Josh Allen showed off why he's the league reigning MVP leading the Bills to a playoff win in Jacksonville.
Every NFL playoff game thus far has been decided by four points or less, and that was no different in the opening matchup of Sunday’s Wild Card slate. The No. 6 Buffalo Bills headed to Jacksonville to take on the No. 3 Jaguars in what turned into a fourth quarter thriller, much like the games preceding it. It’s the first year in which Bills quarterback Josh Allen has a lane to the Super Bowl that doesn’t involve getting past Patrick Mahomes in several seasons. With a lot of scrutiny on the reigning MVP, and a perhaps unearned narrative that anything short of reaching that game was a failure, Allen fought to bring his team to a 27-24 win over Jacksonville.
In a game where each team exchanged one touchdown each before the fourth quarter, the final minutes were a thriller. The Jaguars scored the first TD in the fourth, to which Buffalo answered with its own score. Jacksonville scored once more to take the lead and with four minutes remaining, Allen led his team down the field. An incredible tush push on fourth-and-inches saw Allen and his surrounding linemen push from the 11- to 1-yard line and set up a quick score with 1:02 left. The Bills sealed it on the first play of the next drive when Cole Bishop intercepted Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence and barely move on to the divisional round.
Here is the full story from Bills Roundtable writer Mike Straw on the thrilling win in Jacksonville.
It was scary in the first quarter for Buffalo fans as Allen continued to take hit after hit, including a hit to the head when being tackled on a third-down run, after which he was evaluated. He also was hit hard on a touchdown run and his knee got tangled up, sending him back to the medical tent. Allen then hit his finger on a helmet when throwing a pass that seemed to put the quarterback in more visible pain. Despite repeated trips to the medical tent, Allen didn’t miss a play and didn’t seem to show signs of hurting.
With the game on his back, Allen was clutch, and his touchdown runs were crucial to the Bills’ victory. He finished the day 28-of-35 for 273 passes and one touchdown and rushed 11 times for 33 yards and two rushing touchdowns. The win wasn’t perfect, but it was one against a formidable Jacksonville squad that simply made too many mistakes that Buffalo capitalized on. It was the third dramatic contest in what’s been an exciting start to the postseason.