ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Like it or not, Bills coach Sean McDermott has come to terms with tolerating the imperfections of Buffalo’s patchwork and injury-depleted defense for however many games left in the season — including the likelihood a playoff berth.
It’s not so much McDermott lowering his standards, but rather taking a cup half-full approach in defending a unit often criticized for its flaws rather than celebrated for its resilience.
A case in point came last week, when McDermott was reminded of how coordinator Bobby Babich used the word “disgusting” in referring to Buffalo allowing a season-high 246 yards rushing in a 35-31 win over New England.
Acknowledging the run defense has been a season-long concern, McDermott proceeded to outline how the unit has responded in the clutch.
He credited his staff and players for stepping up by saying: “It’s what you do when the moments are the brightest.”
“I know you want to focus on the negative,” McDermott added. “I’m going to stay focused on both ends of the spectrum, because that’s the perspective I have to have, and how you get things corrected.”
The bad and the good were once again apparent in a 23-20 win over Cleveland on Sunday.
It was a game in which the Bills allowed 160 yards rushing — the seventh time this season they’ve allowed 150 or more.
And yet, the defense stiffened when it mattered with two interceptions, twice limiting the Browns to field goals inside the red zone, and turning the ball over on downs at the Cleveland 30 on Greg Rousseau’s 14-yard sack with 5:02 left.
With Buffalo’s offense sputtering in managing just 62 yards and three points in the second half, the defense secured the win by leaving the Browns no choice but punting from their 1 on what became their final possession with 1:49 left.
This was emblematic of how Buffalo’s defense has performed for much of this season.
Though the Bills entered Monday ranking 31st against the run, 27th on third down, and tied for 16th in allowing nearly 23 points per outing, their second-half numbers are superior.
Buffalo is tied for fourth in the NFL in allowing an average nine points in the second half. Of the Bills’ 20 takeaways this season, 12 have come in the second half.
The production has been enough in helping Buffalo (11-4) become the NFL’s fifth team ever to reach 11 wins for six or more consecutive seasons. The Bills still have an outside chance of winning a sixth straight AFC East title in trailing New England (12-3), and have the inside track to clinch a seventh straight playoff berth, needing only a loss by Houston or Indianapolis.
Injuries are an issue, with edge rushers Michael Hoecht and Landon Jackson, and starting safety Taylor Rapp on IR. Starting tackle Ed Oliver, however, is on track to return after being sidelined by a torn left bicep in Week 8.
The ultimate question is whether the defense can hold up in the postseason or wilt as it's done too many times in the past. In the past five times the Bills have been eliminated, including two AFC championship game appearances, they’ve allowed an average of 33 points, 426 yards and 150 yards rushing.
“Do we need to be more consistent? Yes. You can’t allow a team to do what they did,” McDermott said Sunday, before turning to the positives against Cleveland. “The takeaways, in addition to the adjustments by the staff in the fourth quarter in particular. The guys showed up and they made plays they needed to make.”
A James Cook-led running game. In scoring twice and finishing with 117 yards rushing, the fourth-year player topped 100 for the ninth time this season. O.J. Simpson did so 11 times in 1973, and Cook is tied for second with Thurman Thomas (1992).
Third down production. Buffalo converted just 2 of 8 third down opportunities, for its second-worst outing of the season after going 2 of 9 in a 24-14 loss to Atlanta.
Rousseau. The fifth-year player had a season-high 2 1/2 sacks and was credited with a career-high seven quarterback hits.
WR Keon Coleman. The 2024 second-round pick was a healthy scratch for the third time this season, including serving a one-game team suspension for being late to a meeting.
LB Shaq Thompson did not return after hurting his neck. ... S Jordan Poyer hurt his hamstring in the second half. ... McDermott listed Josh Allen as day to day because of a sore right foot, though he expects the quarterback to play this weekend. Allen was hurt late in the second quarter against Cleveland before being cleared to finish the game.
24 — Number of TDs rushing the Bills have allowed this season — the second most in team history and two short of matching the franchise record set in a 14-game season in 1972.
Brace to host the defending Super Bowl champion and two-time NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles (10-5) on Sunday.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) throws under pressure from Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Deone Walker (96) during the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott waves to fans after an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Daquan Jones (92) celebrates an interception against the Cleveland Browns during the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/David Richard)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs announced Monday they will leave their longtime home at Arrowhead Stadium for a new, domed stadium that will be built across the Kansas-Missouri state line and be ready for the start of the 2031 season.
The announcement came shortly after a council of Kansas lawmakers voted unanimously inside a packed room at the state Capitol to allow for STAR bonds to be issued to cover up to 70% of the cost of the stadium and accompanying mixed-use district.
The bonds will be paid off with state sales and liquor tax revenues generated in a defined area around it.
“The location of Chiefs games will change,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said after the meeting, “but some things won't change. Our fans will still be the loudest in the NFL, our games will still be the best place in the world to tailgate, and our players and coaches will be ready to compete for championships, because on the field or off the field, we are big dreamers, and we're ready for the next chapter.”
The Chiefs intend their $3 billion stadium project to be built in Kansas City, Kansas, near the Kansas Speedway and a retail district known as The Legends. The area is home to Children's Mercy Park, the home of MLS club Sporting Kansas City, and Legends Field, the home of the Kansas City Monarchs minor league baseball team.
The Chiefs also plan to build a $300 million practice facility in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, Kansas.
“Today's announcement is truly historic. Actually, it's a little surreal,” Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said. “Today's announcement will touch the lives of Kansans for generations to come. Today's announcement is a total game-changer for our state.
“We have always been Chiefs fans,” Kelly said. “Now we are Chiefs family.”
The move by the Chiefs is a massive blow to Missouri lawmakers and Gov. Mike Kehoe, who had been working on their own funding package to prevent a third NFL franchise and the second in a decade from leaving their borders; the Rams left St. Louis for Los Angeles in part due to their inability to secure funding to help replace The Dome at America’s Center.
Kehoe had backed a special legislative session in June to authorize bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums, plus up to $50 million of tax credits for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments.
“They thought new and shiny was better than old and reliable,” Kehoe said after the Chiefs' announcement, adding that the club was in discussions with Missouri officials about staying at a renovated or rebuilt Arrowhead Stadium as late as last week.
“We won’t give up. We’ll look for cracks in the armor and find out if there’s a Missouri Show-Me solution through our sports act,” he said.
The Chiefs originally planned an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead Stadium in a joint effort with the Royals, who are similarly planning to build a new facility to replace Kauffman Stadium. The facilities sit a couple hundred yards apart, across a parking lot, and both teams have leases with Jackson County, Missouri, that expire in January 2031.
Last year, Jackson County voters soundly defeated a local sales tax extension which would have helped to pay for those renovations to the football stadium while helping to fund a new ballpark for the Royals in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
The Royals were not discussed by Kansas lawmakers Monday, but momentum appears to be building behind their own move across the state line. An affiliate of the club already has purchased the mortgage on a tract of land in Overland Park, Kansas.
“While the Chiefs aren’t going far away and aren’t gone yet, today is a setback as a Kansas Citian, a former Chiefs season ticket-holder and lifelong Chiefs fan,” said Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. “Business decisions are a reality and we all understand that, but Arrowhead Stadium is more — it’s family, tradition and a part of Kansas City we will never leave.”
Hunt has long said his preference was to renovate Arrowhead Stadium, which was beloved by his father and team founder, the late Lamar Hunt. It is considered one of the jewels of the NFL, alongside Lambeau Field in Green Bay, and is revered for its tailgating scene and home-field advantage; it currently holds the Guinness World Record for the loudest stadium roar.
This summer, Arrowhead Stadium will host six World Cup matches, including matches in the Round of 32 and quarterfinals.
Lamar Hunt established the Chiefs on Aug. 14, 1959. The team was originally based in Dallas and known as the Texans, but Hunt was convinced by then-Kansas City Mayor H. Roe Bartle to relocate the team to Missouri with promises of tripling the team's season-ticket sales and expanding the seating capacity of Municipal Stadium.
In 1972, the team moved into Arrowhead Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex just east of downtown Kansas City.
The stadium has undergone numerous renovations through the years, allowing it to stay relevant in a changing sports landscape. But there has been little economic development around the stadium, the facility itself is starting to show wear and tear, and there is a limit to the number of luxury suites and amenities that the franchise can utilize to help drive revenue.
While the Hunt family has long loved Arrowhead Stadium, it has warmed in recent years to the idea of a replacement.
Not only would it solve many of the shortcomings of the Chiefs' longtime home, a new facility with a fixed or retractable roof would allow them to use it year-round. That would mean the potential for hosting more concerts and events, college football bowl games, the Final Four and perhaps one of Lamar Hunt's long-held dreams: a Super Bowl.
“Chiefs fans on both sides of the state line can tell you that the success we've enjoyed together has elevated the profile of the entire region,” Clark Hunt said. “Sports are woven into the fabric of this community. If you travel and go to New York or Los Angeles or Europe or South America, you don't have to tell people which side of the state line you're from. You tell them you're from Kansas City, and there's a pretty good chance their response might have something to do with the Chiefs.”
Hanna reported from Topeka. Skretta reported from Kansas City, Missouri.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, confers with members of the Legislature's staff before a meeting of legislative leaders to review a proposal for issuing bonds to help the Kansas City Chiefs build a new stadium on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt watches the start of a meeting of legislative leaders who had the power to decide whether the state issues bonds to help the Chiefs finance a new stadium on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
