Eagles vs. Bills instant observations: The NFL’s MVP has beaten every team – except the Birds

Every other NFL team had already fallen victim to Josh Allen during his eight-year career, but the Eagles were still his white whale. On Sunday, during a downpour in Orchard Park, N.Y., the Eagles hounded, harassed, and smothered the NFL’s reigning MVP for the better part of four quarters. They shut out the Bills for about 55 minutes of the game.

But Allen still had a chance to harpoon the whale — and just whiffed.

Conservative offensive play calling throughout the second half never let the Eagles pull away from their early 13-point lead, and allowing Allen and the Bills to hang around almost came back to haunt Philadelphia. The Bills scored their second touchdown of the fourth quarter to come within a point.

A gutsy decision to go for two backfired on Bills coach Sean McDermott, as Allen just flat-out missed Khalil Shakir, throwing low and wide of the open receiver in the end zone on the two-point attempt.

The Eagles held on to win, 13-12, in a wild game between two teams headed to the postseason but surely with issues to work out if they want to reach the Super Bowl.

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### Josh Allen vs. The Eagles: Still Unconquered

As for Allen, he fell to 0-3 in his career against the Eagles, who remain the lone NFL team he hasn’t yet beaten. He lost 31-13 to Philadelphia in 2019 and 37-34 in overtime at the Linc in 2023. This was the closest he’s come to besting the Birds, but the result remains the same.

The Eagles are finishing 2025 the same way they did 2024 — with a suffocating, sacking, turnover-creating defense carrying the load for an offense that does just enough to get by. This time was no different.

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### Return of Eagles’ Inconsistent Offense

Man, did Nick Sirianni coach conservatively — but why?

The Eagles had already clinched the NFC East and had basically locked up the No. 3 seed. Sirianni and his offensive staff sat on a very slim lead against a team known for big comebacks and never tried to deliver a knockout punch.

The worst calls came in consecutive runs on first and second down after the Bills finally got on the board with a fourth-quarter touchdown. The Eagles ran the ball on first and second down on each of their final two drives, setting up unfavorable third-down scenarios.

Have they not learned their lesson, or does the win cloud their thinking?

We’ve seen this hot-and-cold Eagles offense all year, outside of a few games against inferior opponents. They moved the ball well in the first half, scored an early touchdown, and had some nice third-down conversions — but then completely shut down in the second half.

It appeared the Bills pressured Jalen Hurts less after the break, an adjustment that has worked against the Eagles in the past. What looked like a step forward at halftime resembled something more like the same old Eagles offense for most of the season.

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### Hurts’ Best Drive of the Season

The Eagles’ fourth possession might have been Hurts’ best drive this season.

Still without much of a run game, Philadelphia executed a perfect third-down strike from Hurts to DeVonta Smith in an ultra-tight window between two Bills defenders to move the chains on an 11-yard gain.

On 3rd-and-8, Hurts deftly maneuvered out of a broken pocket and scrambled right, unleashing another perfect throw to A.J. Brown for 19 yards.

Five plays later, Hurts put a ball in Brown’s hands deep down the left sideline, but Brown couldn’t corral it as it went incomplete — still, a great ball by Hurts.

The Eagles settled for a field goal, but Hurts was tremendous on that drive.

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### Offensive Personnel and Run Game Struggles

Even with the Bills missing three defensive tackles, the Eagles chose to attack from 11 personnel (three wide receivers, one tight end) instead of more snaps for tight end/fullback Cam Latu and more plays under center. The results were mixed.

After a good first half, Saquon Barkley got stuffed multiple times in the second and finished with 68 rushing yards, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry.

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### Eagles Defense on a Heater

It’s hard to blame the defense for the late Bills rally — they were on the field too much in the second half as the offense failed to sustain drives. Still, even as they tired down the stretch, Jalen Carter’s blocked PAT played a huge role in the outcome, forcing the Bills to go for two after their last touchdown.

The Bills are very good upfront offensively, but the Eagles were better in the trenches.

Jalyx Hunt was a nightmare — showing excellent lateral movement on stunts to create pressure. He sacked Allen on a line play with Moro Ojomo in the first quarter and added another sack later as Allen tried to freelance around the field.

Carter, back after missing three games due to a shoulder procedure, looked more explosive than he has in months. He swam past right guard O’Cyrus Torrence to sack Allen in the second quarter and, as mentioned, came up with the enormous PAT block.

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### Standout Defensive Performances

Zack Baun continues to play at an unreal level, running downfield to cover tight ends, break up passes, and chase down ball carriers. His touchdown-saving hit on Josh Allen in the third quarter on fourth down at the Eagles’ 1-yard line was arguably the biggest defensive play in the game.

Vic Fangio hasn’t blitzed much over the past five or six weeks — a trait of his defensive style — but he dialed up a few five-man pressures against Allen, which proved effective. These pressures on second- and third-and-long forced Allen to get rid of the ball quickly, leading to incompletions or short throws.

He also disguised some pressures well, confusing Allen. Some of the Bills’ best gains came on spectacular catches downfield rather than poor defense.

Nolan Smith has taken a backseat to Jaelan Phillips and Jalyx Hunt among the edge group, but he still made key plays, including pressuring right tackle Spencer Brown on a critical 3rd-and-15 in the third quarter to force another Bills punt.

Allen, nursing a foot injury from last week’s game against the Browns, clearly felt the impact of consistent pressure early and often.

Cooper DeJean was everywhere in the secondary, finishing with nine tackles. Earlier speculation about moving DeJean to outside corner in nickel defense has quieted, partly because Adoree’ Jackson has held his own opposite Quinyon Mitchell and because DeJean continues to flourish on the inside.

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### Is Jake Elliott Cured?

Jake Elliott passed his tests on Sunday. He nailed the PAT after the Eagles’ first-quarter touchdown, then came through on his first two field goal attempts — booming a 47-yarder in the second quarter for a 10-0 lead and a 28-yarder just before halftime.

All his kicks were on point and automatic, a major step in the right direction after his inconsistent season capped by three misses against the Commanders.

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### Special Teams Notes

Punter Braden Mann continues to master timing his punts just before blockers can react. He launched his first punt 64 yards to the Buffalo 10-yard line despite being pressured by three Bills rushers.

Mann was a Pro Bowl snub this season and had an even better punt in the third quarter that died at Buffalo’s 1-yard line. Unfortunately, Cam Latu decided to down the ball while his foot was on the goal line, turning the punt into a touchback and gifting the Bills better field position.

And, in classic fashion, Sydney Brown got into a fight on a kickoff just before halftime, drawing negating personal foul penalties. Syd never changes.

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The Eagles’ 13-12 victory over the Bills was a hard-fought defensive battle, with moments of offensive brilliance tempered by conservative play calling. While Philadelphia’s stampeding defense continues to keep them competitive, they’ll need their offense to show more consistency if they hope to go all the way this postseason.

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— Geoff Mosher (@geoffpmosher)
https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-vs-bills-instant-observations-jalen-hurts-josh-allen-nfc-afc-stats-analysis-vic-fangio-nfc-playoffs/

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