Four keys for the Buffalo Bills to beat the Philadelphia Eagles

HipKat · Dec 28, 2025

Four keys for the Buffalo Bills to beat the Philadelphia Eagles

Buffalo News sports reporter Katherine Fitzgerald highlights four keys to a Buffalo Bills victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

buffalonews.com

1. Slow Saquon

The Buffalo Bills' defense will be tasked with shutting down Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley has yet to face the Bills as a member of the Eagles, but in two career meetings with Buffalo – both with the New York Giants – Barkley had 200 rushing yards total on 42 carries. Now, both Barkley and the Bills' defense have evolved since then, but he is still a force on the field. The Bills' run defense has been gashed this season. Now, they’ll have to stop a premiere back in a game slated to have gross weather. And Barkley is coming off a strong game versus Washington.

“Saquon was doing things that only Saquon can do,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts throws a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown during the second half against the Bills in 2023.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News

2. Touchdowns, not field goals

Members of the Bills' offense, led by quarterback Josh Allen, often say they are looking for seven points on every drive. They will want to meet that goal on Sunday. First, they’ll want to put up points on Philadelphia to give the Buffalo defense a break. But the Bills also could be shaky at special teams right now, so they won’t want to chance field goals. Kicker Matt Prater will be out again with a right quad injury, and Michael Badgley did not have the most convincing performance against the Cleveland Browns last week. Instead, the offense needs to stay on the field and reach the end zone in what is likely to be a close game.

3. Find answers at receiver

Asked about the wide receiving corps on Friday, McDermott said that where the Bills want to be and where they are – as far as the philosophy of rostering receivers for matchups versus for consistency – are “two different things.” The Bills will want to figure that out quickly.

“That's just being real with you here,” McDermott said. “We're trying to find that in order to get it to here, it's just taken longer than we would have liked at this point. But I remain confident in the guys in that room, in the wide receiver room that you're referring to, and I'm looking forward to them coming out, playing with a chip on their shoulder and getting us into a groove, here.”

4. Last-minute tune up

With the Bills’ regular season ending with a meeting with the New York Jets, Sunday will be a good chance to see how Buffalo does against a high-caliber team like Philadelphia. The goal, of course, is to win, but the Bills can also use the 60 minutes as a measuring stick of what there is to still correct before the playoffs.
“They're certainly at the top and world champs,” McDermott said of the Eagles. “They've got a really strong roster as has been talked about for years now. So we'll have our hands full, but looking forward to and fully confident in our guys, as well, and looking forward to the challenge."

HipKat · Dec 28, 2025

Bills numbers to know: 4 trends for Buffalo's game against defending champion Eagles

The Bills have an AFC-best plus-310 point differential against NFC opponents since 2020, with the Chiefs (plus-247) and Ravens (plus-215) ranking second and third, respectively.

buffalonews.com

714

No NFL team has put fewer than seven defenders in the box to try to stop the run than the Philadelphia Eagles (714), according to Next Gen Stats. The Bills average 6 yards per carry when a defense uses a light box and they have 24 runs of 10-plus yards. James Cook leads the NFL with 1,532 rushing yards, and he has gained a league-high 498 rushing yards before contact.

Bills running back James Cook leads the NFL with 1,532 rushing yards.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News

120

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley has gained at least 120 rushing yards in two of the last three weeks, ranking first in carries (63) and second in rushing yards (332) since Week 14. Though the Bills' run defense has struggled for much of the season, they have hit opposing running backs behind the line of scrimmage at the fifth-highest rate, according to Next Gen Stats. On plays in which Buffalo fails to make contact with the runner behind the line, it allows 8.5 yards per carry.

40%

Philadelphia has held quarterbacks to a league-best 40% completion percentage on throws that travel 10-19 yards, according to Next Gen Stats. Bills quarterback Josh Allen has excelled on such throws, completing 58% of those passes for 986 yards and seven touchdowns with three interceptions. It also may be challenging for Allen to rely on tight end Dalton Kincaid, as the Eagles have held tight ends lined up in the slot to the third-lowest completion percentage.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts runs against the Raiders during a game on Sunday in Philadelphia.
Matt Slocum, Associated Press

310

The Bills have an AFC-best plus-310 point differential against NFC opponents since 2020, with the Chiefs (plus-247) and Ravens (plus-215) ranking second and third, respectively. The Eagles are the only NFL team Buffalo has yet to beat during Sean McDermott's nine seasons as coach. The Bills have not defeated them since Oct. 9, 2011, when Ryan Fitzpatrick and Fred Jackson led Buffalo to a 31-24 victory at The Ralph.

HipKat · Dec 28, 2025

Injuries mount on Bills’ defense, questions at WR remain ahead of Eagles matchup

The Bills will be facing a potent offense and run defense when they host the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles on Sunday.

www.nytimes.com

Bills linebacker Shaq Thompson, who left the Dec. 21 game against the Browns with a neck injury, has been limited during the practice week. Nick Cammett / Getty Images

With only two games to go in the regular season, the Buffalo Bills are keeping their slim hopes of a home playoff game to begin the postseason alive. A four-game winning streak has certainly helped strengthen their position, but they do not control who gets home-field advantage.

Down one game to the AFC East-leading New England Patriots (12-3), the Bills (11-4) have their work cut out for them. Given that the Patriots have a Brady Cook-led New York Jets team this weekend, the Bills will likely need to win their final two games and hope for help from the Miami Dolphins in Week 18.

It all begins for the Bills on Sunday against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles (10-5), which is the first of two home games to close out the 2025 season. Even through the winning streak, the Bills are still trying to overcome some questions as the playoffs draw near.

What stood out this week during their preparation for the Eagles game? Here is our Week 17 notebook, with some intriguing comments from the head coach about the state of one position that has been a consistent source of frustration.

WR carousel likely to take another spin

To say the 2025 season at wide receiver hasn’t gone the way the Bills wanted it to would be putting it lightly. The Bills had plenty of hope heading into the season that someone on the boundary would step up and turn a question mark into a strength, but that hasn’t happened. The Bills receiver group has been, without question, the most volatile group from one week to the next. Bills head coach Sean McDermott craves lineup continuity from one week to the next, while understanding that the general injury attrition is a part of the game. But if pieces are healthy, McDermott wants to know who the team favors and what their ideal roles would be if all are healthy. As that focus has become clearer everywhere else on the roster, at wide receiver, it’s become increasingly blurrier.

In 15 games this season, the Bills have had nine different receivers active for at least one game. After accounting for game-day inactives, they have also had a different receiver lineup in nine of those 15 games, but even that has become increasingly more volatile since the start of the year, when the Bills realized they had a bit of a problem on their hands. Since Week 4, the Bills have had eight different game-day wide receiver lineups out of 12 games — a change of one or more in 67 percent of their games. That only slightly had to do with injury, but more recently, it’s been all about who they choose to be a healthy scratch. The Bills have had a different game-day receiver configuration in five of their last six games.

On Friday, McDermott was asked about the balancing act between having the continuity of the same five receivers every week versus trying to find the best five for the playoffs. His response was quite illuminating to the team’s thought process.

“We’re very aware — a heightened awareness of that, especially down the stretch. [Continuity is] what we want, and where we’re at are, right now, two different things. That’s just being real with you here,” McDermott said. “But we’re trying to find that in order to get it to [continuity]. It’s just … it’s taken longer than we would have liked at this point. But I remain confident in the guys in that room … and I’m looking forward to them coming out, playing with a chip on their shoulder and getting us into a groove here.”

The Bills now have a whopping seven receivers on their 53-man roster. Last week, Keon Coleman and Gabe Davis were healthy scratches, and despite having Mecole Hardman active, Buffalo did not give him a single snap on offense. Khalil Shakir is a lineup staple every week and is in no jeopardy of being removed from the game-day roster. But the other three — Tyrell Shavers, Joshua Palmer and Brandin Cooks — combined for only 23 yards and two receptions against the Cleveland Browns. The week before, with Coleman in and Hardman out, the non-Shakir receivers were responsible for exactly one reception and 16 yards against the Patriots. The last two weeks have been the two lowest outputs of the boundary receivers of the entire 2025 season.

Looking at the production, the film, and considering what McDermott said on Friday, it seems very possible, if not likely, that the Bills will have a 10th different game day receiver configuration. Davis seems the likeliest for inclusion, given that he’s been a healthy scratch the last two weeks during those two lowest outputs of the year. Past that, it seems completely up in the air. Cooks has uncovered deep, but failed to bring in a well-thrown pass from Josh Allen. Hardman could assume some of those vertical routes from Cooks, but is an overall less accomplished receiver. Palmer flopped in his first game as a high percentage snap receiver, and Coleman’s 2025 up-and-down journey has been well documented. As the Bills are desperately searching for answers, any group of five is on the table on Sunday. But anything they do is merely a Band-Aid scenario to try and find their playoff five. The Bills know that something has to change in the offseason. For now, they’ll just have to make the best of a sub-optimal situation.

Defensive injuries mounting for a week, at least

The Bills’ streak of having at least one member of their 53-man roster unable to practice continued in Week 17. They suffered injuries to three of their 11 defensive starters in the Browns game, and all three are at risk of missing the Week 17 contest against the Eagles. Safety Jordan Poyer, linebacker Shaq Thompson and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones each had an injury or an injury setback against the Browns.

Poyer, who has suddenly become a massively important piece of their defense and how they’ve been able to put together some shutdown moments recently, suffered a hamstring injury late in the game. McDermott ruled Poyer out against the Eagles even before Friday’s practice. The other two, Thompson and Jones, still have some uncertainty about their availability on Sunday. Thompson, who started at middle linebacker over the usual starter Terrel Bernard, had to leave the game with a neck injury after only 11 snaps. Thompson has been limited during the practice week, but given his increasing importance and the nature of the injury, it would not be shocking to see him inactive with the playoffs just around the corner. Jones suffered what McDermott called a “little bit” of a setback to a calf injury that has lingered since Week 6. Jones was a non-participant at practice on Wednesday and Thursday, and was not seen on the practice field on Friday, either. With no practice time and the injury impacting his season, the Bills declared him out on Friday, despite leaving the light on for him ahead of Friday’s practice session.

These injuries to three of their most important run defenders seem like pretty bad timing. When the Eagles’ rushing attack gets going, it can take over a game. Without Thompson, the Bills are likely to turn back to Bernard in a full-time role and hope that he holds up better against blocks and at the point of attack. Jones could mean more time for rookie T.J. Sanders, potentially in a starting role, which would allow the team to see how far Sanders has come.

Jordan Poyer was ruled out for the Eagles game before the Bills’ Friday practice.Scott Galvin / Imagn Images

No Jordan Poyer; who starts at safety?

The Bills certainly didn’t plan for Poyer to become one of the team’s most important starters down the stretch of the 2025 season, but after working through several injuries and inconsistencies, that’s just what he’s become. Poyer has formed a very good partnership with second-year starter and emerging defensive star Cole Bishop. This Sunday will be the first time since Oct. 5 that Bishop has paired with anyone other than Poyer. In the time that Poyer has cemented his starting status, the Bills have mitigated some of the risk of starting a 34-year-old safety by taking him out of the equation in obvious passing situations. From Week 8 through Week 14, they had, for the most part, entrusted their fifth-round rookie Jordan Hancock with the very focused role of passing down safety. But that, and the Bills’ overall approach to obvious passing downs, has evolved over the last month of the season.

Hancock has barely touched the field over the last two games, getting only two snaps against the Patriots and none against the Browns. Instead, it was Cam Lewis — usually a nickel corner — perched up top at safety in Hancock’s place. That change was a byproduct of a more significant alteration of their third-down defense, which is the reintroduction of linebacker Matt Milano in those situations. Milano has played his best football of the season over the last five games, and it’s encouraged them to use him in a higher percentage snap role. Whether it’s as a blitzer, a quarterback spy or dropping back into coverage, the Bills have recently believed themselves to be a better defense on third downs with Milano on the field. Over the last two games that Hancock has had a minimal role, Milano has seen his two highest snap percentages of the year — playing 87 percent of the snaps in Week 15 and 92 percent in Week 16. The Bills, in general, favor experience in “gotta have it” situations, which has resulted in Lewis subbing in for Poyer rather than Lewis coming in for Milano with Hancock heading in for Poyer.

That third-down hierarchy might have tipped their hand for the Sunday starter. With the Eagles’ talent at receiver and tight end in A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, Lewis likely gives them a less volatile option on the back end that will still empower Bishop to play all the hunches he does throughout a game that has made him such a defensive strength. The Bills trust Lewis implicitly and in several roles. They could always do a split snap situation with Lewis and Hancock, but have generally veered away from that at safety.

Bills projected practice squad elevations: DE Matt Judon, K Michael Badgley
Bills projected inactives: WR Keon Coleman, OT Tylan Grable, DT DaQuan Jones, DT Jordan Phillips, LB Shaq Thompson, S Jordan Poyer, K Matt Prater

Prediction: Eagles 25, Bills 19

The Bills head into the contest with four straight victories, but will face an Eagles team that is getting healthier and has an additional day of rest. The matchup, which exposes many of the Bills’ vulnerabilities due to injury, looks like it’s veering in the Eagles’ favor. The Bills have had difficulties stopping the run and could be without three of their key defenders in Jones, Thompson and Poyer, with a hit at each level of their defense. On top of that, the Eagles’ pass catchers, most notably Smith, could have a distinct advantage against cornerbacks Tre’Davious White and Maxwell Hairston, giving them a two-dimensional attack.

On offense, there will at least be a path to the Bills finding some production from the boundary receiver group, given that the Eagles’ second cornerback situation has been in flux for much of the year. The troubling aspect of the Bills’ offensive attack, though, is that the Eagles are a great run-defending unit, and are getting top defensive tackle Jalen Carter back from injury this weekend. It will be strength-on-strength when the Bills choose to run the ball, which should be a pretty fun battle throughout the game. Ultimately, due to some matchup-shaping injuries, I think there are just a few too many things for the Bills to overcome this week in this Eagles game, despite being at home.

Bill Polar · Dec 29, 2025

Balls:
Defense, it was their second best showing of the year honestly.

Goats:
Refs, that looked like a forward pass to me but what do I know

Offensive playcalling

OJ Simpson, stick to rushing, movies, and murder and leave the kicking to others

HipKat · Dec 29, 2025

Report Card: Bills' special teams miscues play a big part in loss to Eagles

Here are Jay Skurski's grades for the Buffalo Bills in their 13-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

buffalonews.com

Grading the Buffalo Bills in their 13-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Highmark Stadium …

Running game: B-

The Eagles did a reasonably good job bottling up James Cook. The NFL’s rushing leader gained 74 yards but needed 20 carries to do so, amounting to an average of 3.7 yards per rush. Cook’s long run was just 10 yards. Philadelphia would have signed up for that stat line going into the game. Quarterback Josh Allen rushed for two touchdowns, but the Eagles kept him mostly contained. He had a long run of 17 yards, but his other six carries produced just 10 yards (although it’s worth pointing out a couple of those runs were near the goal line, so success was defined by getting the touchdown, not the yardage total). Ty Johnson managed just 15 yards on five carries. It would be nice to see the Bills get a receiver involved in the run game with some jet sweep action, just to give defenses one more thing to think about.

Passing game: C

Allen’s final numbers – 23 of 35 for 262 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions – look better than the results of the eyeball test. The Bills quarterback has to make that throw to Khalil Shakir on the two-point conversion play to win the game. Some bad habits have started to creep back into Allen’s game. He’s trying to do too much. Understandably, at times, because none of his receivers can ever get open, but at some point Allen has to accept defeat on a certain play, throw the ball away and live to see another down. He’s taking way too much abuse. Brandin Cooks had four catches for 101 yards – a promising showing that could help open things up for the downfield passing attack moving forward. Tyrell Shavers had a spectacular 32-yard reception down the field, as well.

Khalil Shakir and the Buffalo Bills weren't able to make enough plays against the Eagles during a 13-12 loss Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News

Run defense: A

The Bills made Saquon Barkley look ordinary, limiting him to 68 yards on 19 carries – an average of just 3.6 yards per attempt. Matt Milano led the defense with seven tackles. It’s been good to see him back in form. The Bills finished with four tackles for loss – Milano, Shaq Thompson, Deone Walker and Joey Bosa all had one each. The group up front played without injured defensive tackles DaQuan Jones and Jordan Phillips, and they held up exceptionally well. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts gained just 5 yards on three rushing attempts. Their “Brotherly Shove” didn’t hurt the Bills, and the pass rushers did a good job of making sure Hurts didn’t have escape angles to hurt the Bills on the ground. Hurts completed just 13 of 27 passes for 110 yards.

Pass defense: A

The pass rush got just one sack against Hurts but hit him four times. Christian Benford had two passes defensed and Tre’Davious White added one. Cam Lewis started in place of the injured Jordan Poyer and finished with four tackles. There were quite a few times the rush got close to Hurts, but he’s got a knack – similar to Allen – for being able to extend plays. When that happened, he got outside and threw the ball away, which is still a win for the defense.

Special teams: F

It was not a good evening. Khalil Shakir had 50 yards on three punt returns, but on at least a couple of others, it looked like he should have fielded instead of letting them bounce. Shakir agreed: “I let some drop – a lot – drop early,” he said. Kick returner Ray Davis averaged 28.0 yards on three returns. Penalties were again an issue, as Joe Andreessen was called for holding on the second-half opening kickoff. Instead of starting a drive at their 40-yard line, the Bills were backed up to their own 20 – a net loss of 20 yards. Michael Badgley’s blocked extra-point attempt is the type of breakdown that can’t happen in a close game between two good teams. Matt Prater can’t get back quickly enough for the Bills.

Coaching: C

The defensive effort was exceptional all game long. “Shout-out to Bobby,” Thompson said, referring to defensive coordinator Bobby Babich. “Bobby had a good game plan; he dialed it up on third down and the guys went out there and executed. We got off the field.” For as solid as the defensive game plan was, the offensive game plan had as many flaws. Second-guessing an offensive coordinator’s play calling is often the low-hanging fruit, but it was hard not to take it Sunday. On the play before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, the Bills ran Ty Johnson up the middle for 1 yard on second and 10. On third-and-9, the team went with the same screen that fans have grown to hate, and Johnson was stopped for a 1-yard loss. That was a brutal sequence. The successful lateral play on fourth down helped to make up for those, but it doesn’t excuse them entirely. The biggest problem for Brady is that he’s slow to react when other teams are pressuring Allen. That was true against Houston earlier this season, and it was true again against the Eagles. The No. 1 priority for him has to be adjust to keep his quarterback out of harm’s way as much as possible. Sean McDermott did make good use of a challenge.

Victor7 · Dec 29, 2025

Goats

Josh Allen. Off all day, taking dumb sacks and the obvious missfire on the 2 pt conversion

Brady. Another bad outing. When his main game plan is not working this man is stubborn to a fault and can or will not adjust. 3rd and 9 screen! Shakir apparently is not allowed by law to catch anything past 3 yards. You name it. Just terrible day for Brady.

OL. Sacks galore, not all on them but still. How this group went from the best year in 2024 to the worst (in regards to sacks) in one season despite returning all 5 players and coach needs to be studied.

Refs. Directly cost this team at the very least 3 points, but in reality it was more like a 10 point swing. A clear forward pass ruled a fumble. Unreal stupidity. Eagles scored a few plays later.

DLine. No pressures, no hurries, nada, nothing. The overpaid bums keep rollin'

Badgley. Please fire this fool.

Blocked XP. Between the low kick from Badgley and the line not blocking Carter that missed kicked loomed large.

Going for 2. Before anyone jumps in with the "you would've loved it had they converted" .... no. I would've loved the result, not the decision. The offense struggled all day long, Allen included, the field was wet, it took 3.5 quarters to finally score, we had already missed a goal to go situation where we turned it over on 4th down. Getting to score was a miracle on its own. It took a 4th down tush push, a miracle grab from Cooks and a 4th down hook and ladder to do it. Also, the defense was playing lights out. It was not the time to roll the dice. I get that the play was there and Allen missed, but like I said, he was off all day.

Kincaid. Hurt again

Palmer. Overpaid bum

Non 1 pm games. Why do we always leave our worst outings for the prime time games?? Its a disease. Falcons, Houston, NE(1), this one. This team performs better when no one's watching.

Balls

Defense. You cant ask for more than that. Great performance. Why this team cant have its 2 units perform well on the same day is beyond me. Please build up on this for the playoff push. Honorable mention to Milano who's balling as of late.

Punter. 6 punts. 3 inside the 20. Only one was returned. Fantastic

Cooks. About time. Although I think he should've housed the first one. Anyone else think that jump/dive to make the grab was unnecessary?

Shavers. Nice grab, great blocking. So telling that our top 2 receivers were a guy brought in a month ago and Shavers who is an undrafted FA.

HipKat · Dec 29, 2025

Observations: Complementary football goes missing for Bills in loss to Eagles

The Bills stress complementary football all the time but got almost none of that against the Eagles. The defense played its collective butt off. The offense and special teams, however, were nowhere to be found, until it was too late.

buffalonews.com

We’re now through 17 weeks of the NFL regular season, and still, few firm conclusions exist about the Buffalo Bills.

At least one thing is certain, though, after Sunday’s 13-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Highmark Stadium: A performance like that in the postseason will likely equal a very short stay.

The Bills continually stress complementary football, but they got almost none of it against the Eagles. The defense played its collective butt off. The only touchdown it allowed came on a short field after the offense turned over the ball. The Eagles managed just one first down – one! – and 16 yards of offense in the entire second half.

The Bills' offense and special teams, however, were nowhere to be found for far too long on a rain-soaked evening. The loss dropped the Bills to 11-5 overall and into the seventh and final seed in the AFC playoff picture

Cornerback Tre'Davious White and the Bills' defense played an inspired game Sunday against the Eagles, but didn't get much help in a 13-12 loss.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News

Their run of five straight AFC East titles is over. New England’s big win over the Jets on Sunday coupled with the Bills’ loss gave the division to the Patriots. That guarantees the Bills will start the postseason on the road, and they will almost certainly stay there for the playoffs, however long their run ends up being.

Depending on the results in Week 18, the Bills could open the playoffs at New England, Jacksonville, Denver or Houston among teams that have cliched a playoff spot. They could also go to Pittsburgh or Baltimore – who will meet in Week 18 for the AFC North title – in the unlikely event they climb back up to the No. 5 seed. The only playoff team whom the Bills can’t visit in the first round is the Los Angeles Chargers.

If Sunday ends up as the penultimate game at the current Highmark Stadium before the Bills move across the street, it will be a maddening defeat. Time and again, their defense got the ball back for the offense, forcing four straight three-and-outs.

For the final time, the Bills' offense took over with 3:21 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Josh Allen’s 1-yard rushing touchdown pulled the Bills within a point with 5 seconds left. The offense stayed on the field to go for the go-ahead two-point conversion, but Allen’s throw for Khalil Shakir was too far in front of the receiver, and it landed incomplete.

“The defense has to feel pretty good about themselves,” right tackle Spencer Brown said. “Offense, I don't know how many series we had, but we pride ourselves on being a good offense. We didn't show that tonight. We wanted the ball in our hands with the game on the line. That's what we got. We just didn't execute.”

Several times this season, the Bills’ offense has saved the defense’s bacon. The team is 4-0 in games this year in which the opposition scores at least 31 points.

“There are times when the offense bails us out,” cornerback Taron Johnson said. “We've got to figure it out together.”

The shoe was on the other foot Sunday, though, and the offense and special teams couldn’t come through.

“We always want to play complementary football,” Shakir said. “When all three phases work together, that's where the magic is.”

That magic has been hard to bottle up this year for the Bills. They’re 11-5, but among those 11 wins, perhaps no more than four – home against the Chiefs and on the road against the Jets, Panthers and Steelers – would qualify as complete, 60-minute efforts in all three phases.

“I feel like there has been rare times where we're all firing at the same time,” safety Cole Bishop said. “That's going to be huge when we can. Hopefully we can do that at the right time.”

That hope tank is running a bit low after Sunday.

1. Michael Badgley’s extra point was blocked

It was a brutal day for the Bills’ special teams, but the biggest blunder came after Buffalo’s first touchdown in the fourth quarter. Kicker Michael Badgley, in the lineup for the injured Matt Prater, had his extra-point attempt blocked after Allen’s 2-yard touchdown run. That eventually prompted the Bills to go for two points after Allen’s 1-yard scoring run with 5 seconds remaining.

Badgley has played two games for Buffalo, and they've been struggles. He has missed an extra point in both games.
“Should have made the kick. It's easy,” he said afterward. “Listen, the guy came up the middle. I'll have to look at the film, just make your points.”

McDermott said afterward that Prater is making progress as he works back from a quadriceps injury, which he suffered in Week 15 against New England. The Bills will certainly want Prater back for the playoffs, because the trust level in Badgley can’t be real high right now.

2. Brandin Cooks got some retribution

The veteran receiver had a costly drop in each of the Bills' past two games, but made the play when it came to him in the first half against the Eagles, hauling in a 50-yard throw in the first quarter.

“I just think the daily approach, every single day going to work and knowing that at some point it's going to come for you,” Cooks said.

Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks tumbles after making a 50-yard reception during the first quarter against the Eagles on Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
Cooks had four catches for 101 yards. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News

Cooks' 50-yard reception was his longest since a 52-yarder as a member of the Houston Texans in 2021. He finished with four catches for 101 yards against the Eagles. He also made a 36-yard grab on the Bills' final drive.

“He gave us some juice in the downfield passing game, made a really good catch there in the fourth quarter. We're going to need more of that moving forward,” Allen said.

3. Eagles win the turnover battle

The Bills had been better recently in turnover differential, winning that all-important statistic in each of the past three games. Against the Eagles, however, they lost it 1-0, with Allen’s fumble going down as the only turnover of the game.

The Bills are now plus-1 for the season in turnover differential, which is tied for 10th in the NFL.

“We could have done better taking the ball away still,” Bishop said. “That's important. You can see team's records winning the takeaway margin, and we've got to win that. We've got to do better there. We've got to put our offense on the field in better positions. It's a lot easier to score if you're inside the 50 already, so if we can just start getting takeaways, creating better field position is going to be huge.”

Bills linebacker Shaq Thompson and defensive back Cam Lewis tackle Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts during Sunday's game at Highmark Stadium.
Lewis had five tackles and Thompson four tackles in the loss. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News

4. Terrel Bernard’s tough season continues

The Bills’ defensive captain suffered a calf injury in the first half. He was announced as questionable to return, but after halftime, Shaq Thompson came in at middle linebacker. When the Bills went to three linebackers in the third quarter, it was Thompson, Matt Milano and Dorian Williams on the field. Bernard was later downgraded to out.

It’s the third game this season Bernard has left because of injury. He suffered an ankle injury in Week 6 against Atlanta that left him unable to play the second half. He suffered an elbow injury against the Texans in Week 12 that kept him out the following three games. Those injuries have played a big part in Bernard’s production having taken a big dip this season. He has 65 tackles, one interception and two fumble recoveries this season. He had more than 100 tackles in each of the past two seasons, to go with five interceptions, four fumble recoveries and 7½ sacks. Bernard’s value has always been in his knack for making the big play, but he can’t do that from the sideline.

McDermott did not have an update on Bernard’s condition Sunday night.

“Shaq came in and was ready to go, which is the important piece of that,” McDermott said.

5. Dalton Kincaid missed another game

The Bills’ third-year tight end has been good when he’s been on the field this season, with 36 catches for 523 yards and five touchdowns. The issue has been his availability. Kincaid missed his fifth game of the season Sunday, this time because of a knee injury. That follows an earlier three-game absence because of a hamstring injury, as well as a Week 6 absence with an oblique injury. Kincaid practiced on a limited basis Friday after sitting out at the beginning of the week and was listed as questionable on the final injury report.

The Bills challenged Kincaid in the offseason to add strength after he missed four games last season, believing that would help him get through an entire season. It simply hasn’t happened.

It leaves the team with a big decision to make in the offseason. The Bills must decide by early May whether to exercise the fifth-year option on Kincaid’s rookie contract. That would give him a salary in the neighborhood of $11 million for the 2027 season. It won't be an easy call for the Bills, because Kincaid’s availability has not been consistent.

Fellow tight end Dawson Knox was able to play. He was also listed as questionable on the final injury report because of a knee injury of his own. He finished with five catches for 30 yards.

HipKat · Dec 29, 2025

Allen played with deer in the headlights eyes all game. Really disappointing. Not getting rid of the ball when he was obviously going to get sacked. The sack he took when Hawes was wide open on 3rd and 9 and then the 2pt throw - that was all Allen. Really disappointing.

Joe Brady MUST get fired at the end of the season. Yeah, our WRs suck, but some plays would still make them useful. Shavers and Cook made killer catches but those come far and few between and Receivers aren't always open, but should make close coverage catches. We RARELY have anyone in the slot, and I get sick of watching other teams constantly find guys open 6-10 yrds downfield.

The O-line looked like they were letting the Eagles' pass rush walk right in. It was embarrassing. No wonder Allen played scared.

We have WAY too many injuries to have any real shot at going far in the playoffs. Other teams are rolling and we're the little engine that could going up the mountain.

Victor7 · Dec 29, 2025

Our special teams have been hot garbage most of the year. Davis has done well returning kicks and Prater has been mostly ok. But all other things are usually below average. Penalties galore and I cant understand why we cant find one mother fucker to return punts other than our top WR.

HipKat · Dec 29, 2025

Victor7 said:
Our special teams have been hot garbage most of the year. Davis has done well returning kicks and Prater has been mostly ok. But all other things are usually below average. Penalties galore and I cant understand why we cant find one mother fucker to return punts other than our top WR.

Right?? Why can't Davis return both?

Victor7 · Dec 30, 2025

Balls

Eliminated teams that balled. I'm looking at you Atlanta, Cleveland, Vikings and the fish. All beat teams that had something to play for

Broncos. On their way to the 1 seed. With a bum as QB. Elite job coaching from Payton

Texans. On a roll. Somehow can't be stopped. All that mediocre offense has to do is not fuck it up and their D takes care of the rest. Scary team in the post season

Pats. Easy schedule or not, they take care of business. Must be nice. We lost to Penix, Tua, Mills and Hurts not completing a pass for 30 minutes.

Ravens. Took care of business by feeding their hall of fame running back. Who needs LamaRB when you have Henry.

Seattle. Please please give me Kubiak for coach. That teams scores at will with Darnold at QB, one good receiver and ok running backs. Imagine the possibilities

Saints. Quietly up to 4 straight W's. Kellen Moore (offensive coach of course) has Tyler Shough playing good ball.

SF. Purdy looks like Montana/Brady. Another great example of an elite offensive minded coach making the best of an ok quarterback. Must be nice.

Jags. Taking care of business with a rookie HC (offensive minded of course)

Goats

Teams that had a lot on the line and lost to eliminated teams. Pitt, TB, Rams, Detroit.

Colts. Injuries to Jones or not we all knew they were batting above average for too long. The downfall had to come. But boy it was bad.

Rams. That was awful vs Atlanta. First half was like a carbon copy of our game against them.

Pitt. Win and you are division champ !!! .... Nah, I'm not even going to score . Pathetic display from them.

Jets. What a cluster fuck of a team they are. I loved the Glenn hire because this was exactly what I expected. I hope he's not one and done. Automatic 2 wins for us.

Lions. You have to win to stay alive. 10 points despite all that fire power. Lame

Four keys for the Buffalo Bills to beat the Philadelphia Eagles

Administrator

1. Slow Saquon​

2. Touchdowns, not field goals​

3. Find answers at receiver​

4. Last-minute tune up​

Administrator

Bills numbers to know: 4 trends for Buffalo's game against defending champion Eagles​

714​

120​

40%​

310​

Administrator

WR carousel likely to take another spin​

Defensive injuries mounting for a week, at least​

No Jordan Poyer; who starts at safety?​

Prediction: Eagles 25, Bills 19​

Well-known member

Administrator

Running game: B-​

Passing game: C​

Run defense: A​

Pass defense: A​

Special teams: F​

Coaching: C​

Well-known member

Administrator

1. Michael Badgley’s extra point was blocked​

2. Brandin Cooks got some retribution​

3. Eagles win the turnover battle​

4. Terrel Bernard’s tough season continues​

5. Dalton Kincaid missed another game​

Administrator

Well-known member

Administrator

Well-known member

1. Slow Saquon

2. Touchdowns, not field goals

3. Find answers at receiver

4. Last-minute tune up

Bills numbers to know: 4 trends for Buffalo's game against defending champion Eagles

714

120

40%

310

WR carousel likely to take another spin

Defensive injuries mounting for a week, at least

No Jordan Poyer; who starts at safety?

Prediction: Eagles 25, Bills 19

Running game: B-

Passing game: C

Run defense: A

Pass defense: A

Special teams: F

Coaching: C

1. Michael Badgley’s extra point was blocked

2. Brandin Cooks got some retribution

3. Eagles win the turnover battle

4. Terrel Bernard’s tough season continues

5. Dalton Kincaid missed another game