It took nearly the whole game to do it, but the Buffalo Bills fought their way to a huge Wild Card round win over the 3-seeded Jacksonville Jaguars. In a back-and-forth game where the biggest lead was just six points, the Bills finished strong for a 27-24 win to advance to the divisional round.
In a game where questionable calls were made, and missed, the Bills managed to walk into Jacksonville and silence all of the doubters that said that Buffalo had no chance at winning this game.
The Bills will now wait to find out who they will play next weekend, but we will have some more Bills football next weekend. Lots of players stood out in this game, but there are still some improvements that need to be made.
Winners and losers from Bills' huge win vs. Jaguars
Winners
QB Josh Allen
Is there anything that Josh Allen can’t do? Whether he plays completely protected or is taking a beating, he still finds a way to get the job done. Allen was dealing with a foot injury, his hand was hurt, and he had been checked for a concussion, but that wasn’t enough to slow him down.
Allen finished the game going 28-35 for 273 yards and 3 total touchdowns, including the game-winner. His Wild Card performance continues on as one of the best we have ever seen from a quarterback in NFL history.
CB Tre'Davious White
It was a great game for Sean McDermott’s first ever draft pick back in 2017. Tre’Davious White was great against coverage and had a couple of great breakups in the middle of the third quarter, which stopped Jacksonville from scoring a touchdown at one point. In addition, he was the one who tipped Trevor Lawrence’s final pass that resulted in an interception.
S Cole Bishop
Cole Bishop ended being the one that officially put the game to end with his game-sealing interception. Tre’Davious White tipped it and Bishop was at the right place at the right to come down with the ball. He deserves a spot on this list because of his game-sealing play.
LB Shaq Thompson
Shaq Thompson didn’t just lead the Bills in total tackles, he was absolutely dominant sideline-to-sideline. He managed to stop the ball right away and he had some great tackles that put Jacksonville in some tricky spots. While the Bills’ defensive leader is Terrel Bernard, Thompson has been the Bills’ most valuable linebacker this season.
WR Khalil Shakir
For as bad as the wide receivers have been for Buffalo this season, Khalil Shakir stepped up in a big way to keep Buffalo’s drives alive. He didn’t just lead the Bills with 12 targets, he caught all 12 of them for 82 yards. Whether it was down the field or just on a screen, Shakir made his presence known and the offense may have just found a secret weapon going into next weekend’s game.
WR Brandin Cooks
Brandin Cooks came up huge for Buffalo with two big catches, including the one late in the 4th quarter that put the Bills in scoring position. The Bills have lacked a down-the-field weapon all season long, but having someone like Cooks allows them to open the field and make some big plays.
Cooks should be heavily involved in next weekend’s game, no matter who the opposing defense is.
Losers
DE Joey Bosa
This was one of Bosa's worst games as a member of the Bills. Outside of one QB hit on Trevor Lawrence, Bosa was nowhere to be found. He couldn't create pressure, he was was pushed out of place that allowed Lawrence to scramble, and there was even a play where Jakobi Meyers had a huge block that put Bosa on his back. This was definitely a huge forgetful game for Bosa.
Bills' rushing attack
For one of the very few times this season, Buffalo couldn’t utilize their number one weapon consistently. Despite coming into this game as the No. 1 rushing offense, they found real quickly why Jacksonville has the best run-defense in the league. James Cook wasn’t able to break away at all and not having Ty Johnson really hurt this rushing attack.
Buffalo ran for just 79 total yards, which definitely is among their worst this season.