Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bills have one final home game on the regular season schedule before getting the chance to potentially host, at least, two playoff games at the friendly confines of Highmark Stadium.
This Sunday will see the Bills hosting their AFC East foe, the New York Jets, for the chance to lock up the 2-seed in the AFC playoff picture with one game then remaining in Week 18 against the New England Patriots.
Up to this point of the season, the Bills have been perfect at home with seven wins at Highmark Stadium. The last time the Bills went undefeated at home for an entire season came back in 1990, the first season of the team's four-straight trips to the Super Bowl.
"It's big for us, and it's big because it is one of the goals that we set during the start of the season of playing well at home, and then playing well in the division. It is important for us to play well at home, in front of our fans in particular," said Bills head coach Sean McDermott during his weekly appearance on the "Extra Point Show" on Friday.
With a win on Christmas Day over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Kansas City Chiefs officially locked up the 1-seed in the AFC standings, securing a first-round bye in the playoffs.
While this moniker had been a target for the Bills, especially after beating the Chiefs in Week 11, now Buffalo will shift focus to securing the No. 2 seed in AFC standings this weekend.
"It is important. Every game is important in the NFL, we treat them as such," McDermott said with Sal Capaccio on WGR. "Does seeding matter? I think to a certain extent, but also not to a certain extent as well. So at the end of the day, it's about us playing as good as we can possibly play tomorrow, and then on into the playoffs."
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This past Sunday against the Patriots saw the Bills missing quite a few starters in their secondary due to injury.
The good news for the Bills is one of those starters, cornerback Rasul Douglas, has been given the green light to return to action this week after battling back from a knee injury. Another player confirmed to be available this week for Buffalo is linebacker Matt Milano, who missed last week's game with a groin injury.
However, three other members of the secondary remain a question mark to be able to play this coming Sunday, as safeties Damar Hamlin (rib) and Taylor Rapp (neck), as well as defensive back Cam Lewis (shouldr) are all listed as questionable to play against the Jets.
The lone other questionable member of the Bills against the Jets will be wide receiver Curtis Samuel, who is dealing with a rib injury.
As for the Jets, they come to town this weekend with an abysmal 4-11 record, especially given the sky-high expectations from many league pundits before the regular season.
The two teams already met once this year, and it led to a close 23-20 win for the Bills at MetLife Stadium back in Week 6.
Since then, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Jets have not been able to string any sort of success together, and have been officially eliminated from playoff contention for the 14th-straight season.
McDermott knows, though, the Jets still have a formidable team with Rodgers at the helm, and may look to play spoiler for the Bills, if possible.
"Extremely talented football team across the board, not just on offense, but defensively as well," McDermott said. "[Rodgers'] success speaks for itself. Over the years, what he's done in Green Bay, what he's now done with the Jets, what an accomplished player he is, and an elite passer. I mean the names of [Tom] Brady, [Drew] Brees, [Peyton] Manning, [Brett] Favre, now Aaron and what he's been able to do. With the amount of touchdown passes they've thrown, I know he's going for 500 this week, and so it'll be a big challenge for us on defense."
Kickoff on Sunday is slated for 1 p.m. EST, and you can hear all of the play-by-play action on the official voice of the Bills - WGR Sports Radio 550 - with Chris Brown, Eric Wood and Sal on the call.