The Buffalo Bills look to clinch a playoff berth for the seventh consecutive season on Sunday when they visit the Cleveland Browns.
The Bills (10-4) also have an eye on first place in the AFC East after overcoming a 21-point deficit in a 35-31 victory over the New England Patriots (11-3) last Sunday. Buffalo has won the division title in each of the last five seasons.
First things first for the Bills, who need a win over the Browns and either a loss by the Houston Texans (9-5) or Indianapolis Colts (8-6) in order to punch their ticket to the playoffs.
Buffalo boasts the NFL’s top rushing offense (158.5 per game) and is third in the league in both total yards per game (381.2) and points per game (29.4).
Josh Allen has a hand in all three of those statistics, given that the reigning NFL MVP has a total of 37 touchdowns (25 passing, 12 rushing) on the season. He threw for three scores in last week’s game against the Patriots, while James Cook rolled up 111 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving).
“We’ve been tested in terms of being in some close games and some tight games, and we found ways to win some. We’ve lost a couple, but I feel like we’ve learned a lot from those losses,” Allen said. “This is an extremely tight unit. We do practice what we preach when we say we love each other and we care about each other and we don’t want to let each other down.”
Dawson Knox had two touchdown receptions last week and could see additional playing time if fellow tight end Dalton Kincaid is hindered by his knee injury. Kincaid joined defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (ankle), kicker Matt Prater (right quad) and left tackle Dion Dawkins (illness) in failing to practice in Wednesday’s walk-through practice session.
Buffalo cornerback Christian Benford (toe) and linebacker Terrel Bernard (elbow) were limited on Wednesday after sitting out last weekend’s game.
The Bills signed kicker Michael Badgley to the practice squad earlier in the week. He is expected to be elevated to play in Sunday’s game.
While the Bills have won three in a row, the Browns (3-11) dropped their third consecutive contest following a lopsided 31-3 setback against the host Chicago Bears last Sunday.
Rookie Shedeur Sanders struggled mightily as the final score might suggest, throwing for just 177 yards and an NFL career-high three interceptions.
Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski, however, was quick to praise the fifth-round pick for brushing off that performance and keeping his focus toward the team’s next game.
“He’s got the same attitude every single day, which you expect from quarterbacks. You have to, in this league, be able to turn the page after a loss,” Stefanski said Wednesday about Sanders. “You’ve got to be able to turn the page after a win. You just can’t take that previous game with you, and I think he does a great job of that.”
Sanders will face a tall task in challenging the Bills, who boast the second-stingiest passing defense (169.5 yards per game) in the NFL.
The Browns had nine players fail to participate in practice on Wednesday, including Myles Garrett — albeit for rest purposes. The star defensive end earned the breather after collecting 1.5 sacks last week to boost his season total to 21.5, one shy of tying the NFL record shared by Michael Strahan (in 2001) and T.J. Watt (in 2021).
Also failing to practice on Wednesday were tight end David Njoku (knee), guard Joel Bitonio (knee), tackle Jack Conklin (concussion) and cornerback Denzel Ward (calf), among others.
