The Buffalo Bills playoff comeback fairy tale (9-7) ends in the first round: In a wildcard duel with the Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6) it set a 3-10 defeat – in a game dominated by the Defenses and in which Blake Bortles set a franchise record for QB rushing yards! The Jaguars will face the Steelers in the Divisional Round in Pittsburgh, while the second AFC Divisional duel is New England versus Tennessee.
The first good news for the Bills at their first playoff since 1999 was already before the kick-off: The beaten LeSean McCoy had not only got fit, he should even be able to play without any restrictions. Alone – it helped only to a limited extent. Both defenses controlled the game and especially the line of scrimmage completely. So it became a punt shaped field position game in which the Bills looked more stable at first.
Jacksonville was incredibly conservative in the passing game, but Blake Bortles (12/23.87 YDS, TD; 9 ATT, 89 YDS) did not even in this game plan put up passes to completely open receivers. Even after a distorted interception, the Jags-Offense could not capitalize on a good field position. On the other hand, Tyrod Taylor (17/37,134 YDS, INT; 7 ATT, 27 YDS) had an increasing success especially at Scrambles and gave Buffalo midway through the second quarter with a long field goal drive – but when Buffalo didn’t get the ball into the final zone with First Down on the 2-yard line – the first points.
The Jags, with some defensive indisciplines and penalties creeping in, were able to respond shortly before the halftime break; because Bortles put the offense in the field goal position with two long scrambles, it went into the cabin with a 3:3. And Jacksonville had his best drive in the third quarter: Finally Leonard Fournette (21 ATT, 57 YDS) got a more prominent role, Bortles was back with Scrambles and the drive ended with a play-action touchdown pass at 4th&Goal!
That should be enough to win: Bortles was far more dangerous with his scrambles than with his passports and had several times great turnaround luck. But because the Bills-Offense didn’t see any land at all in the second half, some good runs of Bortles and Fournette were enough to bring the lead over time. Buffalo had the chance to equalize with a bit more than a minute, but after a hard hit Taylor was injured and an interception of Nathan Peterman finished the game. The Jags are going to Pittsburgh!
Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6) – Buffalo Bills (9-7)10:3 (0:0,3:3,7:0,0:0) BOXSCORE
Jacksonville’s best drive by far came in the third quarter: a nearly nine minute long march over 86 yards with more first downs than in the complete first half. And yet, the Jags ended up at Fourth Down just before the end zone – and made the right decision. In a game where no one could expect to get that close to the final zone again, the hosts played the Fourth Down and were rewarded with the only touchdown of the game!
It was clear that Buffalo would have a tough stand in the Passing Game – it became a dominant show of the Jags-Secondary. The Bills receivers didn’t see any country at all, and so did Tight End Charles Clay. Even though Taylor had a short time in his pocket, he didn’t find any open-minded fellow players and Jacksonville’s clear playful overweight in the Secondary allowed the Jags to play the line of scrimmage and the box so aggressively.
Campbell is the anchor and heart of the Jaguars D-Line – against Buffalo, this was once again understated. Campbell constantly controlled double teams, could hardly be beaten in the run game and caught Taylor also in the backfield if he wanted to scramble.
Of course, Buffalo’s quarterback had a tough position against this defence and against his own receivers. But Taylor also left too much: A possible touchdown pass in the first half, imprecise passes and false reads over the middle – in a game where Buffalo would have needed a perfect match from Taylor, it was really dangerous with only a few scrambles, similar to Bortles on the other side.