Sean McDermott says QB Josh Allen and most starters will play vs. Jets

ORCHARD PARK – Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is going to start Sunday’s regular-season finale against the New York Jets.

How long the second-year man plays is unknown, but coach Sean McDermott confirmed Tuesday that Allen and most of the other Buffalo starters are going to play at least part of the game at New Era Field, even though the Bills’ playoff seeding cannot change.

“We’re going to play the majority of the guys, they’re going to practice this week and play; Josh will play and we’ll go from there,” McDermott said. “Certainly there’s a lot of different ways you can go about it. I’ve been around it (from his days with Philadelphia and Carolina) and so, just where we are for this team, this year, and where we’re trying to go, we feel like this is the right thing for this team, this year, in this situation.”

Specifically on Allen, it could mean he plays only a series or two, or perhaps a quarter, or a half, or even more. McDermott wouldn’t divulge the entire plan, but he did say that backup quarterback Matt Barkley will also get into the game. Barkley has only played the fourth quarter of the Week 4 loss to the Patriots after Allen exited with a concussion.

“We have work to do and we’re going to continue to work this week to put our team in the best position possible moving forward,” he said. “They’re not all going to play the same amount in the game, we’ll be smart with that, but it’s important we get work in fundamentally in terms of execution so we stay as sharp as we can be. It’s a delicate balance to remaining sharp and keeping our edge and also working to continue to get better.”

One thing McDermott surprisingly admitted to is that he has concerns about playing a Jets defense that is coordinated by Greg Williams. Williams has long had a reputation for coaching his players to take whatever shots they can get at the quarterback. Sometimes those are legal shots, sometimes they’re not.

Remember, Williams was suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell when it came to light that members of his New Orleans Saints defense were paid bonuses for injuring opposing players. The scandal became known as Bountygate and head coach Sean Payton and linebacker Jonathan Vilma were suspended for the entire 2012 season and general manager Mickey Loomis was docked eight games.

It was later revealed that Williams, who was the Bills head coach between 2001-03, had done the same thing when he was the defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins. In Buffalo, safety Coy Wire went on record that during his time in Buffalo Williams gave bonuses for hits that left opponents seriously injured, though several others, including linebacker London Fletcher, denied that was the case in Buffalo.

“That has been factored in,” McDermott said. “That’s been factored in and discussed. I don’t want to go any further with that other than to say you always factor in who you’re playing. The game has to be played the right way, the officials have to do their job and we respect their job and we expect them to do their job.”

Meaning, be on the look out for any Jets taking liberties in a season finale that means nothing to them.

McDermott said that center Mitch Morse returned to practice Tuesday after suffering an ankle injury late in the loss to New England. However, it’s unclear if Morse would be rested for the game. If he doesn’t play, Jon Feliciano would slide over to center and Spencer Long would likely start at right guard.

Because he only has 46 players to work with on game day, some are going to have to play more than others. “I wish I could take them all out, I wish I could, but we don’t have the numbers to do that,” said McDermott. “You’re always trying to do things right.”

MAIORANA@Gannett.com