On Pattison Picks: Will Eagles pass their final test against the Bills?

It must suck to be the Buffalo Bills, right?

First, Tom Brady runs wild in your division, and you don't make the playoffs at all from 2000 to 2016. You draft Josh Allen in 2018, and you develop him into an MVP-caliber quarterback. But the Chiefs, who drafted Patrick Mahomes in 2017, are perpetually one step ahead of you. Even with the Patriots out of the divisional picture, now you can't get past the Chiefs in the playoffs.

Finally, in 2025, the Chiefs miss the playoffs. Smooth sailing from here, right? This is the year!

But this Drake Maye kid comes out of nowhere, and now even the division isn't a sure bet anymore. If you're the Buffalo Bills, you just can't win.

The Bills need this game much more than the Eagles do. With two games to go, the Patriots lead the AFC East at 12-3, and the Bills are right behind them at 11-4. The 10-5 Eagles have already locked up the NFC East title, but they're on unsteady ground. This is the Birds' last test before the playoffs. To ease the fanbase's fears, they need a good showing.

DraftKings Sportsbook has the Bills as 1.5-point favorites to beat the Eagles on Sunday. Here's what our staff thinks will happen.

Anthony SanFilippo (7-8)

Score: Bills 27 - Eagles 23

Game MVP: Grace Del Pizzo for compiling this post on a combined birthday/holiday weekend (Happy Birthday, Grace!)

The Eagles should be able to run the ball against Buffalo. The Bills don't stop the run at all and Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts have had some success in the last two weeks on the ground – albeit against the Raiders and Commanders, who are a combined 6-25 this season. So, until they prove they can do it against a good defense, it's O.K. to be skeptical. Lane Johnson was supposed to be back for this one, which would have helped. Instead, he's out. 

Jalen Carter is back, which should help the Eagles a little against Buffalo's rushing attack, which is stout, and ranks No. 1 in the league. The only thing is, the Bears put out the film about how to creatively run the ball against the Birds if you are a good running team, and the Bills will certainly employ some of those schemes, while also having the threat of Josh Allen running the ball from the QB spot in addition to running back James Cook.

The Eagles will not have Nakobe Dean, which will hurt big time. That means rookie Jihaad Campbell is back in the spotlight. He's not had a lot of snaps in the last eight weeks with Dean playing so well. Can he just jump into the fray and be good against a good team? I think he'll struggle in this one. A key matchup for the Eagles will be Jaelen Phillips vs. Allen. Phillips needs to hold the edge or else Allen will beat him to the outside and have room to run. Justin Herbert took advantage of it, and Allen is even better than Herbert.

In the end, though, I think this is a see-saw game that ends with an Allen to Dawson Knox touchdown pass in the final minute to pull out a win for Buffalo and, coupled with a Seattle win in Carolina, lock the Eagles into the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs.

Grace Del Pizzo (8-7)

Score: Eagles 28 - Bills 27

Game MVP: Jalen Carter

First of all, thanks for the birthday wishes, Anthony!

Now, brace yourself for a vintage Cardiac Birds game, because it's going to be close (again). 

Josh Allen is always unreal, but even though it isn't on the final injury report, he's still recovering from the right foot injury he suffered last week against the Cleveland Browns. He didn't practice Tuesday and was a limited participant on Wednesday. Allen is notoriously tough – including playoffs, Sunday will be his 139th consecutive start – but the Eagles should find ways to capitalize anyway. 

On that note, Allen has the unlucky honor of being the first quarterback in quite a long time to face a healthy Jalen Carter, who will return from a one-month absence on Sunday. By the time Carter had his shoulder procedures done, his pain and limited flexibility prevented him from even doing a pushup. Upon his return, he told The Athletic that he'll "play blocks better, play with (his) hands more," since his shoulders "were kind of restricting it." Carter also had this to say about the last time he faced Allen:

“[Josh Allen] a dawg man. I remember we played him two years ago and I missed a sack on him. So I gotta get that back."

Jalen Carter expects to play Sunday against the Bills. https://t.co/pTxROycv6t

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) December 26, 2025

So he's a man – a finally-healthy man – on a mission. I expect to see Carter on the warpath as he fights to salvage what was technically a down season, even though injuries kept him from performing at the highest level. 

The Bills defense will be missing two big contributors in safety Jordan Poyer and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones. There are opportunities to be seized here for the Eagles offense. It's there for the taking. It'll be close, because the Bills are a very, very good football team. But if Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo and Vic Fangio exploit the right weaknesses, they'll find the road to victory.

Tim Kelly (9-6)

Score: Bills 27 - Eagles 20

Game MVP: Josh Allen

Both of these teams are flawed, but the Bills have more to play for and are in the penultimate regular-season game at Highmark Stadium.

Oh, and they have Josh Allen, who is probably the most physically gifted quarterback I've ever seen.

I'm still interested to see what the Eagles' offense looks like as they near the postseason, but I am taking the Bills in this one.