Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills are headed down south this weekend for a playoff matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. This is the third time these teams have met in the postseason, and the second time the matchup has occurred under head coach Sean McDermott’s watch in Duval County, FL.
In McDermott’s first playoff appearance as head coach, and Buffalo’s first playoff appearance of the 21st Century, the Jaguars outlasted the Bills in a 10-3 game that featured some combination of terrible offense and great defense from both clubs back in the winter of 2018. In Jacksonville’s first playoff appearance in their franchise’s history, the second-year club invaded Rich Stadium and dealt the Bills their first-ever playoff loss in that building, winning 30-27 and ending the Hall of Fame career of quarterback Jim Kelly. Side note: Kelly’s knee was down.
There are exactly zero Jaguars players left on the roster that participated in the 2017 matchup. For the Bills, there are just three players on the club who played in that game: long snapper Reid Ferguson, cornerback Tre’Davious White, and practice-squad defensive end Shaq Lawson. Turnover in the NFL is expected, and change is the only constant, so it goes without saying that the 2017 matchup has absolutely zero bearing on this weekend’s game.
What will have a great impact on this week game, though, is the personnel involved for each club. Which players stand out as keys to success this week? It’s hard to boil it down to just five without being too obvious, but sometimes, the answers we seek are right in front of us.
Here are our five Bills to watch this week against the Jaguars.
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QB Josh Allen
While it’s obvious that Buffalo’s quarterback needs to play well in order for the team to win, there may not be a team that needs its quarterback to be incredible more than the Bills do. Allen has found phone booths all over the country throughout his career while donning his Superman cape, and in the postseason, he’s elevated his play considerably year in and year out.
In 13 career playoff starts, Allen has completed 65.7% of his passes for 3,359 yards, 25 touchdowns, and just four interceptions. He’s also rushed for 668 yards and seven more scores in those games. Allen is the NFL’s active leader in rushing first downs gained in the playoffs, netting 51 such carries over the course of his career.
The history, though, means nothing without another solid performance on Sunday. Jacksonville’s defense is zone-heavy, or at least it has been this season, and Allen has shredded zone defenses during the 2025 season. Will the Jaguars change to a more man-heavy look given Buffalo’s weak wide receiver group, or will they stick with those zone tendencies? Jacksonville also struggles to create pressure with its defensive line alone. Do they blitz Allen, or do they trust their coverage to force him into holding the ball, thus creating the sack opportunities that can keep the Buffalo offense off...
