The Buffalo Bills are getting ready to hit the road for a wild-card playoff game in Jacksonville against the Jaguars on Sunday.
Successfully running the ball is key in the playoffs, and the Bills enter with the NFL’s rushing champ in James Cook, who racked up 1,621 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns this season.
However, the Bills will be facing the league’s top team against the run in Jacksonville. This past season, the Jaguars allowed 86 yards a game on the ground — even holding Indianapolis Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor to 74 and 70 yards in two games.
“You don’t make it into the playoffs nowadays without being a strong defense that is able to take away something, whether that’s the run or the pass,” said Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady. “They’ve played some of the top runners, Jonathan Taylor is in that division, they’ve played the top, they’re playing at such an elite level and it’s going to be a huge challenge and a huge opportunity to go on the road and do that, but I believe it’s a challenge that we’ll be up for.”
On the other side of the ball is the Bills, with a top-10 defense when it comes to yards allowed per game. They’re number one against the pass and getting better at stopping the run as they head into the playoffs.
“The past whatever weeks have nothing to do, and this is playoff football, with what we’re going to do moving forward. But it is important that we are, hopefully, peaking at the right time,” said defensive coordinator Bobby Babich. “I’ve talked about that the whole year, make sure we’re peaking at the right time. We have a lot of work ahead of us. We’re playing a really good offense and we have to take care of us first and make sure we’re ready to rock.”
Playing on the road in the playoffs presents a challenge for the current era of Buffalo Bills football. The Bills are 0-5 away from Highmark Stadium under head coach Sean McDermott, including a 10-3 loss in Jacksonville back in 2017 in the wild-card round.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.