The Buffalo Bills will finish out their 2025 NFL regular season schedule Sunday afternoon against a division foe, the New York Jets. Normally, this game has a lot of meaning, particularly for the Bills. But this time is a bit different.
Buffalo has clinched a playoff spot, but the New England Patriots already clinched the AFC East. The heartbreaking loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last week saw to that. So, the Bills will be on the road likely throughout the playoffs. They will either be the No. 5, No. 6, or No. 7 seed.
With the Denver Broncos facing a Justin Herbert-less Los Angeles Chargers team, the one-seed is all but spoken for. That means Buffalo will open up the playoffs either in New England, at the Jacksonville Jaguars (assuming they beat the Tennessee Titans), or at the AFC North winner.
Meanwhile, the Jets are 3-13 and reeling. Gang Green has lost four straight games by a combined 153-36 score. That is not a misprint, either. Entering Week 18, the Jets hold the number three pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. A win could really hurt their draft stock.
So, what is going to happen when these two teams collide on Sunday? Let's get to our Bills vs. Jets bold predictions for Week 18.
Josh Allen keeps streak alive, then gets benched
Bills' quarterback, Josh Allen, currently holds the longest active streak of consecutive starts by a QB in the NFL. He has taken at least the first snap in 139 consecutive games (126 in regular season) for the Bills. I would fully expect to see him start on Sunday, keeping that streak alive. But you are not likely to see him much longer after that.
It would be nothing new for Buffalo to rest Allen and the starters in Week 18. That has been a common practice by Sean McDermott. Whether Allen and the offense play the first half to get in sync remains to be seen. After all, the Bills' signal-caller is one touchdown shy of 40 on the season, which would extend his own NFL record to six straight seasons. But I would be very surprised if he played deep into the game.
But not just because of the rest and record factors. Also, the Jets' defense has proven to play exceptionally well against Allen in the past.
In his 14 starts against the boys from the Meadowlands, Allen has completed just 63 percent of his passes. He has thrown 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, per StatMuse. Granted, those defenses were far superior to the one he would face this week.
Nevertheless, it seems unlikely Allen and the offense will play much on Sunday.
Breece Hall has a monster game for the Jets
When the Jets drafted Breece Hall in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, it was believed they had a future superstar back. Things have not gone quite as planned.
New York has brought in some other talent at the position, cutting into his workload. But due to injuries, he is the last man standing and has made the most of it.
Hall is coming off arguably his best game of the season, rushing for 111 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots. That was primarily in garbage time. But this week, he should explode for a different reason. The Bills' rush defense is already very poor. Add in the fact that they are likely to rest players on both sides of the ball, and that should provide ample opportunity for Hall to break free.
I look for him to rush for at least 130 yards and find the end zone twice.
Jets pull off stunning upset of Bills
This may not be what Jets fans are hoping to hear, but I believe they are going to win their fourth game of the season on Sunday. Every year, the final week of the NFL's regular season sees large upsets. That is typically because of players being rested.
Matchup, history, and circumstance all point to that happening again in this game.
One might argue the Bills should play to win… that being the No. 5 seed playing the AFC North winner is a preferred destination. But how much would Bills fans really relish potentially going into Baltimore after what happened in Week 1?
Despite staring at three road games, the Bills are still among the favorites to come out of the conference. Josh Allen and Co. are either going to do it, or they won't. Who they play should not matter.
Meanwhile, the Jets' ability to run the ball and avoid Brady Cook throwing footballs will help the Jets pull off a 23-20 upset.
