The Denver Broncos went into Lincoln Financial Field and knocked off the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon, reeling off 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to secure a 21-17 victory.
The loss is the Eagles' first of the year, and it leaves the Buffalo Bills as the NFL's last remaining unbeaten team heading into their Sunday night AFC East matchup against the New England Patriots.
It's the second time in the Super Bowl era that the Bills have been the last remaining team with a zero in the loss column, and the first instance happened 45 years ago. During the 1980 season, they started 5-0 before a 17-12 loss to the Baltimore Colts. They went 11-5 that year, and their season ended with a 20-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers in the Divisional Round.
Does recent undefeated history spell doom for Buffalo?
But recent history suggests that the Bills' distinction as the league's last remaining undefeated team in 2025 may not necessarily be an advantage, as no such team has won the Super Bowl since Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts after starting the 2006 season at 9-0.
The streak started in historic fashion, with the Patriots completing a perfect regular season in 2007 before falling to 18-1 against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. At 18 years, this active streak is the longest such streak in the Super Bowl era.
There have technically been 24 teams that have come up short during this stretch, since there were multiple teams that tied for the most wins before losing in 2010 (three teams), 2014 (three), 2019 (two), and 2023 (two).
A Bills loss against the Patriots would make that true again in 2025, though we're obviously hoping it doesn't come down to that and that the Bills can advance to 5-0 this evening.
The bright side (pun intended) is that, in nine of those 18 years, one of those last remaining undefeated teams did at least get to the Super Bowl, and given the fact that the Bills haven't yet been able to get over that hump during their current run of five consecutive AFC East championships, perhaps that's at least a good sign.
But this team wants more, and if they do finally manage to get there for the first time since January 1994 (specifically, if they finally manage to beat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs during the postseason), this team is looking to put an end to this obscure 18-year run of the league's last unbeaten teams falling out of playoff contention early.
The Bills have been the outright Super Bowl favorites ever since their insane Week 1 comeback over the Baltimore Ravens, and they have the reigning MVP – and current MVP favorite – leading the way in Josh Allen.
Anything less than their first Lombardi Trophy this coming February would once again leave Bills Mafia feeling a sense of massive disappointment, no matter how long their unbeaten streak lasts to start the year.