The 2025 NFL season has been anything but conventional-and as the dust settles heading into the final stretch, the Buffalo Bills find themselves in a position that’s as promising as it is pressure-packed. With Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs officially out of the playoff picture, and Joe Burrow and the Bengals joining them on the sidelines, the AFC landscape has shifted dramatically.
The usual roadblocks that have haunted Buffalo’s postseason dreams? Gone.
But that doesn’t mean the road ahead is clear.
What’s emerged instead is a different kind of challenge-one that’s less about who’s in their way and more about what Buffalo is showing on the field. The Bills have trailed at halftime in each of their last three games.
They’ve pulled out wins, yes-but not without raising questions. These aren’t dominant wire-to-wire performances.
They’re gritty, come-from-behind efforts that suggest resilience, but also reveal some concerning cracks.
Despite the recent heroics, Buffalo hasn’t moved up the AFC playoff ladder. They’re still sitting in the 5-seed, and unless the Patriots completely fall apart, that’s probably where they’ll stay. That means a postseason run through hostile territory, with every game on the road-no cozy home-field advantage, no margin for error.
But here’s where things get interesting. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bills may have just passed the kind of test they’ll need to ace in January. On Get Up Monday morning, Schefter pointed to Buffalo’s latest win as the blueprint for what they’ll need to replicate in the playoffs: a road win against a tough opponent, led by a quarterback who could be one of the biggest postseason threats in the AFC.
“They did it on the road yesterday,” Schefter said. “And they did it on the road yesterday against the quarterback that might pose the biggest threat to them in the postseason-Drake Maye.”
That’s not nothing. With Mahomes, Burrow, and possibly Lamar Jackson out of the playoff mix, the AFC’s quarterback landscape looks dramatically different.
Outside of Josh Allen, there’s a steep drop-off in proven playoff experience. MVP talk is fun, but right now, Allen’s December performances are speaking louder than any trophy case.
Consider the last few weeks: Buffalo went into Pittsburgh and beat Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers, a team that-if things hold-will host the Bills in the Wild Card round. Then they turned around and handled business in Foxborough, outdueling Maye and a Patriots team that had everything to play for.
These weren’t just wins-they were playoff previews. Road tests.
Pressure cookers. And Allen delivered.
Make no mistake, this Bills team isn’t flawless. The run defense has been shaky, and the deep passing game hasn’t clicked the way it needs to.
The slow starts are a legitimate concern, especially when you’re facing elite defenses in hostile environments. But what they’ve shown-especially in this latest stretch-is that they can survive the grind.
They can take a punch, regroup, and finish strong. And in the postseason, that kind of toughness matters.
Buffalo may not be the AFC’s most complete team, but they’ve got something that’s just as valuable: a quarterback playing fearless football, a roster that’s battle-tested, and a recent track record of winning when the stakes are high and the odds aren’t in their favor.
So while the path to Super Bowl LX won’t be easy, it’s also not blocked by the usual suspects. The Bills have been here before. This time, they just might be ready to break through.