Sunday’s loss to the Eagles closed the door on the Bills’ chances of winning the AFC East and opened the door to questions for head coach Sean McDermott about his plans for who will play in Week 18 against the Jets.
The game will have bearing on the team’s playoff seed, but they know they will be on the road in the playoffs whether they win, lose or tie their 3-13 visitors from New Jersey. Their chances of winning those postseason road games would tank if quarterback Josh Allen aggravates his foot injury or if he or other key players suffered new injuries, which is among the many things McDermott suggested will be taken to account as the team comes up with a plan for the finale.
“Where do you want to start? We’ve got a lot of things we need to discuss as a leadership group,” McDermott said. “You’ve got the last game in Highmark Stadium here. That’s important to me, It’ll be important to our guys, to our staff. Then there’s other things that come into consideration. It won’t be easy, but it is important that we have a good week here.”
A good week for the Bills would mean putting themselves in the best possible position to win in the playoffs and we’ll learn in the coming days how McDermott and company plan to go about that.
Earlier this month, after the the Jets lost to the Jaguars by the throw of 48-20, I said on PFT Live there’s a “chance” Jets coach Aaron Glenn will be one and done. Some Jets fans took aggressive issue with that notion, once the sound bite was clipped and posted on Twitter.
The following weekend, multiple reports emerged that Glenn is safe. Two more 20-plus-point losses later, including an ugly, listless showing in the home finale, Glenn remains in the undecided column.
Since beating the Falcons on November 30 to get to 3-9 (and 3-2 in their most recent five games), it’s been brutal for Glenn and the Jets. A 34-10 loss to the Dolphins. The 28-point loss to the Jags. A 29-6 loss to the Saints. And a 42-10 blowout to the Patriots in a game that would have been much worse if the Pats hadn’t called off the dogs.
The end result, per Cimini, is a point differential for December of minus-107 is the worst in NFL history.
It all comes down to owner Woody Johnson. After the Week 17 debacle, Glenn said this about Johnson, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com: “ I do know there’s a belief in me and there’s a belief in him. I’m glad I took this job.”
It’s for Johnson to decide whether to take the job away. Until Johnson declares Glenn is safe, there’s a chance he’s not.
The Patriots may not need to go on the road in the playoffs, but they can feel confident in their ability to win away from home if they have to play outside of Gillette Stadium.
Drake Maye threw five touchdown passes to spur the Patriots to a 42-10 rout of the Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. The win gave the Patriots an 8-0 record on the season and keeps them in the mix for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
They’ll need a win over the Dolphins in Week 18 and a Chargers win over the Broncos in order to snag that spot in the tournament. They may also need a win over the Dolphins to secure the AFC East title as the Bills can keep their bid for a sixth straight title alive by beating the Eagles later on Sunday. The Bills will face the 3-13 Jets in Week 18, so New England probably won’t be banking on any help on that front next weekend.
Maye’s five touchdowns were part of a game-opening streak of six touchdowns in six possessions for a Patriots team that was unbothered by anything the Jets tried to throw in their path during the meaningful portion of Sunday’s game. Maye wound up taking a seat with 20 minutes left in the game and New England’s backups played out the rest of the laugher.
The Patriots did not appear to lose any significant players to injuries during the win, which is a good development for a team hoping to get players like Kayshon Boutte, Jared Wilson, Will Campbell, Milton Williams, and Harold Landry back for Week 18 and the playoffs.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye will be getting some extended time on the bench on Sunday.
Maye threw his fifth touchdown pass of the day on New England’s first possession of the second half to put the Patriots up 42-3 over the Jets and then remained on the bench when the offense returned to the field with 5:31 to play in the third quarter.
He ends the day 19-of-21 for 256 yards and the Patriots have scored touchdowns all six times they’ve had the ball. That should help Maye’s MVP chances unless voters discount his performance because of the low level of competition that the Patriots are facing on Sunday.
Josh Dobbs is now running the offense and the Patriots will soon turn their attention to rooting for the Eagles to beat the Bills so that they can celebrate an AFC East title.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is doing all he can to bolster his MVP case in Week 17.
Maye threw four touchdown passes in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Jets and the Patriots scored touchdowns on all five of their possessions to go into the break with a commanding 35-3 lead. Maye finished the half 17-of-19 for 229 yards and he added 22 yards on three runs for good measure.
Maye’s touchdown passes went to Austin Hooper, Rhamondre Stevenson, Stefon Diggs, and Hunter Henry. Diggs’ touchdown came on his 80th catch of the season and that triggered a $500,000 incentive on the veteran wideout’s contract.
The team managed 344 yards and appeared to gather some extra motivation by a roughing the passer penalty on their final scoring drive of the second quarter. That appeared to lead to Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel’s decision to call a timeout with the Jets facing a 3rd-and-12 with 19 seconds left before halftime and Vrabel then had to try to calm defensive tackle Christian Barmore down after some extracurricular activity on the final play of the half.
We’ll see if the prospect of further shenanigans impacts the Patriots’ decision to keep key players on the field in the second half because the only thing that could go wrong for them at this point would be an injury that impacts their chances of making a long playoff run.
