Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bills were able to squeak past the Cleveland Browns in a closer than expected contest over the weekend to advance to 11-4 on the season.
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That win Sunday at Huntington Bank Field, along with a loss from the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night, helped clinch the Bills a playoff berth for a seventh-consecutive season, which is now the longest active streak in the National Football League.
The Bills got off to a flying start offensively thanks to the run game, as James Cook rushed for 100 yards in the first half and accounted for two touchdowns. Ty Johnson also found the end zone for the Bills to help Buffalo take a 20-10 lead into the locker room.
While the offense was stymied in the second half, it was the defense that bent, but didn't break, keeping the Browns from taking a late lead and helping the Bills secure a 23-20 victory.
Now with two games remaining in the regular season, the Bills still remain one game back in the race for the AFC East with the New England Patriots. As the Bills still have the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets remaining on their schedule, the Patriots will play the Jets this coming Sunday at MetLife Stadium and then host the Miami Dolphins in the regular season finale.
Looking at the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Eagles have already secured the NFC West and are now looking at finding a way to make a repeat run as champions.
While the Eagles exhibited a high-flying offense last season, that unit has gotten off to a much slower start under new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. Philadelphia currently ranks 22nd in the league in total yards per-game (319.6 yards), while averaging just 23.3 points per-game.
Where the Eagles remain a dangerous threat in the NFC and the entire NFL is defensively, where they rank just below the Bills at 12th overall in the league, averaging 315.7 yards per-game. The Eagles rank third overall in the league in scoring, giving up just 19.3 points per-game.
Last week, Howard Simon generated a bit of a buzz kill by picking the Bills to make a run to the Super Bowl as a Wild Card team, only to lose to the Los Angeles Rams in San Francisco.
Quite a different story this time around.
While Howard picked the Bills to finish the 2025 season with back-to-back wins at home, it was not enough to earn another AFC East title. However, it still earned Buffalo the top seed in the Wild Card. earning the No. 5 seed in the AFC standings.
It first set up a Wild Card Round matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who the Bills dismantled earlier this season in the "Steel City". Once again, Howard feels the Bills are the better team of the two and earns a win in enemy territory.
Then in the Divisional Round, the Bills earn a trip to the "Mile High City" to face a Denver Broncos team that ended up earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Despite a stellar defense in Denver, Howard feels the Broncos are no match for the Bills, as he picks Buffalo to advance to a second-straight AFC Championship Game.
That sets up a showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars, as Buffalo will need to win another road playoff game in order to punch its ticket to Super Bowl LX. After losing to the Jaguars in Jacksonville in Sean McDermott's first playoff game as head coach in 2017, the Bills exact revenge when it matters most, securing a trip to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1993 season.
With the assistance of producer Joe Cali, the NFC will feature the Seattle Seahawks as the team making the run as the No. 1 seed to the Super Bowl to face the Bills at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
In the "Big Game", Howard feels confident the Bills, led by Josh Allen, will beat out one of his good friends, Sam Darnold, and help Buffalo win the franchise's first Super Bowl title.
Be sure to follow along on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the latest picks from Howard by using the hashtag #HowardPicksTheBills. You can also track all of Howard's picks throughout the season with Brayton Wilson's picks tracker on X: @BraytonJWilson.
You can listen to, as well as watch the latest edition of "Howard Picks the Bills" below: