Josh Allen spearheaded the Buffalo Bills to their first road playoff victory in over three decades, securing a 27-24 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Sunday's AFC wild-card opener.
Allen, both taking and dishing out punishment, engineered the decisive drive. Under pressure from linebacker Devin Lloyd, he found Brandin Cooks for 36 yards just before the two-minute warning, then sealed it with a 1-yard touchdown run, which Jacksonville appeared to allow.
The preceding play saw Allen gain 10 yards on a sneak, refusing to go down. Prioritizing quick throws to counter Jacksonville’s pass rush, Allen completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for two scores, was sacked only once, and played turnover-free football.
It was necessary considering NFL rushing leader James Cook was mostly bottled up, finishing with 46 yards on 15 carries.
Buffalo (13-5) intercepted a deflected pass on Jacksonville’s final drive to seal the victory. The Jaguars (13-5) took the lead with 4:03 to play, but couldn't hold it against Allen.
The Bills had been 0-5 on the road in the playoffs under coach Sean McDermott, starting with a 10-3 loss at Jacksonville in the 2017 wild-card round. The Bills had dropped eight consecutive postseason games on the road since winning at Miami in the 1992 AFC championship game. It had been the NFL’s second-longest, active road playoff skid.
