The Bills will head into Week 18 knowing that they won’t have to go on the road in the playoffs until the AFC Championship Game.
Josh Allen threw two touchdowns and the Bills broke a relatively close game against the Jets open in the second half to clinch the No. 2 seed in the conference. The 40-14 win moves them up to 13-3 on the season and it will allow them to rest starters against the Patriots in a Week 18 game that will only matter to New England’s position in the draft order.
Allen opened the scoring with a one-yard sneak for the 65th rushing touchdown of his career. That tied him with Thurman Thomas for the franchise record, but the Bills opted not to give him a chance to break the impasse when they got back to the 1-yard-line later in the game. James Cook ran it in for his league-best 15th touchdown of the season.
Allen was 16-of-27 for 182 yards through the air and his touchdowns went to wide receivers Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman. Mitch Trubiusky also hit wide receiver Tyrell Shavers for a 69-yard touchdown on Shavers’ first NFL catch.
If the Bills do decide to rest Allen, that will rest his MVP case while Lamar Jackson will be playing for a Ravens team that will be trying to nail down a division title of their own in Week 18.
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has some MVPs of his own, but those days feel like ancient history right now. Rodgers was sacked four times in Sunday’s loss and he became the most-sacked quarterback in history the second time he was dropped for a loss. He also threw two interceptions and drew a penalty for a late hit after the second of them before the Jets finally turned to Tyrod Taylor in the fourth quarter.
Taylor led the Jets to two touchdowns against his former team and there will certainly be questions about whether he’ll get the start in Week 18 against the Dolphins. If he does, Sunday’s game might have been Rodgers’s swan song but that’s one of many questions for the Jets to focus on when this dismal season finally comes to an end.
