Josh Allen could use a break, and he's expected to get one in Buffalo's season finale against Jets

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — A little battered and visibly frustrated, Josh Allen can use a rest. And the Bills quarterback is expected to get one Sunday in what's essentially a meaningless regular-season finale against the New York Jets.

Aside from taking the opening snap to extend his streak of consecutive regular-season starts to 122, the longest active run among NFL quarterbacks, Allen is expected to watch the rest of the game from the sideline.

The Week 18 break would provide him a chance to take in the Bills playing what could be the final game at their 52-year-old stadium affectionately called “The Ralph,” in honor of the late franchise founder and Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson.

Next season, the Bills are set to relocate across the street to a new $2.1 billion home, already dubbed “The Stadium Allen Built.”

More important is Allen having an opportunity to allow his sore right foot time to heal before Buffalo (11-5) opens the playoffs on the road in two weeks. The QB also certainly could use a mental break during a season in which he’s been relied upon to carry the offensive load too often.

Competitive and remarkable as he’s been in combining for 39 touchdowns (25 passing, 14 rushing) and engineering four fourth-quarter comebacks, even Allen has limitations, which became readily apparent in a 13-12 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday.

With his body beaten after absorbing five sacks, and after rallying the Bills by scoring two TDs rushing in the final 5:11, Allen was unable to finish the job. Attempting a 2-point conversion with five seconds left, Allen dropped back and never got his feet set before launching a pass that sailed a foot wide of open receiver Khalil Shakir in the back of the end zone.

In the end, it was perhaps too much to ask of Allen to overcome a slow-starting offense that was blanked through nearly 55 minutes and compounded by a special teams letdown in which Michael Badgley had an extra point attempt blocked.

And perhaps Allen put too much on his broad shoulders, by giving way to impatience and relying on his athleticism when plays broke down.

It happened in the closing minutes of the third quarter, when Allen overlooked an open receiver by taking off and getting stopped short of the goal line on fourth-and-goal from the Eagles 3.

And it happened again on the next series, when facing third-and-8 from the Philadelphia 27. Allen rolled to his left and reversed field before being caught from behind by Jalyx Hunt for a 19-yard loss, forcing a punt rather than a field-goal opportunity.

In an outing where the Bills' often-maligned defense played its most complete outing of the season — limiting the Eagles to one first down and 16 yards offense in the second half, Allen deserved and accepted a share of the blame.

“It just comes down to us executing, making one more play than they did. And obviously we saw that we didn’t make that last play,” he said, before correcting himself. “I didn’t make that last play.”

He called it a lesson he would have been happier to learn in victory.

It’s a stinging feeling Allen will have to carry for an extra week and perhaps fuel the NFL’s reigning MVP in his pursuit of what so far has been an elusive Super Bowl berth.

A defense that overcame missing starting defensive tackle DaQuan Jones and starting safety Jordan Poyer and then lost starting linebacker Terrel Bernard to a calf injury. Philadelphia's 190 yards were the fewest in defeat since Buffalo allowed 175 in a 21-17 loss at Miami on Dec. 2, 2018.

Faster starts. The Bills were blanked in the first half for the second time this season, something that happened only four times spanning 2019-2024. After combining to score 55 points in the first quarter of its first eight outings this season, Buffalo has managed just 24 in its past eight.

WR Brandin Cooks. In his fifth game since signing with Buffalo after being released by New Orleans, the 12th-year speedster erupted for a season-high six catches for 101 yards. He became Buffalo's fifth player to top 100 yards receiving this year, with tight end Dalton Kincaid doing it twice.

Badgley. The kicker was released Monday after failing on two extra-point attempts in two games since Matt Prater went down with a quadricep injury.

Coach Sean McDermott already has ruled out Bernard from playing Sunday. He also revealed starting DT Ed Oliver had a minor setback last week while recovering from a torn left bicep sustained in Week 9.

7 — Most punts forced by Buffalo in defeat since forcing seven in a 24-17 home loss to Baltimore on Dec. 8, 2019.

The Bills are expected to rest many starters against the Jets. Buffalo currently is the AFC’s No. 7 seed and needs a win and help to climb higher.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen (17) tries to ge away from Philadelphia Eagles' Jalyx Hunt (58), Jalen Carter (98) and Nolan Smith (3) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen (17) is sacked by Philadelphia Eagles' Jalyx Hunt (58) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen pauses during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Carter, left, sacks Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen (17) is tackled short of a touchdown by Philadelphia Eagles' Jaelan Phillips (50) and Jordan Davis (90) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

GENEVA (AP) — The United States on Monday announced a $2 billion pledge for U.N. humanitarian aid as President Donald Trump’s administration slashes U.S. foreign assistance and warns United Nations agencies they must “adapt, shrink or die” in a time of new financial realities.

The money is a small fraction of what the U.S. has contributed in the past but reflects what the administration believes is still a generous amount that will maintain America's status as the world’s largest humanitarian donor.

“This new model will better share the burden of U.N. humanitarian work with other developed countries and will require the U.N. to cut bloat, remove duplication, and commit to powerful new impact, accountability and oversight mechanisms,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media.

The pledge creates an umbrella fund from which money will be doled out to agencies and priorities, a key part of U.S. demands for drastic changes across the U.N. that have alarmed many humanitarian workers and led to severe reductions in programs and services.

The $2 billion is only a sliver of traditional U.S. humanitarian funding for U.N.-coordinated programs, which has run as high as $17 billion annually in recent years, according to U.N. data. U.S. officials say only $8 billion to $10 billion of that has been in voluntary contributions. The United States also pays billions in annual dues related to its U.N. membership.

“The piggy bank is not open to organizations that just want to return to the old system," Jeremy Lewin, the State Department official in charge of foreign assistance, said at a press conference Monday in Geneva. "President Trump has made clear that the system is dead.”

The State Department said “individual U.N. agencies will need to adapt, shrink, or die.” Critics say the Western aid cutbacks have been shortsighted, driven millions toward hunger, displacement or disease, and harmed U.S. soft power around the world.

The move caps a crisis year for many U.N. organizations, including its refugee, migration and food aid agencies. The Trump administration has already cut billions in U.S. foreign aid, prompting the agencies to slash spending, aid projects and thousands of jobs. Other traditional Western donors have reduced outlays, too.

The U.S. pledge for aid programs of the United Nations — the world’s top provider of humanitarian assistance and biggest recipient of U.S. humanitarian aid money — takes shape in a preliminary deal with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, run by Tom Fletcher, a former British diplomat and government official.

Fletcher, who has spent the past year lobbying U.S. officials not to abandon U.N. funding altogether, appeared optimistic at the deal's signing in Geneva.

“It’s a very, very significant landmark contribution. And a month ago, I would have anticipated the number would have been zero,” he told reporters. “And so I think, before worrying about what we haven’t got, I’d like to look at the millions of people whose lives will be saved, whose lives will be better because of this contribution, and start there.”

Even as the U.S. pulls back its aid contributions, needs have ballooned worldwide: Famine has been recorded this year in parts of conflict-ridden Sudan and Gaza, and floods, drought and natural disasters that many scientists attribute to climate change have taken many lives or driven thousands from their homes.

The cuts will have major implications for U.N. affiliates like the International Organization for Migration, the World Food Program and refugee agency UNHCR. They have already received billions less from the U.S. this year than under annual allocations from the Biden administration — or even during Trump’s first term.

Now, the idea is that Fletcher’s office — which has aimed to improve efficiency — will become a funnel for U.S. and other aid money that can be redirected to those agencies, rather than scattered U.S. contributions to a variety of individual appeals for aid.

Asked by reporters if the U.S. language of “adapt or die” worried him, Fletcher said, “If the choices are adapt or die, I choose adapt.”

U.S. officials say the $2 billion is just a first outlay to help fund OCHA’s annual appeal for money. Fletcher, noting the upended aid landscape, already slashed the request this year. Other traditional U.N. donors like Britain, France, Germany and Japan have reduced aid allocations and sought reforms this year.

“This humanitarian reset at the United Nations should deliver more aid with fewer tax dollars — providing more focused, results-driven assistance aligned with U.S foreign policy,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said.

At its core, the changes will help establish pools of funding that can be directed either to specific crises or countries in need. A total of 17 countries will be initially targeted, including Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Syria and Ukraine.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres also welcomed the announcement, saying that “every dollar counts."

Two of the world’s most desperate countries, Afghanistan and Yemen, are not included, with U.S. officials citing aid diversion to the Taliban and Houthi rebels as concerns over restarting contributions.

Also not mentioned on the list are the Palestinian territories, which officials say will be covered by money stemming from Trump’s as-yet-incomplete Gaza peace plan.

The U.N. project, months in the making, stems from Trump’s longtime view that the world body has great promise but has failed to live up to it and has — in his eyes — drifted too far from its original mandate to save lives while undermining American interests, promoting radical ideologies and encouraging wasteful, unaccountable spending.

“No one wants to be an aid recipient. No one wants to be living in a UNHCR camp because they’ve been displaced by conflict,” Lewin said. “So the best thing that we can do to decrease costs, and President Trump recognizes this and that’s why he’s the president of peace, is by ending armed conflict and allowing communities to get back to peace and prosperity.”

Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed from New York.

FILE - A woman and her children, survivors of Sunday night's 6.0-magnitude earthquake, wait for assistance in the village of Wadir, Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Nava Jamshidi, File)