Josh Allen helps Bills snap road playoff drought in win over Jaguars

Josh Allen finally won a road playoff game, and the Buffalo Bills had to use his Superman qualities to do it.

The Bills defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-24 behind two rushing scores from Allen, including the game-winner on Sunday afternoon.

The fourth quarter was exciting for both teams, with each team scoring two goals in the following 15 minutes. But it was Allen’s second rushing score of the game that ultimately mattered most.

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Allen and the Bills’ offense faced a 24-20 deficit after Trevor Lawrence found Travis Etienne Jr. for a 14-yard touchdown catch, where he broke a tackle and flew into the end zone. The fans in Duval County went crazy, but time was still on Buffalo’s side.

After all, we’ve seen Allen put on some good playoff heroics in the past. But he was 0-4 in road playoff games for his career entering this contest, and the pressure was certainly high as Jacksonville’s defense made it difficult for him all game long.

Allen’s first clutch moment of the drive came when he threw the ball off his back foot to Brandin Cooks 36 yards out, turning the field into Jaguars territory. Cooks racked up 58 yards on three receptions, including this key late-season reception.

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Then the Bills found themselves on a fourth-and-inches play; The play was at Jacksonville’s 11-yard line. It wasn’t hard to tell that Buffalo would run its own pressure move with Allen, but no one expected what would happen next.

Not only did Allen get the push he needed on first down, but his teammates continued to push him forward 10 yards, nearly finding the end zone.

On the next play, after the referees reversed the initial touchdown call, the Bills went back to the well and Allen was pushed into the end zone without much of a Jaguars threat. Jacksonville looked like they wanted them to score a goal with a minute left in the game and fall behind by three points.

Trevor Lawrence of the Jaguars throws a pass against the Buffalo Bills at EverBank Stadium on January 11, 2026 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Given kicker Cam Little’s footing (he reset the NFL’s record for longest field goal earlier this season), Lawrence didn’t need to go far to give himself a chance to send the game into overtime.

But on the first play of the drive, a pass to Jakobi Meyers was thrown by Tre’Dacious White, who made a spectacular play, and was intercepted by safety Cole Bishop. Bishop smartly fell down the field and the game ended with the Jaguars not calling any timeouts.

The Bills will now wait to see who their next opponent in the divisional round will be.

In the box score, Allen was 28-of-35 for 273 yards with a touchdown pass to Dalton Kincaid in the fourth quarter. He also had 33 rushing yards on 11 carries, while James Cook struggled all day in the backfield against the league’s best rushing defense, allowing just 46 yards on 15 touchdowns.

Khalil Shakir also stepped up for Buffalo and carried all 12 of his targets for 82 yards.

For Jacksonville, Lawrence threw three touchdown passes on his 30 attempts, while also throwing two interceptions, the other coming by Shaq Thompson in the first half. He threw for 207 yards with 31 rushing yards on six attempts to close out his season.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen attempts to throw a pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC wild-card game at EverBank Stadium on January 11, 2026. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)

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The quick attack worked well for the Jaguars, who saw Etienne score 67 points and Bhayshul Tuten score 51 points on just four shots.

In the passing game, Parker Washington capped off his season with another solid performance, taking the game lead with seven catches for 107 yards.

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