In less than a week, the Buffalo Bills officially kick off the 2025 NFL season by hosting the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1.
With Bills quarterback Josh Allen facing fellow dual threat superstar Lamar Jackson & Co, the highly-anticipated matchup earned the primetime “Sunday Night Football” slot on September 7. The last time these two teams faced one another was during the AFC Divisional round last season during which Buffalo narrowly defeated Baltimore 27-25.
While Allen didn’t take any preseason snaps for the first time in his career, Bills head coach Sean McDermott is confident he’s ready to rock. “You’ve got the reigning MVP, and I feel like he’s shown to this point that he’s in a good spot,” McDermott told reporters last month.
“He’s always going to want to play; that’s what competitive people want to do. But I have a responsibility to protect him and protect the team… I feel good about where he is right now.”
Ahead of their final week of practice, the Bills made a special announcement regarding Allen and his role with the team in 2025.
Bills QB Josh Allen Earned the Captain Title For The 7th Straight Year
GettyBills quarterback Josh Allen at Raymond James Stadium on August 23, 2025.
As Allen enters his eighth season in the NFL, he’s proved to be a leader both on and off the field. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the 29-year-old earned the title of captain for the seventh consecutive year.
Speaking to SI’s Albert Breer last week, Allen opened up about the “delicate balance” of being a veteran leader while also connecting with his younger teammates.
“You want to show your age and be mature and be the quarterback of the team, and you start getting closer in age to coaches than you do to younger teammates,” Allen said. “But at the same time, you want to be one of the guys. And there’s a delicate balance you have to teeter in between, and I feel like I do a good job at that just because I have fun at work. I love what I do, and it’s easy to relate to some of the young guys on that.
“As they get younger, though, it is getting a little harder. The stuff that they watch, the stuff that they listen to, the stuff they grew up doing is just a little bit different. But, yeah, it’s a delicate balance between being the guy and being one of the guys.”
The Bills Named Terrel Bernard As The Only Captain Opposite Josh Allen
GettyBills quarterback Josh Allen and linebacker Terrel Bernard (L) at Soldier Field on August 17, 2025.
While some NFL teams have a slew of captains, Buffalo continues to keep their captain list short. Once again joining Allen as the only fellow player to have a “C” on his jersey, starting middle linebacker Terrel Bernard, 26.
Bernard, a third-rounder from the 2022 NFL draft, signed a four-year, $42 million extension in March that keeps him in Buffalo through 2029.
“To get a ‘C’ on your chest when there’s only two given out and you’re in just your third season as a pro, I think really speaks volumes about who he is and how his teammates view him,” McDermott said of Bernard at the NFL scouting combine, per ESPN.
“We had conversations about that after the season, right? With ‘Hey, leadership comes in a lot of different forms. But first of all, you start by leading yourself.’ And he had great intentions all the way through the year. It was just, hey, let me understand this role of a captain. And then now my play starts to pick back up again. And I think we saw that towards the end of the year, particularly that Baltimore game stands out.”
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