Cutline: Josh Allen and Ray Davis connect on a high-five during the win over the Jets on Sunday. Allen connected on two touchdown passes and ran for a third. Ben Green/Buffalo Bills photo
By CHUCK POLLOCK, Sun Senior Sports Columnist
What’s certain is, the Bills have earned the No. 2 seed in the American Football Conference playoffs. That was assured Sunday afternoon in front of 70,728 raucous fans at Highmark Stadium as Buffalo (13-3) locked up that spot with an emphatic 40-14 victory over the Jets.
What’s uncertain is who they will play when the postseason begins two weeks hence.
Odds are that the opponent in Orchard Park will be Denver (9-7), though Cincinnati (8-8) could earn that seventh seed with a Broncos loss to top-seeded Kansas City, which has nothing to play for, and a Bengals win at Pittsburgh (10-6).
Indeed, even Miami (8-8) stayed alive by beating Cleveland but could only earn the seventh seed by beating the Jets in the Meadowlands next Sunday and having both the Broncos and Bengals lose on the road.
Meanwhile, Buffalo, after a lousy performance in beating the Patriots 24-21 last week in Orchard Park, has nothing at stake when the Bills travel to Foxboro to meet New England next Sunday.
An upbeat Bills coach Sean McDermott enthused, “Josh Allen showed why he should be MVP (two TD passes and a rushing score) and it was great to see our offense show what they’re able to do.
“I’ve been around this league long enough to see MVPs every year for many years and what he has done on this team, for this organization and in this community and no offense to anyone else, but I have a hard time believing that someone’s done more.”
He added, “We played a game last week where I felt we beat ourselves in certain situations … we didn’t play our best football but we found a way to win. I think that’s important if you don’t have your best game and this one, we knew this was going to be a tough game and it was … 12-0 for (most of the first half) and then we blew it open. Really, that’s how the NFL is and if you can blow it open you’ve got to make sure you finish it off and our defense did a great job of that.”
IN ASSESSING his team’s performance, McDermott pointed out, “It goes back to guys working hard, working together, being unselfish, coming to work every day focused on getting the job done. We know there are some doubters out there and we knew that early in the year. The team just did a great job of coming together led by Josh and did a phenomenal job of trying to adjust week-to-week. We’ve had some injuries and guys have stepped up for us and that’s been important as well.”
As for next week’s game offering a chance to rest some starters, McDermott admitted he hadn’t thought much about it, yet, but added, “It does give us options and we’ll see where it takes us … we’ve got some guys who are hurting now and might need some rest.
“We also have some guys we might want to take a look at, offense, defense or special teams that we’re curious about but maybe just weren’t ready to be active yet. So I’ll sit down with Brandon (Beane, general manager) and Terry (Pegula, owner) and we’ll try to make the best decision overall for our organization.”
Allen wants to keep alive his streak of NFL starts but that can be accomplished by having him take the game-opening snap, handing off and leaving the game after a single game.
NOTES FROM the Bills’ 40-14 evisceration of the Jets on Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium that clinched the AFC’s No. 2 seed for Buffalo:
— The win marked the third time in franchise history that the Bills went undefeated (8-0) at home in the regular season, following the 1988 and ‘90 seasons.
— The Bills logged their first safety of the campaign when Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was tackled in the end zone by Buffalo edge rusher A.J.Epenesa. It was Buffalo’s first safety since Nov. 2022 when defensive tackle Ed Oliver tackled Lions quarterback Jared Goff in the end zone.
— Buffalo’s first takeaway came when defensive tackle Jordan Phillips intercepted a deflected Aaron Rodgers pass by edge rusher Greg Rousseau. It was the second of his 10-year career.
— The Bills second takeaway was an interception of Rodgers by cornerback Christian Benford, his second of the season. It ended the Jets’ QB’s streak of 14 touchdown passes and one pick in the previous eight games. It also came one play after Rodgers was sacked by Rousseau, giving him a team-leading 8.5 on the season. That sack also made Rodgers the NFL’s all-time leader in that statistic as he passed Tom Brady who was dumped 565 times.
— Oliver also knocked the ball loose from Jets’ wide receiver Garrett Wilson with linebacker Matt Milano recovering. Later he recorded his third sack of the season.
— Veteran Bills’ edge rusher Von Miller logged his fifth sack of the season giving him 128.5 for his career, the most of any active player.
–Buffalo wide receiver Amari Cooper became the eighth active player to exceed the 10,000-yard standard for receptions. On the next snap, Cooper made a spectacular catch on a 30-yard touchdown pass. It marked the 43rd time that Allen had thrown for and rushed for a TD in the same game. He now trails only Cam Newton, who has 45, the most in NFL history.
— Allen’s 1-yard “tush push” touchdown in the first quarter was the 65th rushing score of his pro career, tying him for the Bills record with Thurman Thomas.
— Bills’ practice squad wide receiver Tyrell Shavers was active and caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Trubisky, his first reception as a pro. It also was a franchise record as 13 Buffalo players have caught touchdown passes this season.
— Inactive for the Bills were safety Damar Hamlin (ribs), wide receiver Curtis Samuel (ribs), cornerback Kaiir Elam, linebacker Nicholas Morrow, offensive tackle Tylan Grable and defensive tackle Austin Johnson.
Milano and safety Taylor Rapp were active. Cam Lewis replaced Hamlin and Keon Coleman took Samuel’s spot
— Although seven Jets starters were questionable for the game, all of them played.
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
Read more from Chuck:
• Pollock Prediction: Bills will beat Jets in a must-win game for playoff seeding
• What happened during those six lost days
• Bills didn’t play with a sense of urgency against the Patriots
• Bills passed a big test against the Lions
• The media missed the point with questions of McDermott
• We did not expect the Rams-Bills results as Josh Allen sets major records
• Will the Bills be motivated against the Rams?
• Schmidt doesn’t want the Bonnies to get caught up in 12-1 talk
• A look at the rise under Sean McDermott
• The snow and the Buffalo Bills were too much for the 49ers
• St. Bonaventure Bonnies put unbeaten hoops record on the line in ESPN Tournament
• Pollock Prediction on San Fran at Buffalo Sunday night game
• A look at Terry Pegula’s beginnings in Olean and his competitive drive to win
• A look at McDermott’s smart play-calling and why aren’t we talking more about James Cook?
• Can the Bills do this to the Chiefs in the playoffs? Josh Allen touchdown run seals victory
• Pollock predicts a one-point Kansas City victory
• What happened to this being a rebuilding season for the Buffalo Bills?
• A dominating performance by the Bills
• Pollock predicts a Bills victory over the Colts on the road
• Thoughts on the 61-yard Bass field goal and where the Bills sit
• Solid win to open the season for the Bonnies
• Bass vindicated by 61-yard field goal to beat the Dolphins
• Bills don’t own the Dolphins but have an option to buy; prediction 27-20 (final was 30-27)
• The season is here for St. Bonaventure basketball
• St. Bonaventure speaks out, “We got Woj”
• Mark Schmidt on the NIL deals and the Bona NIT mess
• Pollock on the passing of St. Bonaventure legend Paul Hoffman
• Pollock on listening to the radio and the days of Willie Mays
• Houghton’s Phil Stockin gets Cazzie Russell to the Castle in Olean and then a title for the Knicks?
• The right hire for St. Bonaventure to lead the athletic department
• The inside story on why WPIG left the Bonnies after 74 years and a Gary Nease update
• Bill Walton was must-see basketball when he played in Buffalo for the Braves
