After five straight seasons of commanding the AFC East, the Buffalo Bills are likely headed toward a second-place finish in the division with a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. Naturally, for a team with Super Bowl-or-bust-type expectations, that’s concerning to the Bills Mafia heading down the final stretch of the 2025 campaign.
Still, it’s not as though the Super Bowl aspirations are dead in the water. Buffalo is 8-4, coming off a dominant road victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In that game, Buffalo leaned on its running game to the tune of 249 yards, despite missing both starting tackles.
That’s something legendary Bills quarterback Jim Kelly wants to see more of down the stretch. Kelly spoke with Rich Eisen on his show Tuesday and gave his perspective on the Bills’ outlook heading down the final stretch.
Why Jim Kelly sees the Buffalo Bills’ ground game as the stabilizer for their playoff push
“I mean, we play good, and then some days we don't. I really don't know at this point, but of course, I'm still on that bandwagon,” Kelly said. “ I will never jump off of it. As long as we have number 17 on the field, I think we have a great chance. But hopefully we will continue to get better because, as you well know, when you head to the, you know, later parts of the season, you need that running game to go. And last week against Pittsburgh, we had the running game going.”
Running the football well in December and January has long been a defining trait of most championship-caliber teams. After that performance against Pittsburgh, the Bills have the league’s No. 1-ranked rushing attack. To Kelly’s point, it’s wise to keep feeding James Cook to keep the offense moving in a positive direction.
But as Kelly alluded to, everything rides on the quarterback just the same.
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Kelly, of course, praised Allen’s abilities and the efforts he delivers so consistently to keep Buffalo in the mix. Still, he cautioned the importance of keeping Allen healthy and preventing the former MVP from playing too much hero ball.
While the Bills can’t exactly win all of their remaining games with less than 150 passing yards and 250 on the ground, it is a blueprint worth expanding upon. It may be a bit late in the season to discover the type of balance the offense needs to be successful, but it’s clear to Kelly and many Bills fans that it’s the right path to take.