With five games left in the 2025 NFL regular season, the Buffalo Bills must take care of business this week against quarterback Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. This is especially important, as the New England Patriots have a 2.5-game lead in the AFC East and are on a bye week.
Next, the Bills will be heading to Gillette Stadium to play the New England Patriots in Foxboro, and it will be a must-win game for the Bills to stay alive in the AFC East Divisional race. But first, they need to win this week, overcoming these four significant matchups.
The Bills need to win these matchups in order to stay alive in the playoff race
1. QB's Josh Allen vs. Joe Burrow
A big game like this always features quarterbacks whose job is to outdo the other one and lead their team to victory. For Allen and Burrow, this is no exception.
Allen, for the most part, has had an efficient year, but it looks like his quest for a second straight MVP title might be over already due to Matthew Stafford's stellar performance this season. Still, the reigning MVP is ninth in the league with 2,832 passing yards and is on track for 4,012 passing yards.
Last week was an exception to the rule, as the Bills were down two of their starting offensive tackles, Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown. For Allen, this meant throwing quicker, shorter passes while also trusting running back James Cook in the run game.
The whole team, especially Allen, did a great job, and hopefully, he will have his two starting tackles back for this week against the Bengals. On the flip side, Burrow has been out for a few weeks with a turf toe injury, but finally made his return last week and sparkled against the Baltimore Ravens.
Bills fans will have to wait and see the outcome of these two franchise quarterbacks battling it out for an important AFC conference win for both teams.
2. RB's James Cook vs. Chase Brown
Both teams already have the best two guys under center, but they also have strong runners in the backfield to complement the passing attack. Both Cook and Brown are change-of-pace backs with strong speed and power in between the tackles as well.
Cook leads the Bills' No. 1 rushing offense in the NFL, while he is second in rushing with 1,228 yards on the ground. Right now, he is on pace for a career high of 1,740 rushing yards after already passing the 1,000-yard mark for the third straight season.
Last week, the former Georgia product was instrumental in helping the Bills rush for 249 yards as a team in Pittsburgh, the highest total in Acrisure Stadium history. He even ran behind a line without his offensive tackles, Dawkins and Brown, and did quite well.
This week, the line will have to do it again against a weak Bengals' defensive line that struggles just as badly against the run as they do in the pass. This is where the Bengals' offense will have to lean on Brown to run the ball against an improving but still struggling Bills run defense.
Brown is in his third year in the NFL and is looking to build off his career high of 990 rushing yards last season. So far, he's on pace with 704 rushing yards. If the 17-game season were over today, he would project to have 997 yards, which would put him one step closer to his first 1,000-yard rushing campaign.
I believe that Cook is the stronger of the two running backs and will come out with better stats in the game this week.
3. CB Christian Benford vs. WR Ja'Marr Chase
This will be a fun matchup between the big-playmaking wide receiver vs. the tall, lockdown corner. Chase will be looking to burn Benford down the field for big plays and scores, while Benford will be looking to lock him down and force incomplete passes from Burrow.
Since being drafted in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Benford has developed into one of the top corners in the NFL, and with good reason. He is fundamentally sound and is a force in man-to-man coverage.
Chase is the perfect test for Benford, as he hasn't gone up against a receiver of this caliber this season yet. Currently, he boasts 971 yards receiving, and if he stays healthy, this will be another season of 1,000 yards receiving since his career began in 2021.
This will be a good test to see if Benford passes it by trying to shut down one of the league's best receivers of his generation.
4. LB Shaq Thompson vs. TE Mike Gesicki
This last matchup pits Thompson, a linebacker, against Gesicki, a receiving tight end. In last week's matchup against the Steelers, Thompson went up against tight end Darnell Washington at 6 feet 7 inches, 311 pounds, and shut him down.
Gesicki currently has only 115 receiving yards, but when he's targeted more, he can rack up yards after the catch. They can also use him as a decoy by putting him in motion to set up a deep connection between Brown and Chase.
Don't let his stats fool you. Gesicki has always been athletic enough to play in the NFL. The talented tight end needs the right situation, and maybe it's right here, right now in Cincinnati.
Let's see how the two players battle it out on Sunday afternoon.