Josh Allen is the Buffalo Bills’ Captain America on and off the field. The reigning NFL MVP is again doing MVP-like things, lugging a Bills team that has some serious holes, especially on the defensive side, back into Super Bowl contention.
In Week 16, Allen injured his foot in the first half of the Bills’ 23-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Allen is expected to play against the Eagles this Sunday in the national game at Highmark Stadium at 4:25 p.m.
It is a game that comes with great significance for both teams.
The 11-4 Bills are riding a four-game winning streak and looking to catch the New England Patriots for the AFC East title, which would the sixth-straight AFC East crown for the Bills. The Eagles, despite the fact that this is Week 17, are still in search of a consistent offensive identity. Beating the Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders, a pair of NFL junior varsity teams, does nothing. Beating Allen and the Bills, in Buffalo, carries meaning. It will the Eagles an indication where they are, just how go they could be against a quality NFL team and build some confidence in what works and what does not work.
Through Week 16, the Bills have the NFL’s No. 3 offense, and No. 1 offense in the AFC, averaging 373.1 yards a game, and 28.9 points a game, which is also No. 3 in the NFL. The Bills were down 40-25 in the fourth quarter in their season opener against the underachieving Baltimore Ravens and won 41-40. Buffalo was down 28-18 in the fourth quarter against Cincinnati and came back and won, 39-34. In Week 15, the Bills were down early against New England, 21-0, and came back and won, 35-31.
The only team Allen has not beaten in his distinguished eight-year NFL career is the Eagles, who are 2-0 against Allen, including the 37-34 overtime win in Philadelphia on Nov. 26, 2023, where Allen and the Bills blew a 24-14 lead in the fourth quarter.
So far this season, Allen is No. 10 in the NFL in passing, averaging 227.1 yards passing a game, and is No. 6 in the NFL, averaging 8 yards a pass, and No. 5 in the NFL with 25 touchdown passes. Allen is a dual-threat quarterback, who can burn an opponent with his legs or his arm.
Allen’s masks many of the 2025 Bills’ weaknesses, namely its porous run defense, which ranks No. 29 in the NFL. The Bills are giving up an average of 144.3 yards rushing a game, and a total of 2,164 yards rushing overall this season, which is the fourth highest total in the league.
Aside from Allen, containing running back James Cook will also be a priority. Cook leads the NFL in rushing, with 1,532 yards, averaging an NFL-best 102.1 yards a game, the only running back in the NFL to average over 100 yards rushing a game.
The Eagles are No. 12 overall in defense, and with defensive tackle Jalen Carter expected to play, that will only reinforce what is the strongest part of the Eagles right now.
“You got Josh Allen, that’s all you need to say,” Eagles’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said this week. “You got Cook, that’s all you need to say. Their line is playing very well. They got a good group of tight ends. The receivers have been playing good. They’re highly ranked in a lot of key areas on offense and it’s no accident. . Josh Allen is a little different. Just his size, his speed, his instincts, when it becomes a scramble game, what he can accomplish—he’s hard to tackle. He’s so big and elusive. He’s a real dude.”
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