The Bills are headed into Week 10 with a chance to finally get a division win on the board, and the matchup brings an old familiar face back into the picture.
Buffalo is 0-1 in AFC East play after its Week 4 loss to the New England Patriots, but Sunday against the New York Jets gives the Bills their second shot at a division victory this season. The timing comes after Buffalo’s 23-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings, a game in which the offense found its rhythm in the second half and shut Minnesota down the rest of the way. The Jets, meanwhile, arrive having lost four straight and sitting at 2-7, with a loss to the Miami Dolphins included in that slide.
One of the Jets players who has lived through that rough stretch is a former Bill: defensive tackle Harrison Phillips.
Phillips is now set to line up against the team that drafted him in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the same class that included Josh Allen. A number of his former teammates are still in Buffalo, including Josh Allen, Dawson Knox, Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, Ed Oliver, Tyler Bass, and Reid Ferguson.
When Phillips came into the league, he was viewed as the eventual replacement for Kyle Williams, who was nearing the end of his NFL run after the 2018 season. Injuries and some inconsistency kept Phillips from becoming the dominant force Buffalo hoped for, but his time with the Bills still left a mark.
That was especially true off the field. Phillips became deeply involved in the Western New York community, and that work helped turn him into a fan favorite.
He was also nominated as the Bills’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. He wasn’t a bad player for Buffalo, but the inconsistency eventually pushed both sides in different directions.
After leaving Buffalo following the 2021 season for the Minnesota Vikings, Phillips was a solid contributor there before being traded to the New York Jets in 2025. In New York, he has continued to be a reliable run-stopper, and that sets up a direct challenge against James Cook and Buffalo’s strong rushing attack on Sunday.
In Other News...
Bills Prime-Time Game Just Added Fuel To ESPNs Broadcast Problem
The Bills Monday night trip to Minnesota ended up being part of a bigger ESPN broadcast story than just the game itself. Pat McAfees alternate feed for Bills-Vikings drew 406,000 viewers, while the NFL Networks Next Gen Stats broadcast pulled in 499,000, a notable edge in the same Week 9 window. It was also the second time this season that Next Gen Stats has topped McAfees show in viewership, a reminder that ESPNs experiment with alternate presentations is still fighting for traction.
There was still a bit of star power attached to the broadcast, though, as former CBS analyst Tony Romo made a surprise appearance after his departure from CBS Sports. Even with that kind of name recognition, the numbers suggest ESPNs prime-time broadcast setup remains a work in progress, especially when the competition is another niche feed drawing a larger audience. For Bills fans, it was one more layer to a national spotlight game that ended up generating as much discussion about the telecast as the action on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Fans Have One Big Reason To Be Uneasy About Sunday
The Bills head into Sundays Week 10 meeting with the Jets at Highmark Stadium in a familiar spot, sitting in strong position in the AFC East and carrying the look of a team that should control the day. Buffalo also has a new piece in Amani Hooker after the recent trade, and his readiness to get on the field is one of the more interesting subplots as the roster continues to take shape around another important stretch of the season.
Still, there is enough here to make Buffalo fans a little uneasy. The Jets bring a young roster built around three first-round picks, and the game could hinge on details like red zone execution and whether James Cook can help tilt the matchup in Buffalos favor. The bigger concern may be up front, where injury issues on the Bills offensive line could test a group that cannot afford to lose much stability in a division game. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Suddenly Have A Jets Concern Fans Can't Ignore
The Bills Wednesday injury report arrived with a little more weight than usual as they turned their attention to the Jets, and the list was long enough to raise a few eyebrows. Buffalo had 11 players on it, with several important names on the offensive line showing up as limited, including Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, Alec Anderson and Connor McGovern. For a team that has leaned on stability up front, that kind of midweek uncertainty is never ideal heading into a divisional matchup.
Christian Benford and Dalton Kincaid were also limited, adding to the sense that Buffalo is managing a few moving parts at once rather than dealing with just one isolated issue. Jordan Hancock and Tyrell Shavers were full participants, but their roster situations still leave some questions hanging as the week unfolds. The Bills have time to sort through it, but the early tone of the report is enough to make this Jets week feel a little more complicated than expected. [Read more 🡒]