JACKSONVILLE – The Jaguars’ first 2025 postseason game had a classic, memorable feel.
It ended in heartbreaking, season-ending fashion.
Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdown passes, two in a wild fourth quarter, and the Jaguars’ defense played scrappy and tough – but the playoff-savvy, Josh-Allen-led Buffalo Bills rallied for a 27-24 victory in an AFC Wild Card playoff game in front of 70,250 at EverBank Stadium Sunday afternoon.
“A tough way to end the season, obviously,” Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen said.
Allen, the Bills’ quarterback and the 2024 NFL MVP, ran for a 1-yard touchdown with 1:04 remaining for the final margin of victory. He ran for a second-quarter touchdown and threw for a touchdown earlier in the fourth quarter.
“He definitely carried them,” Coen said of Allen, who completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards with no interceptions.
Lawrence’s pass to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers on first-and-10 from the Jaguars 23 on the first play of the ensuing possession was tipped by Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White and intercepted by safety Cole Bishop at the Jaguars 35.
“It was a tough way to end this year,” said Lawrence, who completed 18 of 30 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions.
A memorable fourth quarter played out in back-and-forth fashion, with Lawrence giving the Jaguars a lead with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Parker Washington and Allen giving the Bills back the lead with a touchdown pass to tight end Dalton Kincaid on the ensuing possession.
Lawrence gave the Jaguars their final lead with a 14-yard touchdown pass to running back Travis Etienne Jr. with 4:07 remaining. The Bills drove 66 yards in nine plays for the game-winning touchdown on the ensuing possession.
“They made a few more plays than us,” Lawrence said. “That part is disappointing.”
The Jaguars outrushed the Bills 154-79 after the Bills finished the regular season with the No. 1 rushing offense.
“We just had to be better today; we didn’t get it done and it sucks,” Etienne said.
The Jaguars held Bills All-Pro running back James Cook, the NFL’s leading rusher this season, to 46 yards on 15 carries. The Bills scored two touchdowns and a field goal on their first four second-half possessions, then knelt out the clock in the final seconds.
“We didn’t execute plays that we needed to all the way through the game, and they came out on top because of it,” Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun said.
The AFC South Champion Jaguars (14-4) lost for first time since Week 10, ending an eight-game winning streak. They are 8-9 all-time in the postseason, 4-2 in Jacksonville. The wild-card Bills (13-5) advanced to the AFC Divisional Playoff Round.
“Obviously, you think you’re going to keep rolling and you’re planning on playing next week,” Lawrence said. “It’s playoff football, and you’ve got to close out those games. We weren’t able to do it today.”
The Bills led 10-7 at halftime, with Allen’s 2-yard run giving them that lead with just over five minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Jaguars missed an opportunity to take at least a seven-point lead when Lawrence was stopped inches short of a first down at the Bills 8-yard line on the possession before Allen’s touchdown.
The Jaguars missed a chance to tie at halftime when kicker Cam Little’s 54-yard field goal on the final play of the second quarter bounced off the left upright.
“I wish I made one or two decisions a little bit differently, threw a better ball here or there,” Lawrence said. “You’ve got to live with it. It’s life. You don’t get do-overs. That’s a bummer, but I know that we left everything out there.”
Allen completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. He rushed for 33 yards and two touchdowns.
The Jaguars registered one takeaway and one sack Sunday, with linebacker Devin Lloyd recovering a first-half fumbled kickoff return and defensive end Josh Hines-Allen registering a second-half sack.
“Shout-out to my team,” Hines-Allen said. “We fought all year. We battled. This was the most fun I’ve had in a very long time, and I’ve got a lot of guys that can say the same thing.
“This is a growing step for us, a growing moment.”
2025 Wild Card Matchup, Step by step:
- Kicker Matt Prater converted a 50-yard field goal to give the Bills a 3-0 lead with 2:54 remaining in the first quarter, a field goal that came four plays and one yard after Bills linebacker Shaq Thompson returned an interception of Lawrence to the Jaguars 33.
- Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.’s 3-yard reception from Lawrence capped a seven-play, 65-yard drive on the series after Prater’s first-quarter field goal; rookie running back Bhayshul Tuten’s three runs for 47 yards on consecutive plays to the Bills 3. Allen’s 2-yard run gave the Bills a 10-7 lead with 5:27 remaining in the second quarter and capped a 10-play, 92-yard drive that began when Lawrence was stopped inches short on fourth-and-2 from the Bills 9.
- Prater’s 47-yard field goal on the first possession of the second half pushed the Bills’ lead to 13-7, capping an 11-play, 45-yard drive with 8:12 remaining in the third quarter. Little’s 43-yard field goal on the ensuing possession cut the lead to 13-10 with 5:47 remaining in the third quarter and capped a six-play, 40-yard drive.
- Washington’s 6-yard pass from Lawrence capped an 11-play, 67-yard drive for a 17-13 lead with 12:55 remaining – the Jaguars’ first lead since late in the second quarter. Allen’s 15-yard pass to Kincaid capped a nine-play, 65-yard drive on the ensuing series and gave the Bills a 20-17 lead with 8:56 remaining. Etienne’s 14-yard touchdown reception capped a 10-play, 77-yard drive that gave the Jaguars the lead again on the ensuing possession.
Notable: Jaguars starting left tackle Cole Van Lanen missed Sunday’s game with a knee injury sustained in last Sunday’s Week 18 victory over the Tennessee Titans; Walker Little, the Jaguars’ starting left tackle in the first 12 games of the season, started in his place. Van Lanen was among six Jaguars inactive players along with tight end Hunter Long, running back DeeJay Dallas, wide receiver Dyami Brown, defensive tackle Maason Smith and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah.
Jaguars injury report: Rookie defensive end Danny Striggow sustained a first-half ankle injury and returned. Starting guard Patrick Mekari sustained a back injury in the second half and returned.
