Jaguars vs Bills round 1 review
The Jaguars were defeated 27-24 in heartbreaking fashion to end their season. The game was back and forth throughout, but Josh Allen emerged victorious with a game-winning drive to advance to round two.
Trevor Lawrence and the offense would get the ball first to begin the game with a chance to take control of the game early but failed to get anything going, punting after just three plays. Josh Allen and the Bills move the ball initially before eventually stalling out and being forced to punt. After just 5 plays, they would get the ball back after linebacker Shaq Thompson intercepted Trevor Lawrence, giving the Bills the ball at the Jaguars 33-yard line. The defense would hold, forcing a field goal to give the Bills a 3-0 lead.
After a rough start, the Jaguars offense would settle in, going 65 yards in 7 plays for a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, LaQuint Allen would force a fumble, giving the Jaguars the ball at the Bills 36-yard line. They would get the ball to the Bills 9-yard line before being stopped on fourth down, ending the drive with zero points.
The Bills would take advantage of the Jaguars missed opportunity, going 92 yards in 10 plays to take a 10-7 lead. Both teams would exchange punts, and the Jaguars would have the ball at their own 3-yard line with 1:03 remaining in the quarter. A 34-yard pass would put the Jaguars at the Bills 41-yard line as time was expiring. With one second left, Trevor Lawrence spiked the ball, and with Joey Bosa jumping offsides, suddenly the Jaguars had the ball at the Bills 36 with a chance to tie the game with 54-yard field goal attempt from Cam Little. Little would miss, keeping the score 10-7 heading into halftime.
Both teams would exchange field goals coming out of halftime, with the Bills holding a 13-10 lead. After a three-and-out from Jaguars defense, Trevor Lawrence would have his best drive of the game, going 62 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown to take a 17-13 lead. The Bills would not go quietly, responsing with a 9-play, 65-yard touchdown drive to take a 20-17 lead.
Trevor Lawrence would come back with the Jaguars longest drive of the game, going 77 yards in 10 plays to take a 24-20 lead with 4:03 remaining. With 3 timeouts and 4 minutes to play, Josh Allen became inevitable, cruising to a go-ahead touchdown drive to take a 27-24 lead with 1:04 remaining. With the season on the line and a chance to be the hero once again, Trevor Lawrence had all the pressure placed on him. On the first play, Lawrence would be intercepted by Cole Bishop, ending the game and handing the Jaguars their first loss in 9 weeks.
The good
In a game where every other Jaguars wide receiver struggled, Parker Washington showed up, catching 7 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. Washington had over half the team's receiving yards and was the only player threatening the Bills secondary down the field.
Trevor Lawrence began the game with a bad interception, giving early shades of his first playoff game. Despite the poor start, he did not let it affect him, as he would go on to throw three touchdowns and lead two go-ahead touchdown drives in the fourth quarter.
Coming into the game, the Jaguars run defense was the best in the NFL, allowing the fewest yards per game and not allowing a single running back to rush for more than 75 yards. Against the NFL's rushing champion and best dual-threat quarterback in the playoffs, they were both kept in check, rushing for just 79 yards on 26 carries.
Both Travis Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten played an excellent game, combining for 108 yards on just 14 carries. Etienne added 5 catches for 49 yards and a touchdown in the passing game as well, giving the Jaguars an extra receiving threat. '
The bad
Liam Coen outcoached himself all game. and it came back to bite him. The early decision to not kick the field goal inside the red zone cost the Jaguars 3 points that would have been significant towards the end of the game, as well as continuing to pass despite the running game proving to be effective. Bhayshul Tuten and Travis Etienne averaged nearly 10 yards per carry but only got 14 carries. Coen instead opted to drop back 34 times against the number 1 pass defense in the NFL, and it did not pay off in the end.
Heading into the game, there was a lot of discussion about how the Jaguars defense would handle Josh Allen. The Jaguars secondary was 2nd in interceptions, so it seemed there was a high likelihood the Jaguars would be able to force a game-changing turnover. Not only did they not do that, they also got next to no pressure, sacking Allen just once and pressuring him on just 3 dropbacks. Allen finished the game with 3 touchdowns and 303 yards, facing little adversity against the Jaguars secondary.
The combination of the Jaguars opting to not run the ball and the defense struggling all game forced the Jaguars defense was on the field longer than anyone would have liked. The Bills won the time of possession battle 33:49 to 26:11, keeping the Jaguars offense off the field and out of rhythm.
Conclusion
This loss abruptly ends an 8-game winning streak and the 2nd-best regular season in franchise history. The Jaguars were not at their best on Sunday but still showed many of the reasons as to why they were there to begin with and that they are not far away from being a true contender in the AFC.
James Gladstone will have his hands full this offseason with the Jaguars free agency class as well as offloading previous contracts. The Jaguars appear to finally have the right foundation in place for the future and will look to improve off their growth from 2025.