The Jacksonville Jaguars exceeded expectations in 2025. Along the way, they broke several franchise records. For instance, Trevor Lawrence's 38 individual touchdowns were the most in a season in team history, while the offense's 51 touchdowns scored were also a franchise record.
The Jacksonville defense, on the other hand, set a new team record for the fewest yards allowed in a season. That will come in handy when the Jags welcome the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, and they'll be tasked with containing the league's leading rusher, James Cook.
Surprisingly, a prominent NFL analyst missed the fact that Jacksonville excels at stopping the run, but that could turn out to make the difference in Super Wild-Card Weekend.
Contrary to popular belief, the Jaguars excel at stopping the run
Jeffri Chadiha of NFL Media talked about the Jags and how they match up against the Bills. He brougth up some valid points but somehow didn't know that they allowed the fewest rushing yards in the NFL this past season. Here's what he had to say.
"I believe Josh Allen can do this, because when he knows he has to do it, this is the first time he's not going to see Patrick Holmes in the playoffs in his career," Chadiha responded when asked if Allen can get hot. "And secondly, I think he embraces the run game. He has James Cook, who leads the league in rushing, who can be a great Robin to his Batman, and can control games."
Chaidha continued, "And we talk about Jacksonville, they're good at pressuring quarterbacks, but not at sacking quarterbacks. Good with defense, but not great with run defense. So while things can tell me that Josh Allen can get things going pretty fast here."
For context, Jacksonville gave up a league-best 85.6 rushing yards per game in 2025, and not one week did they allow anyone to tally 75 rushing yards. Not surprisingly, Chadiha was communited note when the post made the rounds on Twitter. The silver lining is that not everything he said was inaccurate. For instance, he wondered why Trevor Lawrence didn't get nearly as much MVP consideration despite the fact that he finished the season strong.
"I'm surprised he didn't get more talk far as MVP voting, because he was playing like an MVP the last eight weeks, eight-game win streak. You're talking about a quarterback who had 19 total touchdowns, only one interception, got away from all those takeaway problems, all those turnover problems he had earlier in the year," Chadiha said.
Related: It took Liam Coen one season to prove the Jags made the right call
The Bills are one of the best teams in the NFL, but the Jaguars can keek up with them
That the Bills have Josh Allen at quarterback should be more than enough to make them the favorite against Jacksonville. After all, he's been one of the top 3quarterbacks quarterback in the league for several years. Couple that with the fact that Buffalo can lean on James Cook, and the Jags will have their hands full in Week 19.
On the other hand, the Jaguars are no slouch and have enough talent to repel Buffalo. Their secondary has a good matchup against a Bills receiver corps that lacks starpower while their defense can realistically stymie Cook. On offense, Trevor Lawrence has no shortage of weapons and should be able to find someone open even if the Buffalo defense gives them a tough time.
When you add it all up, the Jaguars have a realistic chance to beat the Bills in the playoffs. Whether they pull it off or not remains to be seen, but winning would most definitely make them a solid pick to make the Super Bowl.