Josh Allen gets all clear for Bills' home finale, but how much will he play?

The Buffalo Bills held starting quarterback Josh Allen out of practice on back-to-back days, and the decision has seemingly benefitted the field general's banged-up right foot.

According to Bills' head coach Sean McDermott, Allen, who returns to practice in a limited capacity on Friday, will be available to start against the New York Jets in the Highmark Stadium finale on January 4.

"Today, he'll be out there and be limited. He'll be good to go for the game, and we'll take it one day at a time here," said McDermott during his weekly Friday briefing on WGR's Extra Point Show.

MORE: Three Buffalo Bills' starters OUT, two questionable for Week 18 vs. New York Jets

After injuring his foot on December 21 against the Cleveland Browns, Allen aggravated it late in the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles on December 28. He was sacked five times and harrassed often during the 13-12 loss.

Although he's experienced soreness, the injury has not caused him to miss a single snap. Still, the cautious approach is the smart approach when it comes to ensuring his availability for the playoffs.

"We wanted to make sure his health was A, No. 1 the last two days. He had two good days of recovery," said McDermott.

Both Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jaelan Phillips and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen go after the ball with the Eagles recovering it during first half action against the Philadelphia Eagles at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Dec. 28, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Allen's starts streak

Since returning from a UCL injury on November 25, 2018 during his rookie year, Allen has not missed a start for the Bills.

It's a span of 121 regular season games and 13 playoff appearances. The quarterback is not interested in ending the streak this week.

"I think it's important to me because of some of the little ailments or bumps and bruises that I've played through. I take a lot of pride in being out there for my teammates. I think that's kind of the main thing," said Allen.

Reasons to play him for full series

Although the Bills can rise no higher than the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture, a loss guarantees them the No. 7 seed at the bottom of the bracket. That's only one reason why Buffalo should be strongly interested in defeating the hapless Jets.

Allen exited last year's meaningless finale against the New England Patriots after only one handoff, but the stakes are slightly different for this year's Week 18 game.

The Bills would be smart to pursue a preseason approach with Allen come gameday, playing him for at least one offensive series, or potentially the entire first quarter.

MORE: Bills decline to pursue emergency QB with Josh Allen banged up in Week 18

First, it's the last scheduled game in Highmark Stadium history, and the Bills want to properly close out the venue. What better way to do so than have Allen putting one more first-quarter touchdown on the board in Orchard Park.

Then, there's the fact that Allen is one touchdown shy of 40 for the season. Will he have the chance to extend his unprecedented 40-touchdown streak to six years in a row?

It wouldn't be terrible to see the Bills' first team offense, which has been plagued by slow starts of late, produce a crisp early scoring drive in what will be a final tune-up for the postseason.

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