Winners and losers: 5 takeaways from the Bills' blowout win over the Jets in Week 17

While the Buffalo Bills entered Week 17 knowing they no longer had a shot at the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC, they also knew they could lock up the No. 2 spot if they took care of business against the New York Jets.

And take care of business they did.

With Josh Allen making yet more history on the offensive side of the ball and the defense putting on one of its best performances of the entire season, Buffalo cruised to an easy 40-14 win. And don't let the final score fool you, as this game wasn't nearly as close as even a 26-point margin of victory would indicate, which is obviously saying something.

As the Bills have now locked up the second seed, which guarantees them two home games as long as they advance past the Wild Card Round, one has to wonder if Sean McDermott will rest Allen and some other starters in Week 18 against the New England Patriots. But let's not look that far ahead just yet.

For now, let's have a look at the biggest winners for the Bills in their Week 17 win over the Jets. We'd typically throw a loser or two in here, but it was quite difficult to find one after such a dominant performance.

Winner: The Buffalo defense as a whole

Normally, we kick things off with Josh Allen, but the Bills' defense undoubtedly deserves its flowers here at the start.

It's no secret that Bobby Babich's unit hasn't played well over the last few weeks.

After allowing 44 points and 457 total yards in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14 and then surrendering 42 points and 521 total yards in a victory over the Detroit Lions a week later, the Buffalo defense allowed New England to amass nearly 250 yards of offense over the first 30 minutes of last week's contest before buckling down in the second 30, forcing the Pats into three turnovers on their first three possessions to open the second half.

That momentum carried into Sunday's matchup with the Jets, as the Bills forced three more turnovers in the victory, with Jordan Phillips and Christian Benford each intercepting Aaron Rodgers and Ed Oliver forcing Garrett Wilson into a fumble that was recovered by Matt Milano.

Oliver was also responsible for one of four Buffalo sacks on the day, which included a safety sack from A.J. Epenesa in the second quarter.

In total, the Bills allowed just 281 yards to a New York offense that had averaged 374.3 over the last three weeks. And a lot of those came late when Buffalo eased back and let Rodgers' replacement, Tyrod Taylor, do just about anything he wanted. This is the best the defense has looked in quite some time, and that'll do nothing but build confidence heading into the postseason.

Winner: Josh Allen

Now that the defense has gotten its due, we can move on to Allen, who only played the first three quarters before being lifted, which was the right call by McDermott.

In his limited time, the possible NFL MVP played an efficient game, completing 16-of-27 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns, adding 17 yards and a score on the ground.

And with that rushing TD on the Bills' opening drive, Allen now has 65 such scores for his career, tying him with legendary running back Thurman Thomas for the most in franchise history. With three total TDs, Allen is also now the first player in NFL history to account for 40 touchdowns in five consecutive seasons.

Winner: James Cook

While James Cook didn't have a monster day, rushing for 53 yards on 15 carries, the third-year back did score his 17th touchdown of the season in the third quarter on a 1-yard run, which gives him the league lead among all players.

As 15 of those scores have come on the ground, Cook is now tied with Allen for the second-most rushing touchdowns in franchise history in a single season and is just one shy of the franchise mark of 16 set by none other than O.J. Simpson in 1975.

Winner: Keon Coleman

Keon Coleman wasn't the Bills' leading receiver against the Jets, catching three passes for 27 yards.

One of his three receptions, however, went for a 14-yard touchdown, marking his first time in the end zone since all the way back in Week 8 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Given what the rookie wideout has been through this season, missing a month and a half of action with a wrist injury, getting his first touchdown since October 27 had to feel fantastic and should give him a boost heading into the playoffs.

Winners: Mitchell Trubisky & Tyrell Shavers

Coming into this contest, the odds of seeing the combination of Mitchell Trubisky and Tyrell Shavers on the list of Buffalo winners in Week 17 had to be somewhat similar to those of winning that billion-dollar Mega Millions jackpot a few days back.

But just as there was a winner on that, here these two are.

After entering the game for Allen in the fourth quarter, Trubisky threw exactly one pass. That one pass, however, was a 69-yard touchdown to Shavers, a second-year practice squad player who went undrafted out of San Diego State in 2023.

After not appearing in a game a season ago and suiting up for just two this year, catching zero passes, Shavers now has one career catch, and it's a 69-yard touchdown. Yeah, we'll call that a win.