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By Joe Buscaglia, Tim Graham, Zack Rosenblatt and RJ Kraft The Buffalo Bills secured the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs with a 40-14 win over the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium on Sunday. Quarterback Josh Allen had three touchdowns (one rushing and two passing) — the last of which was an across-the-field throw to rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, backup Mitchell Trubisky played for Allen, who sat for the entirety of the quarter with Buffalo in command of the game. Advertisement Running back James Cook added his league-leading 15th rushing touchdown in the blowout win. The Bills defense forced three turnovers, notched a safety and sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers four times. Rodgers had a forgettable game with season lows in passing yards (112) and QB rating (44.0) and was also flagged for unnecessary roughness on his second interception before giving way to backup Tyrod Taylor in the fourth quarter. Rodgers remains one touchdown short of 500 for his career. Defensive back Sauce Gardner did not return in the second half with a hamstring injury. Wide receiver Garrett Wilson went over 1,000 receiving yards for the third straight season and is the first Jets player to have three such campaigns in his first three years. The Bills (13-3) travel to the New England Patriots to close the regular season, while the Jets (4-12) host the Miami Dolphins in Week 18. Josh Allen adds to MVP case Buffalo exploited a disintegrating opponent to break more team records in the 16th game, calibrating with Allen’s previous campaigns and the franchise’s great offenses of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Allen’s scrambly, gorgeous, 14-yard strike to leaping rookie Keon Coleman late in the third quarter gave the Bills a 33-0 lead and a record 61 touchdowns and 502 points this season, one more point than they scored four years ago. Before Allen arrived in 2018, the club scoring record was 458 points in 1991, Buffalo’s second of four straight Super Bowl seasons. By the game’s end Sunday, Buffalo had 62 touchdowns and 509 points for the season. Josh Allen throws across the field for the TD to Coleman! 📺: #NYJvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+ 📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/XEMD52SiS6 — NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2024 Allen bolstered his MVP case, going 16-of-27 for 182 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions, fumbles or sacks. He ran five times for 17 yards and his 65th rushing TD tied Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas for most career rushing touchdowns in franchise history. Trubisky relieved Allen at the start of the fourth quarter and connected with practice-squad call-up Tyrell Shavers on a 69-yard touchdown. It marked Shavers’ first NFL touch and gave Buffalo its 13th touchdown catcher, an NFL record. — Tim Graham, senior writer Advertisement What securing the No. 2 seed means for Buffalo The Bills made it abundantly clear throughout the week of practice that they wanted to secure the AFC’s No. 2 seed this weekend. Although it was slow going in the first half, the Bills scored on four straight second-half possessions to go up 40-0. Now, with the No. 2 seed locked in for the postseason, the Bills have guaranteed themselves at least two home playoff games should they advance past the wild-card round while maintaining the best chance to host the AFC Championship Game should the No. 1-seeded Kansas City Chiefs falter in the divisional round. On top of that, the Bills will have the flexibility to rest several key starters in Week 18 when they face the Patriots. It would serve as a bye week of sorts heading into the wild-card round, which helps take some of the sting out of missing the AFC’s top spot. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer Bills’ defense makes a statement The Bills’ defense kept it interesting at times, but after three conspicuous games of struggles in a row, they offered a statement game against the Jets. Early in the game, it was all about their cliché bend-but-don’t-break style, pushing aside two solid Jets offensive drives that resulted in turnovers. The first was getting a stop on fourth-and-1 while in Bills territory, and the second was a tipped pass picked off by a standing-in-place defensive tackle. The ensuing Jets drive was a safety to give the Bills a 9-0 lead, and Buffalo disarmed New York’s offense the rest of the way. First career safety for @ajepenesa24 ! 📺: @paramountplus & @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/chxIbwv5VC — Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 29, 2024 In the second half, the Bills provided constant pressure, brought Rodgers down three times, got an interception from top cornerback Christian Benford and forced a Wilson fumble on the first play of a drive to put the Bills on the doorstep of points. The Bills’ defense certainly has lingering questions as they prepare to face more potent offenses in the playoffs, but this was the best feel-good performance they could have. — Buscaglia Advertisement Rest vs. rust debate ahead of postseason With Buffalo’s seeding secured, the Bills can rest players however they wish for next Sunday’s meaningless finale in Gillette Stadium. Allen might start to preserve his streak of 114 starts, including playoffs, but there’s no point in playing beyond that. Thus begins the annual rest versus rust debate. The Bills have some key players who have returned recently from injuries and could use some quality reps to prepare for the postseason, but will coach Sean McDermott risk it? Most notably, former All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano hasn’t looked crisp, although he did record five tackles, a quarterback hit and a fumble recovery against the Jets. He suffered a biceps injury this summer while working back from last year’s broken leg. Buffalo’s secondary also has been playing with a revolving cast lately. While cornerback Rasul Douglas returned after missing two games with a knee injury, safety Damar Hamlin was sidelined a third straight time with a rib injury. — Graham Rough day for Aaron Rodgers Rodgers desperately wanted to get his 500th touchdown pass. Instead, he was benched to start the fourth quarter in one of the worst games of his career. He threw two interceptions, one on a tipped pass in the red zone targeting Davante Adams and another on a thrown ball targeting Allen Lazard. Rodgers finished 12-of-18 passing for 112 yards and zero touchdowns — a performance that will survive as a footnote to one of the most disappointing seasons in Jets history. It’s fair to wonder whether Rodgers should play in Week 18 — interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said after Sunday’s game that he anticipates Rodgers playing. Taylor, who might be the Jets starter in 2025, engineered two fourth-quarter touchdown drives. — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets beat writer Jets’ disastrous season is nearly over The rest of the Jets appear to be already looking toward the offseason in one of the worst, low-effort performances they have had in recent memory. The league’s most penalized team added 16 more for 120 yards. The Jets mustered only 148 yards of offense before Rodgers was taken out of the game — and turned it over a third time on a bad fumble from Wilson. The Jets have just one more game left, and then the most positive development of their season will come to pass: It will be over. — Rosenblatt Required reading (Photo: Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images )
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Dallas plays Winnipeg after Marchment's 2-goal performanceThe 13 office buildings in Richmond, B.C.’s Airport Executive Park – a business park located on 35 acres of green space – date back to a time when climate change and carbon footprints weren’t part of mainstream discussions and long-term environmental control programs. But as more companies set climate and sustainability targets, many are actively working toward reducing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions within their operations and supply chains. Fiera Real Estate Canada – the current owner of Richmond’s Airport Executive Park (AEP) – is aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, partly through the installation of electric heat pumps that will replace its gas-fired heating systems, which date back to the 1980s and early 2000s. The company’s net-zero ambitions are emblematic of the significant commitments national building owners are making that will help Canada reach its target of net-zero building emissions by 2050. And while 25 years from today may seem like a long time, experts warn Canada isn’t making progress fast enough to achieve its goal. The clock began ticking in 2021 when the federal government adopted the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act , aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050, with an interim target of GHG reductions hitting at least 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. Released this year, the Canada Green Buildings Strategy says there are more than 564,000 commercial and institutional buildings across the country, and because the majority are expected to still be in use in 2050, most will require extensive upgrades and retrofitting to reach Canada’s net-zero goal. “It’s hard to see how we’re going to achieve the interim standards for the building sector by 2030, and if we don’t reach them, the climb to 2050 is going to be a lot harder,” says Thomas Mueller, president and chief executive officer of the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC), which supports the building industry’s transition to green structures and sets national standards for zero-carbon buildings. Updated in July, the council’s Zero Carbon Building standards focus on maintaining high energy efficiency in new buildings and reducing carbon emissions in older structures by replacing fossil-fuel-burning equipment. It estimates that Canada needs to convert at least 3 per cent of its buildings to net-zero emissions a year and invest billions in making buildings greener. A recent study from CAGBC and the Delphi Group – a Canadian climate and sustainability consultancy – identifies the most-needed upgrades in buildings to be LED lighting, triple-glazed windows, roof insulation, high-efficiency ventilation systems, as well as computer control systems that reduce heating and cooling when rooms are not in use. These upgrades require major structural changes and are why most building owners are conducting feasibility studies and putting refits into their 10-year plans, says Tonya Lagrasta, vice-president and head of ESG at commercial real estate services company Colliers Canada. However, she says: “The price tags for things like window replacements can have owners of older buildings falling off their chairs.” The Pembina Institute, a clean-energy think tank, estimates that decarbonizing Canada’s commercial and residential building sector will require more than $400-billion in upgrades. It also concludes that more incentives must be put in place. Since grants are often difficult for governments to finance and administer, tax credits to stimulate investment are more practical, says Mr. Mueller. However, a challenge is that several provinces and cities have building codes that include specifications that vary from the federal standards. “It is a real hodgepodge of standards across the country and that is contributing to confusion,” says Terry Bergen, Victoria-based managing principal of RJC Engineers, a building science consultancy. For retrofits, there is also a misconception that high efficiency comes with higher operating costs. But recently, a lot of studies have been released that demonstrate a high return on investment by making these changes, says Duncan Rowe, a Toronto-based principal with RJC Engineers. At the same time, Mr. Rowe acknowledges that it’s not economical or ecologically practical to speed up the replacement of nearly-new equipment just to meet a standard. In other words, upgrades should be aligned with the life cycle of equipment. In the case of Airport Executive Park, the heating systems were several decades old and in need of replacement. While the newly installed systems are less than a year old, the expectation is that annual energy cost savings for all the property’s buildings will be as much as 50 per cent. In the long term, achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 is an interim step toward a goal of being fully net-zero energy – producing as much clean energy as consumed with on-site clean and renewable sources, such as solar, wind or geothermal, Ms. Lagrasta says. Net-zero energy is achievable because technology is advancing, says Mr. Rowe. For instance, solar technology is becoming affordable and can be efficient at powering some buildings, but it needs the right conditions. If a building owner has a large roof area, solar is a practical solution, though it won’t be sufficient for an office tower with a small roof. However, there are also developments in photovoltaic glass that can turn windows into power sources, Mr. Rowe says. Ultimately, economics – not politics – will persuade building owners to invest in green technology, Ms. Lagrasta says. A study by Colliers found tenants are willing to pay a premium of an average of 8 per cent to be in a building with a high sustainability rating. “Building owners value their assets and political winds come and go. But it will become harder to attract and retain tenants in an older building that is falling behind the curve,” Ms. Lagrasta says.NBA Makes LeBron James Admission After Lakers-Thunder
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