ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — After the past two weeks, the Buffalo Bills, who already have had their actual bye, could use at least a figurative one by facing a team that shouldn’t put up much of a fight.
That’s what Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers feels like.
Oddsmakers have made the Bills nearly a two-touchdown favorite, and that seems about right. The Panthers aren’t good and are going nowhere but home when the regular season ends. The Bills are (or at least appear to be) significantly better. They’re still on course to return to the postseason, their two-game losing streak notwithstanding.
But does it make sense for the Bills to take anything for granted?
Recent history strongly suggests it’s a bad idea. For those who have done their best to bury the memory, the Bills are one of only two teams to lose to the hapless, helpless, hopeless Jacksonville Jaguars. Yes, the Bills found a way to provide one of only two bright spots to the train wreck that was Urban Meyer’s failed foray into NFL head-coaching.
The obvious cautionary tale should provide plenty of discouragement to take the Panthers – or any of the other remaining lightweights left on the schedule (Atlanta and the New York Jets) – lightly.
With that in mind, it makes perfect sense for Josh Allen to be starting against the Panthers.
Of course, his being available to play – despite the foot sprain he suffered against Tampa Bay last weekend – must first have been based on a medical decision. Still, one can’t but help recognize the fact he was listed as limited in two days of practices, including an unusual walk-through on Wednesday.
It seems reasonably clear the Bills had zero buy-ins to a widely held notion outside the team that they didn’t necessarily need Allen to beat the Panthers.
“Let Mitch Trubisky take this one,” went the common refrain among many Bills fans. “Make sure Josh is as healthy as possible when it really counts.”
That would be on Dec. 26, when the Bills get their second crack of the season at the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass.
However, the reality is the Bills can’t afford to take a chance with any of the final four games of the regular season. The AFC East title is still within their grasp. To have any hope of winning it, they likely must have a 4-0 finish. For that matter, to assure themselves of at least a wild-card playoff spot, they probably can’t afford to win any fewer than three games.
Presuming that playing against Carolina doesn’t enhance his chances of reinjury or something more serious, Allen playing is the right way for the Bills to proceed.
As they’ve already shown, they’re in no position to take anything for granted.