Bills Survive Jaguars in Close Wild Card Battle

The Buffalo Bills are moving on in the postseason. Barely.

Their Wild Card game against the Jacksonville Jaguars was everything it was billed to be. 

The game got off to a slow start, with only three combined scores in the first half. The third quarter featured only a field goal for each team.

The fourth quarter is when the game heated up, though, with the teams trading touchdowns, flipping the lead back and forth, and causing the blood pressure of fans and neutrals alike to go up.

The game was sealed when Cole Bishop picked off Trevor Lawrence with less than a minute left, right after Josh Allen led a game-winning drive which ended with the Bills' version of the “Tush Push.” The Buffalo Bump? Maybe not. 

Regardless, the Bills won and are advancing to the next round, where they could face the Denver Broncos. 

Josh Allen was getting beaten up throughout the game, but in typical Josh Allen fashion, he pushed through. He ran for two touchdowns, including the game-winning score. He also threw a TD to Dalton Kincaid.

Overall, Allen was very accurate and efficient, going 28/35 for 273 yards. 

Allen also did not turn the ball over.

Trevor Lawrence, on the other hand, went 18/30 for 207 yards, three touchdowns, but two costly interceptions. 

The Jags’ running game was strong, with Travis Etienne Jr. and Bhayshul Tuten running hard, but neither found the endzone in the run game. Etienne did have a receiving TD, though. 

On the Bills’ side, Allen was the successful runner. James Cook did not affect the game much at all, which is a concern for the Bills moving forward. So is Allen’s health. He did survive the beating he took this week, but he does need to take care of himself, because without him, the Bills’ chances of progressing further are almost none.

Shaq Thompson was probably the defensive player of the game. He was the Bills’ leading tackler and also intercepted Trevor Lawrence in the first half. 

The Bills were arguably outplayed in almost every aspect. The Jags had fewer penalties, more total yards, and more yards per play.

The Bills won the turnover margin, and the scoreboard, which is all that matters in the end. 

However, they will need a more balanced performance in the next round. Or Josh Allen will just become Superman again and lead the Bills to victory. This is arguably Allen’s best chance to win a championship, so don’t be surprised if his Superman performances lead the Bills to Super Bowl glory.