In less than 24 hours, the Buffalo Bills will either be celebrating a huge win over the Jaguars, or their season will have come to an abrupt end. Buffalo and Jacksonville will kick off the Sunday games, and people are saying that there is tons of pressure on Buffalo to go all the way.
With no Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow, the Bills don’t have to worry about running into the two quarterbacks that have knocked them out of the playoffs the last five seasons. It is absolutely true that the Bills have some pressure to respond. What isn’t true is when someone says that Josh Allen is the one facing the most pressure.
By no means is Allen under the most pressure for the Bills. He has been spectacular in nearly every playoff game in his career. He’s not the reason why the Bills have lost in the playoffs.
Former Bills head coach and current NFL analyst on NFL on ESPN, Rex Ryan, explained why Sean McDermott, not Josh Allen, is under the most pressure to win tomorrow.
"He's got to get a road victory and that's something that a Josh Allen-Sean McDermott team hasn't done before."
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 10, 2026
Rex Ryan believes the pressure is more on Sean McDermott over Josh Allen to get a win against the Jaguars 👀 pic.twitter.com/Iln130vyiQ
Rex Ryan is right about Sean McDermott facing the most pressure vs. Jaguars
The Bills have never won a playoff game on the road under Sean McDermott, so there is a lot on the line for Buffalo. Since the 2020-2021 playoffs, in each of the Bills’ playoff losses the defense has given up 27+ points. The most points they have given up is 42 points in the 13 second collapse against the Chiefs.
Last I checked, Allen doesn't play defense. Instead, he is too busy trying to carry the Bills to a win on offense and overcome the mistakes that his defense makes.
Unless the Bills’ defense completely shuts down Jacksonville’s offense and Josh Allen plays extremely badly, McDermott is the one that will face a ton of heat if the Bills leave Jacksonville with a loss. There is only so much that Allen can do. Other players have to step up and McDermott has to be the one that makes sure it happens.