When the Buffalo Bills meet the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs next Sunday, it will be their introduction to their rookie head coach, Liam Cohen. Despite a shaky start, Cohen led the Jags to an impressive 14-win season, orchestrating one of the league’s top passing attacks along the way.
The 40-year-old head coach joined The Rich Eisen Show ahead of his NFL Playoff debut and gave a nod of respect to the Bills.
“Huge respect for Josh and really the Buffalo Bills. I mean, they’ve won at so many different levels and have won a lot of critical football games over the years,” Cohen said on Monday. “He’s the man. I mean, he’s just a total freak that plays the game. He’s a football player that also happens to play quarterback, right?”
Eisen prodded Cohen with a jester’s plea to refer to his “Not bad for a small market team” remark when referring to the Bills this week.
“The Mafia’s not gonna hear that, man. There's no shot,” Cohen said. He then referenced the Rams' 2022 home opener against Buffalo, where Cohen’s offense had to use a silent count thanks to the volume produced by the well-traveled Bills Mafia.
“So, I know how they travel.”
Jaguars HC Liam Cohen already factoring Bills Mafia into the game plan
Surely, Josh Allen and his teammates can expect Bills Mafia to properly invade EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville to quell the Jags’ homefield advantage. After all, Cohen seems to be banking on it himself.
With Trevor Lawrence playing at an elite level, the last thing the Bills’ defense needs is him playing comfortably, so hopefully, Cohen’s fears are realized with Bills fans impacting the contest from the stands.
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After all, the Mafia knows the challenge awaiting the Bills through January. Despite Buffalo being billed as a team with an advantage because of the field lacking Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson, the fact remained that Buffalo would have to hit the road in two if not three playoff games in order to reach Super Bowl LX.
The work gets started in Jacksonville, where the Jags haven’t been infallible. The Jaguars were 7-2 at home this season, winning their last four.