NFL sets date and time for Bills' final game at Highmark Stadium

The Buffalo Bills will host the New York Jets in the regular season finale, closing out Highmark Stadium's 53-year history

Rain poured down for most of the game 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

The final NFL regular season game in Highmark Stadium history is set for a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff on Sunday, January 4.

With the league unveiling their Week 18 schedule late on Sunday night, the Buffalo Bills were slotted into a late-afternoon window on CBS.

The Bills will host the New York Jets in what is also, in all likelihood, the last ever professional football game in the 53-year-old venue's history. As a wildcard playoff team, Buffalo's chances of hosting a postseason game, should they advance, are minimal at best.

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The AFC East champion New England Patriots will also close out their regular season schedule at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, hosting the Miami Dolphins.

A fan cheers loudly holding up her Bills necklace when Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III was introduced during team introductions before 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

Sean McDermott's Week 18 approach

While the Bills want to close out the stadium in triumphant fashion, they also need to ensure the health of their key players for the postseason opener. Quarterback Josh Allen is currently banged up along with tight end Dalton Kincaid and a couple of key others.

"We got a lot of things we need to discuss as a leadership group," said Bills' head coach Sean McDermott. "You got the last game in Highmark Stadium here, that's important to me, it'll be important to our guys, to our staff, and there's other things that come into consideration. It won't be easy, but it is important that we have a good week here."

Bills at home

Buffalo is 6-2 in home games this season after going undefeated in 2024. The Bills' lone two losses are by a combined four points.

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From 2020 to present day, the Bills are the lone NFL team with a win percentage over .800 in home games. The team has called Highmark Stadium home since 1973. The new Highmark Stadium will open across the street this summer.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen runs up the tunnel after the end of the game which they lost 13-12 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

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