Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets: first half open thread

The Buffalo Bills have won their fifth straight AFC East crown, and New York Jets has been eliminated from the playoffs for the fourteenth straight season. On the surface, there appears to be very little left to play for in a late December game between two franchises headed in opposite directions.

However, there is a lot at stake in this afternoon’s game. Some of it involves individual accolades. Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has 499 career touchdown passes, so he’s very close to joining an elite list that only includes Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Brett Favre. Buffalo’s defense has allowed nine touchdown passes in the last three games, so the likelihood of Rodgers joining the 500 club today is pretty high.

For Bills quarterback Josh Allen, the 2024 MVP discussion continues to swirl, and there are plenty of talking heads continuing to talk in circles about who deserves the honor this year. While some had declared the run “over” after Allen’s 430-yard, 4-touchdown performance against Detroit Lionsthe narrative has returned to favoring other players of late. Allen has a chance to make another statement in his favor this week.

Most importantly, the Bills have a chance to win the AFC’s No. 2 seed today and they will do just that with a win. While the second seed no longer comes with a bye week — in true “Billsy” fashion, the Bills could be the second seed for the third time since that bye was eliminated after never being the No. 1 seed. 2 in the six-team playoff format – It guarantees that the Bills will play at home again if they win in the Wild Card round.

Your first half is here, friends. Be kind to each other. For the classic game thread feel, change these comments to “elder”. To channel the spirit in ESPN legend Chris Berman, let us here at Buffalo Rumblings be the first to wish you all a Happy New Year. But most importantly, enjoy the game wherever you watch it.

Go Bills!