3 bold predictions for the Bills in playoff tuneup against the Jets

With the Kansas City Chiefs earning a 29-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers this past Wednesday, the Buffalo Bills were officially eliminated from the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

The Bills remain in great shape for the No. 2 seed, but they haven't locked it up just yet, and that race got a touch more interesting after what went down on Christmas Day.

With the Steelers taking the loss to the Chiefs, which dropped Pittsburgh to 10-6, and the Baltimore Ravens knocking off the Houston Texans, Baltimore has taken control of the AFC North at 11-5 and now sits just one game back of Buffalo in the win column.

The Bills, of course, want no part of any tiebreaker with the Ravens, as Baltimore took the head-to-head matchup between the two all the way back in Week 4. But as they're up two over the Ravens in the loss column, a win over the New York Jets this Sunday or a victory over the New England Patriots clinches the No. 2 spot.

As Sean McDermott would likely love to rest some starters against New England in the regular-season finale, a list that might just include Josh Allen, given his broken left hand, it'd obviously be best for Buffalo to take care of business this week against Gang Green.

And with that in mind, here are a few predictions for the Bills in their Week 17 matchup with the Jets.

Josh Allen will account for at least three scores before exiting the game early

In the three games leading into Buffalo's Week 16 matchup with New England, Josh Allen put up ridiculous numbers, accounting for seven passing touchdowns, six rushing scores, and a touchdown reception.

But the NFL MVP favorite didn't play particularly well against the Patriots, completing just 16 of 29 passes for 154 yards and rushing for only 30 yards. While he did throw one touchdown pass, he also tossed his first interception since Week 11 and failed to find the end zone on the ground for the first time since Week 9.

While the Jets' secondary has been one of the best in the league this season, it'll be considerably weaker with Sauce Gardner dealing with a hamstring injury. There's a chance Gardner may not suit up, but even if he does, he obviously won't be at full strength.

As such, Allen will have a far easier time when he opts to throw the ball, and we're calling for him to throw for at least two touchdowns. We're also predicting him to add at least one rushing score to his season total, which currently stands at 11.

As we're also seeing Buffalo owning a big lead in the second half, we're also predicting that Allen will exit the game early to avoid any further injuries.

James Cook will hit 100 rushing yards for the third consecutive week

While the New York defense has been outstanding against the pass, it's struggled at times against the run, ranking just 16th in rushing yards per game allowed at 121.8.

The Jets have been even worse in this area over the last two weeks, giving up 136 yards on the ground to the Jacksonville Jaguars and another 132 to the Los Angeles Rams.

That's nothing but good news for James Cook, who has been on an absolute tear as of late. After hitting the 100-yard mark on the ground just once in his first 11 games, the third-year back has hit the century mark in each of Buffalo's last two outings and three times in the last four weeks, also scoring four touchdowns during that stretch.

Cook missed the first contest between these two teams back in Week 6, a game in which Ray Davis filled in beautifully, rushing for 97 yards and adding another 55 on three receptions. We're calling for Cook to post a similar performance on Sunday, but we predict that he'll take the rushing portion just a touch further and hit 100 yards for the third consecutive week.

The Bills' defense will record at least four sacks and one interception against Aaron Rodgers

The Jets' offensive line has consistently been one of the worst in the NFL throughout the season and enters Sunday's matchup with Buffalo ranked 25th by Pro Football Focus.

While Buffalo has encountered plenty of problems on the defensive side of the football this year, Bobby Babich's unit has typically been consistent in pressuring the quarterback, even if the one administering said pressure doesn't always record a sack, which is why the Bills rank just No. 21 in that department with 34 on the season.

But despite the Bills averaging only 2.27 sacks per game, we're predicting that they'll notch at least four on Aaron Rodgers on Sunday. In addition, we're calling for Buffalo to record at least one interception on the four-time NFL MVP, who hasn't tossed a pick in the last three weeks.

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