The Jacksonville Jaguars were flying high heading into their Wild Card matchup against the Buffalo Bills. They won the AFC South division for the first time since 2022. Trevor Lawrence was playing some of the best football of his young career. And the Jaguars had one of the stingiest run defenses in the NFL all season long. But with all that was going in their favor, you still have to play the games, and unfortunately for the Jaguars, things did not go their way, as they lost dramatically, 27-24.
There were big plays in this game for both teams, but one that will be remembered vividly happened early in the second quarter. The Jaguars had just scored, taking a 7-3 lead, and kicked the ball off to the Bills and Ray Davis. The veteran returnman had a good return going and then got hit and subsequently stripped of the ball, with the Jaguars recovering the ball at the Buffalo 36-yard line. The Jaguars would then proceed to drive the ball to the Buffalo 9-yard line, as the Bills forced a fourth down with two yards to go. With a decision to make, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen decided to go for it and put the ball in the hands of his quarterback, Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence would run for the first down and it looked as if he dove for the first and ended up falling short of the first down. The Jaguars could have taken three points there and extended their lead to 10-3. Lawrence also could have stayed on his feet there and finished the run through the defender, given that he is 6’6” and 220 pounds. Either way, the Jaguars did not get any points and the Bills would take that turnover on downs and score on the ensuing drive, taking a 10-7 lead.
Great challenge by the Bills here. Lawrence is touched just short of the line to gain. First down Buffalo.#BUFvsJAX pic.twitter.com/tsm2mbzGQ1
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) January 11, 2026
Throughout most of the game, it came down to who would make plays. The Jaguars' defense locked down the NFL’s leading rusher for the majority of the game, holding running back James Cook to 46 yards on 15 carries. And as far as the Bills' offense, they held their own more than many may have expected them to. So ultimately, it came down to which quarterback could make the most plays to win the game. For his part, Josh Allen did what needed to be done. Allen was 9/11 for 103 yards and one touchdown in the fourth quarter, along with five combined runs and scrambles for 22 yards and the game-winning touchdown. When it comes to Trevor Lawrence, he did make some plays in the fourth quarter and even led a couple of drives to get the lead back from the Bills as well. Lawrence was 8/12 for 106 yards and two touchdowns on the first two drives he had in the fourth quarter. But unfortunately, he will be remembered in this one for the last Jaguars drive of the game. The Bills took a 27-24 lead with 1:04 left in the game, and the Jaguars needed either a field goal to tie the game or a touchdown to win the game. The Jaguars got the ball at their own 23-yard line, and Trevor Lawrence promptly threw a pass across the middle of the field that Bills safety Cole Bishop picked off, effectively ending the game. It looked like Jaguars wide receiver Jakobi Meyers was covered on that play, and the pass was not thrown in a good location for Meyers to attempt to catch it. Overall, it just did not seem like a good decision at the most critical part of the game for Lawrence.
Trevor lawrence INT ends the game HUGE win for #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/kFFlNnZecn
— Jimbo (@JimbosJunkbox) January 11, 2026
So, a season that ended with so much promise for Jacksonville is over, and now they head into the offseason, wondering what could have been and preparing for what needs to be done to make their 2026 season better than this one. But one thing is true: the Jaguars exceeded the expectations of many, but the end was truly something they did not see coming.