 10-yard handoff to RB James Cook III then jogged off the field and was replaced by Mitch Trubisky. In doing so, Allen extended his start streak to 135 consecutive games, 8th most all-time.

"I think it's important that he keeps that start streak going, which is pretty cool," Trubisky said. "I just love being his teammate."

In Allen's place, Trubisky was excellent, completing 22 of 29 passes for 259 yards and four touchdowns.

"I just wanted to show I could execute this offense and really just show my teammates that I can come in there and make plays for this offense. I wanted to lead the guys today and put on a good performance for the fans."

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Trubisky was dialed in from the get-go, leading a touchdown drive on the opening possession. He connected with TE Dawson Knox for a 17-yard touchdown pass to go up 7-0. It marked Knox's fourth TD this season and moved him over 400 receiving yards for the third time in his career.

Trubisky went on to throw another touchdown late in the first half, extending the Bills lead to 21-0 going into the break. Buffalo put the finishing touches on a fitting finale with Trubisky's fourth touchdown pass, a six-yard TD to RB Ty Johnson in the fourth quarter to go up 35-0.

While Allen recovered from his foot injury, Trubisky took the majority of practice reps in the week

"The coaches did a great job of communicating what that plan was going to look like," Trubisky said. "It all started with preparation throughout the week, really the guys just having confidence in me to go out there and let me play my game."

2 — Bills running backs combine for three touchdowns

James Cook III got the start at running back, carrying the ball on the first two plays of the game for 15 yards before giving way to Ray Davis and Ty Johnson.

Cook ends the season with a career-high 1,621 rushing yards and is in position to win the NFL's rushing title.

Davis and Johnson were excellent in Cook's place, combining for 230 total yards and three touchdowns. FB Reggie Gilliam also got in on the action with 22 yards receiving and four yards rushing.

Davis surpassed his previous career high for scrimmage yards in a game with 151 yards rushing and 23 yards receiving. He caught Trubisky's TD pass before half time, a two-yard catch where Davis rolled on top of the Jets defender while getting tackled and stayed up as the pair rolled into the end zone.

"Just trusting myself and believing in this scheme and going out there and just taking an opportunity I was given today, man, and I just want to show everybody I am who I am," Davis shared.

Johnson had a six-yard rushing score early in the second quarter and a six-yard receiving TD at the beginning of the fourth quarter. In doing so, he set a career single-season high in 2025 with three rushing touchdowns and tied a career single-season high with four scrimmage touchdowns.

"I love to be able to see the production from all of us," Davis said. "We all feed off each other, we all communicate with each other, and that's a good thing."

3 — Defense shuts down the Jets

Buffalo's defense was flying around all 60 minutes, holding the Jets to just 122 yards of total offense. Playing a majority of backups, the Bills pitched a shutout until 7:33 in the fourth quarter.

On the Jets' third drive, Buffalo got a fourth down stop at midfield and the offense took advantage of the short field with a quick, five play scoring drive to take a three score lead.

LB Joe Andreessen finished third on the team with five tackles and a team-high two tackles for a loss.

"Anytime you can get those reps is huge," Andreessen said. "The defense, we had a good day. I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff to improve on, but it's fun flying around out there."

The Bills defense has surged late in the season, holding opponents to 13.7 points over the last three games.