The Buffalo Bills stayed hot and upped the pressure on the New England Patriots with their 23-20 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 16.
The victory marked Buffalo’s fourth straight and its seventh in the last nine games after the bye week. It also kept the Bills within striking distance of the Patriots for the AFC East crown and kept their hopes of clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC alive as well.
Buffalo needs to win its final two games against the Philadelphia Eagles (Dec. 28) and New York Jets (Jan. 4), plus it needs the Patriots, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Los Angeles Chargers to all lose at least one of their final two games.
The Patriots play the Jets on Sunday and the Miami Dolphins the following week. A loss in either one of those games coupled with two Bills’ wins will hand them their sixth straight division championship.
As the Bills prepare for a tough Week 17 matchup against the Eagles, one of their players received some bad news just 24 hours prior.
NFL Slaps Dion Dawkins With Significant Fine
GettyBuffalo Bills OT Dion Dawkins
Quarterback Josh Allen and running back James Cook are the two cornerstones of Buffalo’s offense, but neither would be as successful without left tackle Dion Dawkins blocking for them.
The 31-year-old 6-foot-4, 320-pound behemoth is one of the top left tackles in the NFL, and he’s a large reason why Buffalo’s offense if ranked in the top 10 year after year.
And while Dawkins, a five-time Pro Bowler, doesn’t typically make many mistakes, one play against Browns defensive end Myles Garrett last week resulted in an $11,593 fine from the league for helmet opening. Dawkins pushed off Garrett’s helmet on the play.
The NFL rulebook defines helmet opening infractions as “illegally grabbing, pulling, or twisting an opponent’s facemask/helmet opening, leading to penalties (15 yards) and post-game monetary fines.”
Supplemental discipline in addition to penalties during gamed are designed to cutdown on the number of players who grab the facemask or back of the helmet in order to control or pull their opponent.
Bills Players Have Racked Up Several Fines in 2025
Dawkins’ fine is the latest in a handful incurred by Bills players this season.
Allen and wide receiver Elijah Moore were both slapped with laughable fines of $14,491 and $13,888, respectively for violent gestures made after celebrating a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9.
Both players engaged in what the league deemed to be throat-slashing gestures, which it has been trying to cut down on over the years.
Back in Week 8, defensive end Joey Bosa was hit with a $12,172 fine for unnecessary roughness (striking/kicking/tripping/kneeing) against the Carolina Panthers.
In Week 4, linebacker Dorian Williams was also fined for striking/kicking/tripping/kneeing against the New Orleans Saints, but his fine was just $7,989.
The Bills are one of the least-penalized teams in the NFL this season. They rank 21st in penalties against (94), however, they’re a middle-of-the-pack team in terms of penalty yardage against, ranking 16th (780 yards).
Bills’ Dion Dawkins Hit With Hefty NFL Punishment After Myles Garrett Incident