New York Jets (4-11) @ Buffalo Bills (12-3)
Sunday, December 29, 1:00 PM ET
The Buffalo Bills are heading into Sunday action ready to potentially make their case for the #1 overall seed. At the very least, they need to secure a win against the New York Jets to solidify the #2 seed. A win on Sunday would do exactly that for the Bills and guarantee them home-field advantage at least until the AFC Championship round if they can make it that far.
And we’ve seen absolutely no indication that they won’t be able to do that.
Josh Allen is playing at an MVP level this season. James Cook has been absolutely outstanding for this Bills offense. Different receivers have stepped up at different times for this team. The Bills have been making plays defensively.
They certainly have the look of a championship-caliber team, but at this time of the year, it’s almost like the NFL Red Zone “Witching Hour” where wins become losses and losses become wins. You can never count out the “bad” teams late in the season because these guys on the other side are playing for their next contracts, trying to put stuff on tape, and frankly the idea that NFL teams tank is way overplayed.
The current Jets have no skin in the game for next year. Why would any of these guys be playing for a higher draft pick? They’d much rather go into Buffalo and prove that they can hang with a team like the Bills as opposed to just laying down for this one and letting Buffalo get that #2 seed (or even #1 seed) easily.
Buffalo is a whopping 9.5-point favorite for this game which is understandable. They are expected to take care of business at home against a team that has under-performed all season. But they can’t sleep, either. I’ll give the Bills a 10-point win but just remember the Witching Hour of the late NFL season.
Prediction: Bills win 31-20