By CHUCK POLLOCK, Wellsville Sun Senior Sports Columnist
It was January of 1993 when the Bills beat the Dolphins in Miami to make their third of four Super Bowl trips … the last time they won a road playoff game.
That was 33 years ago.
But Sunday afternoon at Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium, Buffalo ended its eight-game road playoff losing streak with a tense 27-24 victory over the Jaguars who had won eight in a row.
Buffalo (13-5) will now go on the road to take on the No. 1 seed in the AFC East, the Denver Broncos (14-3) on Saturday. No. 2 New England, 16-3 winners over the Chargers, wait to see who they will host, the winner of tonight’s Pittsburgh and Houston game.
IN A THIRD straight tense AFC wild-card game this weekend, the Bills and Jaguars traded the lead four times in the fourth quarter and Jacksonville nearly handed Buffalo a golden opportunity to win the game.
With the Jags up 24-20, Buffalo drove to the Jags 1-yard line with no time outs. Then Jacksonville let Bills QB Josh Allen score for a 27-24 lead and 1:05 remaining rather than Buffalo running the clock down to nothing. Instead, the Jaguars needed only to score the tying field goal with the NFL’s most proficient long-distance kicker to send the game to overtime.
But, Buffalo got a break as cornerback Tre-Davious White tipped Trevor Lawrence’s pass and it floated to safety Cole Bishop who made the catch to effectively end the game.
Still, the Bills failure to run down the clock was an egregious error on the NFL level.
BUT WHEN Buffalo coach Sean McDermott says there’s still work to be done, he’s not kidding.
The Bills are still struggling stopping the run as Jacksonville averaged nearly seven yards a carry. And, on the other side, Buffalo’s James Cook, the NFL’s leading rusher, finished with a mere 46 yards on 15 carries three … per try.
Both those numbers have to improve before Buffalo’s next playoff game.
As it is, injuries will already be a factor.
Wide receiver Gabe Davis left the game with a knee injury, wideout Tyrell Shavers also left injured and wideout Joshua Palmer went on injured reserve.
“They’re a tough, tough football team and some of our guys went down and others stepped in and did a phenomenal job,” coach Sean McDermott assessed.
“Our guys were tough and resilient and gave us a chance to win at the end.”
NOTES FROM the Bills 27-24 victory over the Jaguars, Sunday afternoon at  Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium
— The first takeaway came when Trevor Lawrence’s pass was picked off by linebacker Shaq Thompson. The Bills cashed the drive with a 50-yard Matt Prater field goal. Thompson led the Bills with 14 tackles including six solos.
— The game’s second giveaway came when running back Ray Davis fumbled at the end of a kickoff return with Jacksonville recovering.
— The final takeaway was the clincher as Lawrence’s pass was tipped by cornerback Tre’Davious White with safety Cole Bishop picking off the tipped ball.
— The game’s lone sack was logged by Bills edge rusher Greg Rousseau who dumped Lawrence and got his team-leading eighth of the season.
— Jacksonville’s only sack of Josh Allen was recorded by edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen, his team-leading ninth.
–Bills coach Sean McDermott had a terrible record in challenges — 7 upheld and 22 rejected in his nine-year head-coaching career — but he was right Sunday when he challenged a fourth-down run by Lawrence that was called a first down. McDermott’s challenge reversed the call. The Bills then went 92 yards to take a 10-7 lead.
— Inactive for the Bills were middle linebacker Terrel Bernard (calf), cornerback Maxwell Hairston (ankle), running back Ty Johnson (ankle), safety Darnell Savage, offensive tackle Tylan Grable, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and tight end Keleki Latu.
Swipe for a slideshow of game photos and locker room celebration photos:
