The Buffalo Bills will play their final regular-season game in Highmark Stadium on Sunday when they meet the visiting New York Jets in Orchard Park, N.Y.
The Bills have a 246-163 record in Highmark Stadium, which was Rich Stadium when it opened in 1973 and later Ralph Wilson Stadium. Buffalo will play its home games in a new facility next season.
“The fans and the environment have been so special here,” Buffalo coach Sean McDermott said. “I think that’s where it starts.”
Buffalo (11-5) has secured a playoff spot, but the Bills’ streak of five straight AFC East titles ended when last weekend’s 13-12 loss to Philadelphia handed the division title to New England.
The Bills can be seeded as high as No. 5 for the AFC playoffs if they beat the Jets, but their seeding will depend on the results of Week 18 games that involve the Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville and Houston.
The Jets (3-13) have lost their last four games and six of their last seven. When New York coach Aaron Glenn was asked Wednesday how he felt about his job security, he said his focus is on Sunday’s game.
“I want to beat the Bills — that’s what I’m thinking about,” he said. “That’s it.”
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen, the 2024 NFL MVP, has completed 69.3% of his passes this season. He’s thrown 25 touchdown passes and has been intercepted 10 times. Allen has also run for 14 TDs, which is third in the NFL, but he has been dealing with a foot injury and didn’t practice Wednesday. McDermott said Allen is moving in the right direction.
“He’s in a better spot early this week than he was last week,” McDermott said. “That’s all I can tell you right now.
“There’s a lot of different paths and approaches we can take, but at the end of the day the one I always come back to is ‘What’s best for the team?’ That’s really where we’re at right now.”
Buffalo running back James Cook is No. 2 in the NFL in rush attempts (307) and No. 1 in rushing yards (1,606).
“When it comes to this game obviously we don’t have to talk about their personnel,” Glenn said. “Obviously we know who their guys are and we know how this team operates.”
Although Tyrod Taylor has returned to the Jets after dealing with a personal situation, Glenn said rookie Brady Cook will be the starting quarterback Sunday. It will be the fourth straight game Cook has started. He has one TD pass and seven interceptions during that span.
The Jets were held to 54 passing yards in their 30-10 loss to Buffalo in Week 2.
The Bills have allowed the fewest passing yards in the NFL this season (163.4 per game) and the fourth-fewest passing TDs (18), but have surrendered the most rushing TDs (24) and third-most rushing yards (140.4 per game).
McDermott said linebacker Terrel Bernard won’t play Sunday. Bernard, the team’s defensive captain, sustained a calf injury during the second quarter of last week’s loss.
Running back Breece Hall is among the Jets players who didn’t practice Wednesday. Hall sustained a knee injury during last Sunday’s loss to New England. He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark by rushing for 111 yards on 14 carries in the loss.
