The Jacksonville Jaguars know who will be their opponent in Super Wild Card Weekend. Hours after their 41-7 win over the Tennessee Titans in the season finale, the NFL announced that they'll face off against the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the playoffs.
Just a couple weeks ago, it looked like Jacksonville was going to play the rival Houston Texans in the wild card round. Then, the odds of facing the Los Angeles Chargers increase. But in the end, the Jags will welcome Buffalo and EverBank Stadium. All things considered, this is the best matchup they could've gotten.
Facing the Bills at EverBank will be huge for the Jaguars
Following the win over Tennessee, Liam Coen met with the local media. He talked about how huge it is to face the Bills at home, noting that there's nothing like playing in front of fans and having their support.
"It's huge. I've seen so many cool pictures of the 22' game here at home, and what that crowd did, and what the community can do for a football team, and what a football team can do for a community," Coen told reporters (5:01 mark). "And I think that the majority of these guys, like they all want to play. They all want to play the whole team. They want to play in front of this crowd."
Coen continued, "I remember hearing Brenton Strange's comments a couple weeks ago about, 'Yeah, it's cool to go on the road and play in some cool atmospheres, but there's nothing like playing at home, in front of this crowd and in front of this community,' so we need them all. We need all Duval to come out."
The game Coen is talking about was against the Chargers, also in the Wild Card round. At one point, Jacksonville was down 27-3 but put together a furious comeback to win 31-30.
Related: 4 critical observations from the Jags win vs. the Titans in the finale
Why the Jaguars want to play the Bills in the playoffs
The Texans would've arguably been the toughest matchup in the first round of the playoffs, but it might have been the one the Jaguars wanted the most, given that they would have had a shot at exacting revenge. On the other hand, they soundly beat the Chargers in the regular season and would've surely embraced the opportunity to face them again. Meanwhile, the Bills are 11-5 but are a flawed team heading into the playoffs.
Although Josh Allen is playing at a high level, he's not getting help from his receivers, and the Buffalo offensive line isn't doing a great job of blocking up front. Couple that with the fact that they struggled with turnovers in the offseason, and they're a flawed team ahead of the playoffs, one that the Jaguars will have a realistic shot of defeating.
The Jaguars finished the regular season riding a seven-game winning streak, so it's hard to see them taking their foot off the pedal against the Bills. When you take into account that the game will be held at EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville should be the clear favorite to come out on top.