JACKSONVILLE – The AFC South champion Jaguars know their Round 1 playoff opponent.
The Jaguars (13-4), who clinched the AFC South title Sunday with a 41-7 home victory over the Tennessee Titans (3-14), will play host to the Buffalo Bills (12-5) in an AFC Wild Card Playoff at EverBank Stadium Sunday at 1 p.m.
“We’ve got a big opportunity this week,” Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said Sunday. “The fans were awesome today. Expect the same next week.”
“It’s going to be rocking, and it will be exciting.”
The date and time for the first playoff game are expected to be announced late Sunday evening, with Round 1 games scheduled Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
“I love our fans, man,” defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said. “I love when I hear Duval in the crowd, chanting as loud as they can. I think that’s an intimidating factor for us that we can hold onto a little bit more. In the playoff game, let’s get a little bit more of that, a little bit more juice in the stands, and then go get the next one.”
The Jaguars, winners of eight consecutive games, enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed in the AFC behind No. 1 AFC West Champion Denver (14-3) and No. 2 AFC East Champion New England (14-3). The Bills enter as the No. 6 seed.
The Bills, a postseason team the last six seasons and the AFC East Champions from 2020-2024, finished two games behind New England in the East. The Jaguars finished a game ahead of the Houston Texans (12-5) in the AFC South.
The Jaguars and Bills have played twice in the postseason. The Jaguars beat the Bills, 30-27, in an AFC Wild Card Playoff following the 1996 seasons. They beat the Bills, 10-7, in an AFC Wild Card Playoff following the 2017 season.
The Jaguars’ last home playoff game came following the 2022 season, when they rallied from a 27-0 first-half deficit for a 31-30 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Head Coach Liam Coen, in his first season with the Jaguars, called the home crowd in the playoffs “huge.”
“I’ve seen so many cool pictures of the ’22 game here at home and what that crowd did and what the community can do for a football team, and what a football team can do for a community,” Coen said. “They want to play in front of this crowd.”
“I remember hearing [tight end] Brenton Strange’s comments a few weeks ago, yeah, it’s cool to play on the road and see those cool atmospheres, but there’s nothing like playing at home in front of this crowd and in front of this community.
“We need all of them. We need all of Duval to come out.”
