Bills exorcise playoff demons as Josh Allen puts on his Superman cape with another elite postseason performance
Josh Allen is the best quarterback in football.
The Buffalo Bills have the best football player on the planet in quarterback Josh Allen. The dude is a machine, and deserves his flowers after Buffalo pulled out the 27-24 victory in Jacksonville. It was Buffalo’s first road playoff win since 1992, and Allen’s first playoff road win. The demons have been exorcised, as Buffalo finally notched a road playoff win under head coach Sean McDermott.
My goodness, what a performance from No. 17. Allen finished the day going 28-for-35 passing with one touchdown while adding 11 carries for 33 yards and two touchdowns. In total, Allen had 306 yards of total offense with three touchdowns and no turnovers. He once again put on his Superman cape and reminded the league why he had been voted MVP just one season ago.
Injuries nearly derailed Buffalo in win vs. Jaguars
It wasn’t all pretty, and some of it was flat-out gross. Specifically, the injuries. Several key players, including Allen himself, went down with injury in the contest. Safety Jordan Poyer was unable to return; wide receiver Josh Palmer spent some time in the locker room but was able to return; and perhaps the biggest name to keep an eye on is wide receiver Gabe Davis. Davis needed to be carted off the field after taking a huge hit at midfield.
The defense was performing well in the first half, intercepting a pass and making life difficult for quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The only issue was that the team couldn’t stop a nosebleed when it came to defending the run.
Jacksonville ran all over Buffalo, cutting outside and picking up huge gains over and over again. When Poyer went down with an injury, and the return of wide receiver Parker Washington for Jacksonville, the momentum started to turn in Jacksonville’s favor. Washington was hurt in the first half and was being looked at for a possible concussion.
With the game on the line, Buffalo went to ol’ reliable
Despite the injuries and the lack of a true No. 1 wide receiver on offense, Allen drove the team down the field in the closing moments of the game, finding wide receiver Brandin Cooks for a huge gain that set the team up in the red zone. Allen had perhaps the longest tush push in NFL history, which put Buffalo down to the one-yard line, where Allen found the endzone easily.
With 1:03 on the clock, Bills Mafia was a bit nervous that Jacksonville could come back and tie it up. I don’t have to remind the fanbase of the infamous 13-second collapse, but safety Cole Bishop had other plans. The budding star intercepted Lawrence, ending the game and giving Buffalo the victory.
At the end of the day, this one came down to the simplest truth in football: if you have Josh Allen, you always have a chance.
Buffalo survived the injuries, weathered Jacksonville’s push, and leaned on its MVP when it mattered most. The Bills are moving on with their franchise quarterback once again, leading the way when the lights are the brightest.
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