The Buffalo Bills (12-5) have made the playoffs in the last seven seasons with Josh Allen as their starting quarterback, but unlike the previous five years where the Bills won the AFC East title, this
year’s run to the Super Bowl begins on the road with the Bills as the AFC’s No. 6 seed.
Allen and the Bills have a tough task in front of them, drawing Trevor Lawrence and the red-hot Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4), who earned the No. 3 seed by winning the AFC South and bring an NFL-best eight-game winning streak into Sunday’s 1 p.m. EST clash.
Today’s edition of Buffalo Rumblinks leads off by previewing the Wild Card round matchup between the Bills and the Jaguars.
Bills must slow down the NFL’s hottest team
The Jacksonville Jaguars are the hottest team in the league right now, with an eight-game winning streak heading into Wild Card weekend. They have not lost since a 36-29 loss to the Houston Texans in Week 10.
Recently, playing in Jacksonville has been a house of horrors for the Bills, including one of then ugliest games in team history: a 9-6 setback on Nov. 7, 2021, when Josh Allen was picked off twice and sacked four times and Jacksonville’s aggressive defense kept the Bills out of the end zone, and Lawrence and the Jags won despite amassing only 218 yards of total offense.
The Bills have not won in Jacksonville since the 2013 NFL season and have not won a road playoff game since knocking off Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins in the 1992 AFC Championship game.
We break down how Lawrence and Jacksonville’s passing attack has caught fire during their eight-game winning streak; how trade deadline acquisition Jakobi Meyers has made an immediate impact; how the pressure will be on Allen’s receiving targets to come through in the clutch against the Jags’ zone defense; how James Cook and Buffalo’s offensive line will be challenged by Jacksonville’s league-leading run defense; how Allen and Buffalo’s aerial attack can take advantage of Jacksonville’s secondary; and more!
- Scouting the Jaguars: How the Bills stack up against third-seeded Jacksonville – Buffalo News (subscription required)
- Dan Orlovsky: Aggressiveness of Trevor Lawrence And Where The Bills Offense Can Take Advantage – BuffaloBills.com
- Bills must do what they never have: Win on road in playoffs … and in Jacksonville – The Athletic (subscription required)
- Why the Bills haven’t won in Jacksonville since 2013 and what they must do to break the curse – newyorkupstate.com
- Bills brace for grueling playoff journey starting in Jacksonville – Democrat & Chronicle
- Mitch Morse: Dissecting His Two Former Teams Ahead of Bills-Jaguars Wild Card Matchup – BuffaloBills.com
- Bills will travel to Jacksonville to face Jaguars in AFC Wild Card Round – WGR 550
- 8 early Bills vs. Jaguars predictions for wild-card game – Democrat & Chronicle
- Where Bills’ roster stands heading into playoffs: position-by-position breakdown – The Athletic (subscription required)
- Bills clinch No. 6 seed in AFC Playoffs, will face Jaguars in Wild Card Round – BuffaloBills.com
- Let’s play myth-busters for the NFL playoffs: 14 teams, 14 things that aren’t quite right – ESPN.com
Latest news on injured CB Maxwell Hairston
Head coach Sean McDermott said cornerback Maxwell Hairston is “unlikely to play” in Sunday’s Wild Card game in Jacksonville after the promising rookie suffered an ankle injury late in Sunday’s 35-8 win over the New York Jets.
- Bills notebook: Cornerback depth a question with Maxwell Hairston ‘unlikely’ to play – Buffalo News (subscription required)
- Bills Mailbag: Why was Maxwell Hairston in the game so late against the Jets? – Buffalo News (subscription required)
- Bills fans are furious about this rookie’s injury, but McDermott says his hands were tied – newyorkupstate.com
Even more Bills news
Get to know Matthew Wright, the veteran kicker and Buffalo’s insurance policy should Matt Prater’s injury keep him sidelined for the Wild Card game. Plus, Buffalo brings in a veteran cornerback in the aftermath of Hairston’s injury; how head coach Sean McDermott has evolved during his nine years with the Bills; and reviewing the records the Bills set during the 2025 NFL regular season.
- Bills add a kicker to practice squad for insurance – Buffalo News (subscription required)
- Buffalo Bills sign journeyman kicker as insurance policy with Matt Prater’s status up in the air – newyorkupstate.com
- Bills add kicker as uncertainty grows before playoffs – Democrat & Chronicle
- Bills add ex-Jaguars’ kicker as injury insurance for playoff game in Jacksonville – Sports Illustrated Buffalo Bills
- Bills respond to injury, sign familiar cornerback cut by Steelers last week – Sports Illustrated Buffalo Bills
- Sean McDermott has evolved over 9 years as Bills coach. One thing remains the same – The Athletic (subscription required)
- The Bills set these team records in the 2025 regular season – BuffaloBills.com
Buffalo Bills articles recently featured on Buffalo Rumblings
- Bills CB Maxwell Hairston “unlikely to play” against Jaguars – Buffalo Rumblings
- Bills sign kicker to the practice squad following Matt Prater injury – Buffalo Rumblings
- Bills penalties against Jets in Week 18 reflect killer mentality – Buffalo Rumblings
- Mitchell Trubisky leads Buffalo Bills backups to victory in Week 18 – Buffalo Rumblings
- Can you guess this Bills linebacker in today’s in-5 trivia game – Buffalo Rumblings
