The final week of the regular season is here. Buffalo is closing it out with a home game against the Jets. The Bills head into their last game with a 6-2 record at home.
Here are five storylines to get you ready for Sunday.
1. One last regular season ride at Highmark Stadium
Sunday also marks the last regular season game at the current Highmark Stadium. The Bills are closing up shop and moving across the street to new Highmark Stadium for the 2026 season.
Players, coaches and fans in attendance will try to close it out the right way—ending on a win and soaking up every last second.
"(I'm) emotional already thinking about it," head coach Sean McDermott said on Monday. "It's very important to me, it's very important to our staff, to our team, and it will be addressed accordingly as we get together for our week of preparation here…Now being here nine years with my family, being able to experience almost the same type of memories (as earlier regimes) is special. So, we owe it to the stadium and to the memories that exist in that stadium to go out the right way here."
Buffalo has called Highmark Stadium home for 52 years, opening its doors in 1973. The Bills record is 246-163 in that building. It's been called Rich Stadium, The Ralph, New Era Field, Bills Stadium and Highmark Stadium over the last 52 years.
Quarterback Josh Allen has played in many memorable games at Highmark Stadium. There are some that will stick out more than most.
Buffalo's perfect game on offense against the Patriots in the Wild Card round of the 2021 season. Allen went off for five touchdowns and finished with a 157.6 passer rating in route to a 47-17 victory.
The QB recorded his most total touchdowns in a home game this season against the Buccaneers with three passing and three rushing as they beat Tampa Bay 44-32. He racked up his most passing yards against the Steelers in 2022 at home by completing 20 of his 31 pass attempts for 424 yards and four touchdowns (38-3 final score). Another crazy offensive output by Allen and company was against the Seahawks when they beat them 44-34 in 2020. The QB completed 82% of his passes (31/38) for 415 yards and four offensive touchdowns.
There are also several plays from Allen at Highmark Stadium that will be hard to forget. Allen's fourth down run against the Chiefs in 2024. On 4th & 2 with just a two-point lead with 2:17 left to play, Allen turned into Superman and scrambled for 26 yards to score and extended their lead to 30-21. During the same season, Allen turned into Air Allen against the Cardinals as he hurdled a defender to score in a 34-28 victory.
One of Bills Mafia's first glimpses of Allen's elite talent came in 2018 when Allen found Robert Foster down the field for a huge 75-yard touchdown in a 24-21 win.
Allen's record at Highmark Stadium is 49-15 in the regular season and 7-2 in the playoffs. He's totaled 185 offensive touchdowns and 1,467 passes for 16,930 passing yards at home, including playoffs.
McDermott's record at Highmark Stadium is 55-19 in the regular season. His defense has allowed an average of 19.6 points per game and forced 127 takeaways at home since 2017. His offense has averaged 26.7 points per game.
In terms of favorite games, McDermott said there's a few.
"Baltimore, I would say the 2020 Covid Divisional game was a big one for us," McDermott shared. "I think Taron Johnson had a pick six in that game, which pretty much sealed the deal. And that was a memorable one going to the AFC Championship game the first time...The fans have been phenomenal. I look across out my window and I see the stadium and it's almost, I don't want to say sad -- It's not a sad day. But it is a little bit sad. I'm emotional about it."
2. A look at the playoff picture
With Week 18 here, we are getting closer to finding out Buffalo's seeding and opponent in the first round of the playoffs. We know Buffalo will be a Wild Card team, but we don't know what seed.
The Bills are currently at No. 7. While they can't secure the division, they can still move up in seeding. Buffalo can reach as high as the No. 5 seed.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Bills have 38% chance at being the No. 6 seed, 35% chance at sticking at No. 7 and 27% chance to move all the way up to No. 5.
Here's where the rest of the AFC shakes out ahead of Week 18:
- Denver Broncos (13-3)
- New England Patriots (13-3)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
- Houston Texans (11-5)
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-5)
- Buffalo Bills (11-5)
To see what has to happen for Buffalo to reach No. 5, No. 6 or stick at 7, click here.
Since the Bills don't know their opponent yet but want to be ready, several coaches are tasked with scouting the tape on the different opponents they could face in the Wild Card round.
"We try and get as out in front of it as we can," head coach Sean McDermott said. "This year, it seems like there's a lot more combinations of who we may play in the first round versus other years. So, it makes it a little bit more challenging, but all hands-on deck. Our quality control coaches, some of the assistants as well, will be involved in trying to break down some of the opponents that we may not know as much about to this point in the season."
3. Could Bills vs. Jets be an opportunity to rest and recover?
Like the rest of the league, the Bills' starters can feel the 18-week and 17-game regular season catching up to them. As a confirmed Wild Card team, they start their playoff journey immediately after Week 18. While it's still a priority to finish out the regular season with a win, Sunday's game against the Jets could be a chance for Buffalo to recover as well.
"We want to win the game that's number one," head coach Sean McDermott said.
In terms of figuring out who will play and who will sit, McDermott said that's something he's tackling after he gets through closing the chapter on Week 17.
Against the Eagles, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, safety Jordan Poyer, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, tight end Dalton Kincaid and kicker Matt Prater did not play. During Sunday's matchup, linebacker and defensive captain Terrel Bernard sustained a calf injury in the second quarter that eventually sidelined him for the remainder of the game. Tight end Dawson Knox was also questionable heading into the Eagles game, but ended up playing.
In addition, quarterback Josh Allen was also on the injury report in Week 17 and was limited on Wednesday and Thursday. While he was a full participant last Friday and active against the Eagles, we don't have an official word on the coaching staff's plan for Allen on Sunday.
"He's dealing with some soreness," McDermott said of Allen on Monday. "He looks kind of like last week a little bit, but maybe in a slightly better spot than early part of last week like he was."
McDermott also announced that Bernard has already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Jets. He added that Prater is moving in the right direction and Kincaid, Jones, Poyer and Phillips are all improving.
4. Bills reaching multiple milestones in the 2025 regular season
While the 2025 season is winding down, the milestones are heating up. It's been an action packed season for several Bills players and their stats back it up. Many are close to writing their names in the record books with one last week to collect accolades.
Allen has been breaking records all season. Against the Eagles, he became the youngest player in NFL history (29) and fastest in games (127) to score 300 offensive touchdowns. Allen also eclipsed 30,000 regular season passing yards in his career thanks to his 262 against Philadelphia.
Allen leads all quarterbacks in the NFL in 2025 with 14 rushing touchdowns. It's his third straight season with at least 12 rushing touchdowns. In the fourth quarter, specifically, Allen leads quarterbacks in EPA per dropback (55.95), passing yards (1,216), rushing yards (231), yards per attempt (8.9) and big plays.
In Week 18 against the Jets, QB1 has an opportunity to hit more milestones.
With one rushing touchdown, he will reach 80 regular season rushing touchdowns in his career. One touchdown, rushing or passing, will make him the only NFL player with six consecutive seasons with 40 or more scores.
After Week 17, running back James Cook III has the most rushing yards among NFL running backs in 2025. His 1,606 rushing yards lead by 47 yards. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor has the second-most with 1,559 rushing yards. Cook also has the third-most rushing touchdowns (12) in the season behind Taylor, who is first with 18, and Ravens running back Derrick Henry, who is second with 16.
A 100-plus rushing yard performance against the Jets will mark Cook's 10th game in 2025 with 100 or more yards on the ground. That would be the second-most games in a single season in Bills history. His nine games so far are good for first in the league, two more than any other player as Henry is second in the NFL with seven games. With at least 100 scrimmage yards, Cook will have 13th on the season which would tie Thurman Thomas for the most in Bills history.
5. Newer faces making a difference down the stretch
Wide receiver Brandin Cooks was signed to the active roster directly on Nov. 25. So far in 2025, he has five receptions for 114 yards. On Sunday against the Eagles, Cooks played 51 percent of the offensive snaps. He was on the field for 39 plays. Whether he has an impact play or not in a game, though, Cooks' presence matters to the Bills' offense.
"There's a reason we obviously brought him here, and it wasn't just to open it up and stretch it down the field," offensive coordinator Joe Brady said. "There's so much more to Cooks' game – in the locker room, out on the field, all of that … his energy, his juice, just on the football field, regardless of whether he's running a deep or running a five-yard route. He helps us when he's out on the football field … his approach hasn't changed, and my faith and confidence in him didn't waiver."
Other players stepping up, this time from the practice squad, have been essential to the defense that's seen changes throughout the season due to injuries.
Defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis played 18 snaps, 33 percent of the defense's game on Sunday. He was elevated from the practice squad in early November. Defensive end Andre Jones Jr. played 30 percent of defensive snaps, going on the field for 16 plays.
"[Jones has] done a nice job. He brings a good amount of energy to our team, to our defense. He's been assignment sound for the most part," head coach Sean McDermott said. "We call him Slim Phil. He's added to our team, I think after the cut down, somewhere thereafter, and he's done a good job of learning the system. And when healthy, he's doing a good job for us … he comes to work every day, ready to work."
Jones' first game with Buffalo was in Week 17. Since August, he was on the practice squad and got his moment to shine against the Eagles.
"Got him onto the practice squad early this year, beginning of the season. He continues to work, you see what he's doing on the practice squad and it just kind of piques your interest that, 'Hey, this guy's got some juice, he's got some energy, some relentlessness and give him a shot. Let's give him a shot,'" defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said of Jones. "He certainly has had an opportunity and has done some things to take advantage of that."
