ByBen Collins

BBC Sport journalist

NFL 2025 season: Week four

BBC coverage: Live text commentary on Sunday’s games on BBC Sport website and app, beginning with Cleveland Browns v Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham (from 14:00 BST). Also live radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds of Washington Commanders v Los Angeles Chargers (from 21:00).

“We don’t want to jinx it so early on, but this was definitely a match-up I saw as a Super Bowl prediction.”

NFL analyst Phoebe Schecter did indeed predict that the Buffalo Bills will face the Philadelphia Eagles in this season’s title decider.

She wasn’t alone, and four games into the 2025 campaign, Buffalo and defending champions Philadelphia are the only teams who still have a 100% record.

They have 13 regular-season games left, followed by the play-offs, but are the Bills and Eagles destined to go the distance on the road to Super Bowl 60?

Buffalo are led by last season’s Most Valuable Player, Josh Allen, and while they have been more convincing so far, Philly have had a tougher schedule.

The Bills beat the Baltimore Ravens with a field goal as time expired before claiming comfortable wins over the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints.

Schecter, a former assistant coach with the Bills, said on The Whole 10 Yards show: “This is a team that has evolved over the past couple of years. It’s all led by Josh Allen, their quarterback. He truly is the motor.

“The Bills’ offensive line is also terrific. It allows [running back] James Cook to really be that guy, but what makes these teams so great is in terms of taking care of the football. They’re both doing a really nice job of that.”

Both Buffalo and Philly have given the ball away just once this season and they will meet in a potential Super Bowl dress rehearsal in week 17 – the penultimate regular-season game at Highmark Stadium before the Bills move into their new home.

“There’s always this little bit of you that thinks, ‘let’s just stay healthy and see where this goes’, but sometimes the stars just align, and with this being the farewell tour of Highmark Stadium, I mean, this truly could be a storybook year for the Bills,” Schecter added.

“In the AFC Conference, you’re thinking ‘who’s our biggest competitor right now?’. I feel like the most well-rounded team is the Bills. It’s, can we maintain this trajectory that we’re on?”

Philly fans are not getting carried away just yet. Firstly because they are used to success having reached two of the past three Super Bowls, denying the Kansas City Chiefs a three-peat in February.

The Eagles have also not been at their best on offence or defence, but each week they tend to have the fewest turnovers, and the team that wins that battle tends to win the game.

“The Eagles have won 20 of their last 21 games, and a big reason for that is [they have had] 42 takeaways and only nine giveaways, so they play a conservative style of offence,” said Eagles reporter Andrew DiCecco., external

“The offence has not yet reached expectations, but the Eagles are finding ways to win. They just have a winning DNA. They’re winning games unconventionally, so you have to ask, ‘how sustainable is that?’ But I think that really underscores how well-rounded this team is.”

Philly have beaten the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but all have been one-score games.

Running back Saquon Barkley and wide receiver AJ Brown have had quiet starts to the season but the Eagles’ special teams unit has come up big, blocking three straight kicks over the past two games and returning two of them for a touchdown.

“Michael Clay, the Eagles’ special teams coordinator, is arguably the best in the business at what he does,” added DiCecco.

“On special teams, every year you have a different group of players, unlike offence and defence where there’s more continuity. The Eagles have starters who play on special teams. There is a collective buy-in and a vested interest from these players, and you’re able to go out there and make plays.

“When I talked to Sydney Brown [who scored on Sunday], he mentioned that it’s different in Philadelphia because players on special teams have roles. They approach things a little differently, and that’s where you’re able to see the enthusiasm and the concerted effort they place on that.”

Philly’s head coach Nick Sirianni developed the concept of the ‘Tush Push’ play, which is a variation of the traditional quarterback sneak, with players helping to push the QB in short-yardage situations, to gain a first down or score a touchdown.

The Eagles have mastered the play and although 22 team owners voted for it to be banned in May, it was not enough for the Tush Push to be outlawed.

However, Philly are now running ‘fake Tush Push’ plays, that initially look similar but develop into something different. One such play on Sunday saw Jalen Hurts toss the ball back for Barkley to score a walk-in touchdown.

“Teams are looking to sell out to stop the push play,” said DiCecco. “But the plays the Eagles are able to now run off that, it creates a lot more options and puts defences in a unique bind in how to defend it, knowing that you have other [plays] on tape to account for.”

“I think it’s fantastic. It forces you into different game planning,” added Schecter.

“Adding those little wrinkles to the Tush Push, you’re keeping teams defensively on their heels. [They’re thinking] ‘are they going to actually go up the middle? Are they going to hand it off? Is it going to be a passing play?’ I mean, this is the genius of the tactics within the NFL.”

Denver will be the next team that tries to stop the Tush Push on Sunday, while Buffalo host New England.

“When you get to week five, that’s really where you get a decent idea of what a team’s identity is on both sides of the ball,” DiCecco added.

“It’s that time now, and I think that both teams have a really good case for making a deep run in the post-season.”