Buffalo Bills

One week ago today, the Bills acquired former Steelers cornerback Darius Slay on waivers. Slay has still not reported.

Per agent Drew Rosenhaus, Slay remains undecided about playing again in 2025. For now, Slay is spending time with his family and taking a break from football.

The Bills placed Slay on the reserve/did not report list. They have yet to announce any plans beyond that. By all appearances, they’re waiting to see what Slay does.

On Wednesday, coach Sean McDermott referred any questions about Slay to G.M. Brandon Beane.

The Bills could, if they choose, pursue the recovery of a portion of the $8.74 million signing bonus Slay received from the Steelers as part of his one-year deal. They also could release him, which would subject him to waivers again.

The last time around, the Eagles also made a claim. The Bills had priority. Some in league circles believe Slay had hoped to get back to Philadelphia. When Slay appeared on a podcast last week, he wouldn’t say whether he would have reported to the Eagles, if they had secured the balance of his deal.

The Bills needed a win last Sunday to keep serious hopes of winning another AFC East title alive and quarterback Josh Allen came up big in the snow to get it for them.

Cincinnati took a 11-point lead over Allen and the Bills in the first half before the 2024 MVP was able to get things going. Allen threw touchdowns in the second and third quarter as the Bills kept pace with the Bengals and then ran for a 40-yard score to cut the deficit to three points. The Bills took a lead on an interception return by Christian Benford and Allen then helped put the game away with his third touchdown pass of the day.

Allen finished the afternoon 22-of-28 for 251 yards and he ran for 78 yards in the 39-34 win.

On Wednesday, the NFL announced that Allen has been named the AFC offensive player of the week for that effort. It’s the third time he’s taken those honors and the 18th time in his career.

The Giants are signing veteran punter Cameron Johnston to their practice squad, Dan Duggan of TheAthletic.com reports.

Johnston, who entered the NFL in 2017, was most recently with the Bills earlier this season.

The Giants’ regular punter, Jamie Gillan, is dealing with an undisclosed injury, per Duggan, which prompted a workout of several veteran punters.

The Wednesday injury report will provide more insight into Gillan’s injury.

Johnston has remained a free agent since the Bills released him from injured reserve on Nov. 13. A lower-leg injury in Week 4 sidelined him.

Johnston began his NFL career as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Eagles. He played three seasons in Philadelphia and was on the Super Bowl LII team.

In 2021, Johnston signed with the Texans and led the league in punting yards (4,108) and total punts (88). He played two more seasons in Houston before joining the Steelers in 2024.

In three games with the Bills this season, Johnston averaged 44.0 yards per punt with a net of 37.9.

We’ve reached the point in the regular season where teams can officially turn an eye toward January.

The Rams, Patriots, and Broncos are the three clubs that can clinch a postseason berth this week.

For Los Angeles, it’s simple: Win and you’re in. The Rams can only secure the NFC’s first playoff spot, with the NFC West still up for grabs between L.A., Seattle, and San Francisco.

Things are a little more complicated for two AFC teams.

New England will win the AFC East and secure a home playoff game with a victory over Buffalo. The Patriots can also clinch a postseason berth with a tie and a Chargers loss; a tie with a Texans loss or tie; a tie with a Colts loss or tie; or a tie with a Jaguars loss. New England would also clinch a berth if Houston loses or ties and Indianapolis loses or ties as long as both games don’t end in a tie.

Denver cannot clinch the AFC West on Sunday, but can clinch a postseason berth with a win. If Denver ties, a Chargers loss, or Jaguars loss, or Texans loss or tie, or Colts loss or tie would also secure a playoff spot. Additionally, the same New England clinching scenario with a Houston loss or tie plus an Indianapolis loss or tie, as long as both games don’t end in a tie, applies to Denver.

The Patriots will play the Bills at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, while Broncos-Packers and Rams-Lions both have a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff time.

No teams have clinched berths in the postseason yet, but the Patriots will have a chance to do that and more in Week 15.

If the Patriots complete a sweep of their two games against the Bills by beating them at home on Sunday, they will clinch the AFC East title for the first time since the 2019 season. That would be a significant accomplishment in head coach Mike Vrabel’s first year, but Vrabel said at a Monday press conference that he won’t be making the possibility of celebrating with commemorative merchandise a focus of the team’s preparation this week.

“No, I don’t use the hat and T-shirt,” Vrabel said, via a transcript from the team. “We’re just trying to play for the championship that we have available this week, and I think it’s a great testament to our players that have put us in this position to be able to do that. Again, that’s not going to be easy. This is a very good football team. There’s a reason that they’ve won this division five years in a row. A lot of respect for them. They’re never out of it, never down, and they may be down, and just like last week, it’s a football team that understands that somebody’s going to make a play. And then the quarterback is going to give them a chance to the very end.”

Ending the Bills’ run at the top of the AFC East would be a significant development for New England, but it doesn’t sound like there’s going to be much talk about anything but the next game in New England this week.

The Browns did not win on Sunday, but quarterback Shedeur Sanders put together an impressive enough performance to solidify his spot as QB1.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski announced in his Monday press conference that Sanders will remain Cleveland’s starter for the rest of the 2025 season.

“I think all along with our quarterbacks and our young players, you’re always making sure that you’re making the right decisions for our guys,” Stefanski said. “And I think he has constantly and consistently gotten better in each one of these games. And how he’s approached this game, he’s been working very hard. So, I feel good about where his development is heading. He knows there are always going to be plays where he can be better and those types of things. But he’s very intentional about getting better each and every game he’s out there.”

Sanders took over as the starter after Gabriel suffered a concussion against the Ravens in Week 11 and has started the team’s last three games. In his four appearances with three starts, Sanders has completed 52.4 percent of his passes for 769 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.

In Sunday’s loss to the Titans, Sanders finished 23-of-42 for 364 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He also took three carries for 29 yards with a TD.

Sanders’ next start will come on the road against the Bears in Week 15. Cleveland will follow that with games against Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati to cap the 2025 season.

The NFL MVP race still has two clear finalists. A third candidate is making a move.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has reclaimed the favorite status from Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Last week, Maye had -135 betting odds, and Stafford was at +135. This week, with Stafford having another strong game against the Cardinals and the Patriots on a bye, Stafford has moved to -180. Maye has fallen to +200.

Coming in at third is Packers quarterback Jordan Love. At +1000, he’s down from +1900 from last week. And if the 9-3-1 Packers keep winning and eventually secure one of the top seeds in the NFC, Love could get plenty of votes in the balloting, which happens within days after the completion of the regular season.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen is also lurking, at +1500. And he’s arguably the top overall quarterback, if not player, currently in the league. It will be hard for him to win the MVP award, however, if the Bills don’t win the AFC East.

There’s a big drop after Allen to Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, at +7500. One week ago, Prescott had the third position, at +1500.

Bottom line? Don’t sleep on Love. The Packers continue to surge, with four straight wins since losing back-to-back home games. He has 22 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. And he’s getting it done without a high-end receiving corps.

The Bills pulled within three points of the Bengals on a 40-yard touchdown run by quarterback Josh Allen midway through the fourth quarter on Sunday, but it was a play on the other side of the ball that blew the game open for the home team.

The Bengals had a first down in Bills territory a couple of minutes later and quarterback Joe Burrow’s attempt to add to the lead was thwarted by a blitzing Christian Benford. The Bills cornerback left his feet to snag Burrow’s pass and sprinted 63 yards for a touchdown that gave the Bills their first lead of the game.

Burrow would throw another interception on the next drive and the Bills would follow that up with another touchdown. After the 39-34 win, head coach Sean McDermott pointed to the Benford play as the major momentum changer.

“Just [a] big-time moment in the game,” head coach Sean McDermott said, via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com. “That’s this time of year. You’re looking for moments, guys doing their job, and when you do your job, good things happen. That’s what we saw happen. It was just a phenomenal play, phenomenal call. Just great to see.”

It was the second straight week with a touchdown for Benford and he also had a sack while allowing zero completions to Ja’Marr Chase while covering the Bengals star. Other top wideouts have suffered the same fate when matched up with Benford this season and the Bills will continue to lean on him down the stretch.

Two weeks ago, Bengals receiver Tee Higgins suffered a concussion when his helmet struck the artificial turf in Cincinnati. On Sunday, Higgins’ helmet hit the artificial turf multiple times in Buffalo.

“I’m a soldier,” Higgins told reporters after the game, via Gabi Sorrentino of Fox19. “Soldiers take hits. You know, it happens. It’s football. It’s the name of the game. But you’ve got to get up. Next play mentality.”

Higgins confirmed that he was checked multiple times for another concussion. He said he passed all tests.

Did Higgins consider pulling himself from the game given the concussion he suffered in Week 12?

“I didn’t think about that at all,” Higgins said. “I’m a team-first guy. You know what I mean? My team needed me, you know, I feel like they did. So I went out there and played. Tried to dog it out with my team.”

Higgins brushed off the multiple times his helmet struck the turf by saying, “It’s ball, man. It’s ball.”

Obviously, Higgins wouldn’t have been allowed to keep playing if he hadn’t cleared the concussion evaluations. And it’s entirely the player’s call as to whether he feels comfortable with staying in the game.

For much of Sunday’s game, the Bengals had taken it to the Bills on a snowy day in Western New York.

But then a nightmare sequence for Joe Burrow put Buffalo in control and ultimately allowed the Bills to come away with a 39-34 victory.

After Josh Allen rushed for a 40-yard touchdown to narrow Cincinnati’s lead to three points, the Bengals quickly made it to Buffalo territory and looked like they had a shot at expanding their advantage. But that’s when Christian Benford intercepted a Burrow pass to Ja’Marr Chase at the line of scrimmage, returning it 63 yards to the end zone for a go-ahead, pick-six.

Things went from bad to worse on Cincinnati’s ensuing drive, with Burrow’s first pass getting tipped at the line and picked off by defensive end A.J. Epenesa for another big turnover.

This ended up being a back-breaker, as Allen connected with tight end Jackson Hawes for a 3-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal to put Buffalo’s lead at 39-28.

While the Bengals scored quickly on a 25-yard touchdown from Burrow to Tee Higgins, the club couldn’t hit a two-point conversion to keep Buffalo’s lead at five points.

And Cincinnati’s beleaguered defense was poor again on third-and-15 just after the two-minute warning, allowing Allen to scramble for a 17-yard gain to seal his team’s victory.

Allen ended the contest 22-of-28 for 251 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. He also had 78 yards on nine carries with a TD.

Buffalo’s tight ends were particularly impactful against the Cincinnati defense, with Dawson Knox catching six passes for 93 yards. Dalton Kincaid had four receptions for 41 yards with a TD.

The Bengals mostly went right through Buffalo’s defense, netting 25 first downs, 338 total yards, and finishing 10-of-12 on third down. But Burrow’s two critical picks in the fourth quarter made the difference.

Burrow ended the contest 25-of-36 for 284 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Tee Higgins had six catches for 92 yards with a pair of TDs. Mike Gesicki had six catches for 86 yards with a touchdown while Ja’Marr Chase finished with five catches for 44 yards.

With the victory, the Bills are now 9-4 and are getting closer to securing their spot in the postseason. Buffalo will be on the road to face the Patriots in Week 15.

Cincinnati has now fallen to 4-9. The team will be at home to face Baltimore next Sunday.