Bills quarterback Josh Allen didn’t practice the last two days, but head coach Sean McDermott said that’s going to change on Friday.
McDermott said on WGR 550 that Allen will take part in the team’s final practice session of the week. McDermott also said that Allen is “good to go” for Sunday’s game against the Jets despite the foot injury he’s been dealing with the last couple of weeks.
McDermott did not say how much Allen would play, so it may just be a cameo appearance in the final regular season game to be played at Highmark Stadium.
The Bills will not have linebacker Terrel Bernard (calf), defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (calf) or safety Jordan Poyer (hamstring) this weekend. All three were ruled out by McDermott.
X-rays on Josh Allen’s foot were negative. His outlook for playing on Sunday is not currently positive.
The Bills quarterback did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday.
With the Bills seemingly destined to finish as the No. 6 seed in the AFC, and given that they’re playing the Jets, it could make sense to give Allen all or most of the day off on Sunday.
The injury happened in Week 16 against the Browns, on a long self-sack play. He finished the game, but his post-game contention that the foot didn’t affect him in the second half wasn’t convincing.
After seemingly aggravating it against the Eagles, Allen insisted it had “zero” impact on him. (And then he went to the X-ray room.) Meanwhile, Allen possibly rushed his throw on the fateful two-point misfire to receiver Khalil Shakir so that he wouldn’t have to try to run away on the injured foot from Eagles linebacker Jaelan Phillips.
Given that Sunday will likely be the last game at Highmark Stadium, maybe the Bills will give Allen a drive or two. Or maybe just one snap so he officially gets the start in the final game. There’s no point in risking further aggravation to his foot, not with the playoffs looming — and with Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and possibly Lamar Jackson not among the quarterbacks Allen may face.
With one week remaining in the regular season, the playoff field is almost set, as 12 teams have clinched playoff berths. But the playoff seeds remain in flux. Here’s a list of the teams remaining in contention for each playoff seed, and how they can earn those seeds.
NFC
1. Seahawks or 49ers. The winner of Saturday night’s Seahawks-49ers game in San Francisco will determine who gets the No. 1 seed in the NFC. If the teams tie, the Seahawks will be the No. 1 seed.
2. Bears or Eagles. If the Bears win or the Eagles lose, the Bears are the No. 2 seed. If the Bears lose and the Eagles win, the Eagles are the No. 2 seed.
3. Eagles or Bears. The team that doesn’t get the No. 2 seed gets the No. 3 seed. The Eagles are resting their starters and effectively conceding the No. 2 seed to the Bears and preparing to be the No. 3 seed.
4. Panthers or Buccaneers. If the Panthers beat or tie the Buccaneers on Saturday, the Panthers are the No. 4 seed. If the Panthers lose but the Falcons win on Sunday, the Panthers are also the No. 4 seed. If the Buccaneers win and the Falcons lose or tie, the Buccaneers are the No. 4 seed.
5. 49ers or Seahawks or Rams. If the Seahawks lose on Saturday, they are the No. 5 seed. If the 49ers lose on Saturday and the Rams lose on Sunday, the 49ers are the No. 5 seed. If the 49ers lose on Saturday and the Rams win on Sunday, the Rams are the No. 5 seed.
6. Rams or 49ers. If the Rams lose or the 49ers win, the Rams are the No. 6 seed. If the 49ers lose and the Rams win, the 49ers are the No. 6 seed.
7. Packers. The Packers are the only team that has clinched its playoff seed. The Packers are the No. 7 seed in the NFC regardless of anything that happens in Week 18.
AFC
1. Broncos or Patriots or Jaguars. If the Broncos win or the Patriots and Jaguars both lose, the Broncos are the No. 1 seed.
If the Patriots win and the Broncos lose, the Patriots are the No. 1 seed.
If the Jaguars win and the Broncos and Patriots both lose, the Jaguars are the No. 1 seed.
2. Patriots or Broncos or Jaguars. If the Patriots and Broncos both win, the Patriots are the No. 2 seed. If the Patriots and Jaguars both lose, the Patriots are the No. 2 seed. If the Broncos win and the Jaguars lose, the Patriots are the No. 2 seed regardless of what the Patriots do.
If the Broncos lose, the Patriots win and the Jaguars lose, the Broncos are the No. 2 seed. If the Broncos lose, the Patriots lose and the Jaguars win, the Broncos are the No. 2 seed.
If the Jaguars win, the Broncos lose and the Patriots win, the Jaguars are the No. 2 seed. If the Jaguars win, the Broncos win and the Patriots lose, the Jaguars are the No. 2 seed.
3. Jaguars or Broncos or Patriots or Texans. If the Jaguars, Broncos and Patriots all win, or the Jaguars tie, thie Jaguars are the No. 3 seed. If the Jaguars and Texans both lose, the Jaguars are the No. 3 seed. If the Broncos win, the Patriots win and the Texans lose, the Jaguars are the No. 3 seed regardless of what the Jaguars do.
If the Broncos lose and Patriots and Jaguars both win, the Broncos are the No. 3 seed.
If the Patriots lose and the Jaguars win, the Patriots are the No. 3 seed.
If the Texans win and the Jaguars lose, the Texans are the No. 3 seed.
4. Steelers or Ravens. If the Steelers beat or tie the Ravens on Sunday night, the Steelers are the No. 4 seed. If the Ravens win, the Ravens are the No. 4 seed.
5. Texans or Jaguars or Chargers or Bills. If the Texans and Jaguars both win, the Texans are the No. 5 seed. If the Texans, Chargers and Bills all lose, the Texans are the No. 5 seed. If the Jaguars win and the Chargers and Bills lose, the Texans are the No. 5 seed regardless of what the Texans do.
If the Jaguars lose, the Texans win and the Bills lose, the Jaguars are the No. 5 seed. (There are also scenarios that see the Jaguars as the 5 seed based on the strength of victory tiebreaker with the Chargers.)
If the Chargers win and the Texans lose, the Chargers are the No. 5 seed. If the Chargers win and the Jaguars lose, the Chargers could also get the No. 5 seed based on clinching the strength of victory tiebreaker over the Jaguars.
If the Bills win, the Chargers lose and either the Texans or Jaguars lose, the Bills are the No. 5 seed.
6. Chargers or Jaguars or Texans or Bills. If the Chargers, Texans and Jaguars all win, the Chargers are the No. 6 seed. If the Chargers and Bills both lose, the Chargers are the No. 6 seed. If the Texans win and the Bills lose, the Chargers are the No. 6 seed regardless of what the Chargers do.
If the Jaguars and Chargers both lose, and the Texans and Bills both win, the Jaguars are the No. 6 seed.
If the Texans lose and either the Bills lose and Chargers win, or the Bills win and Chargers lose, the Texans are the No. 6 seed.
If the Bills win, the Chargers lose and the Texans and Jaguars both win, the Bills are the No. 6 seed. If the Bills win, the Chargers win and the Texans lose, the Bills are the No. 6 seed.
7. Bills or Jaguars or Texans or Chargers. If the Bills lose, the Bills are the No. 7 seed. If the Chargers, Texans and Jaguars all win, the Bills are the No. 7 seed regardless of what the Bills do.
If the Jaguars lose and the Texans, Chargers and Bills all win, the Jaguars can be the No. 7 seed if the Chargers clinch the strength of victory tiebreaker over the Jaguars.
If the Texans lose and the Chargers and Bills both win, the Texans are the No. 7 seed.
If the Chargers lose and the Bills win, the Chargers are the No. 7 seed.
Attention, Bengals: This is how you do it.
The Buffalo Bills have issued a call for snow shovelers in advance of Sunday’s finale against the Jets. It’ll be the last regular-season game played at the team’s long-time home, and likely the last game ever played there.
Buffalo has a very small chance of hosting the AFC Championship. If the Bills finish as the No. 5 seed in the AFC, they could host a divisional round game if the sixth and seventh seeds win in the wild-card round, and the AFC Championship if the seventh seed upends the No. 1 seed in the divisional round.
Before that happens, the Bills need to be the No. 5 seed. Which requires the Bills to win on Sunday, the Chargers to lose to the Broncos, and either a Jaguars loss to the Titans or a Texans loss to the Colts.
So, basically, Sunday is likely the swan song. Which means Saturday is the last chance to show up and dig out the snow. (Until next year, at the new stadium.)
The team’s offer is $20 per hour, hot food and beverages, and (for the first 500) free Highmark Stadium branded gloves.
League rules require the home team to remove snow from all seating areas. The Bengals failed to do that last month, prior to a home game against the Ravens. But since the league essentially gave the Bengals a pass, they saved some money by not clearing the snow.
When Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver went on injured reserve with a torn biceps earlier this season, there was some hope that he’d be able to return in the postseason.
That possibility has been altered by an injury to his knee that Oliver suffered while rehabbing. Head coach Sean McDermott said on Wednesday that Oliver had a surgical procedure to repair the injury and that it “probably adds a little bit of cloudiness to his return window.”
“So I don’t have as much clarity on that return, but there’s still a chance that it’s somewhere where they initially forecasted it to be,” McDermott said, via Matt Perrino of NewYorkUpstate.com.
Oliver’s return would be a major boost to the Buffalo defensive line, but it doesn’t appear to be anything that the team can count on as they prepare for another bid to get to the Super Bowl for the first time in the Josh Allen era.
