Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The regular season has come to an end. Now it's do-or-die time for the Buffalo Bills, as they get set to face the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday in the AFC Wild Card Round at EverBank Stadium.
After a dominating victory this past Sunday over the New York Jets, with mostly backups taking care of business, the Bills were able to solidify their position as the 6-seed in the AFC playoff picture. Not only that, but also send-off Highmark Stadium on a high note in, what is likely, the final game played at the stadium in Orchard Park.
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Looking at the Jaguars, Buffalo is set to face one of the hottest teams in the entire league heading into the postseason. Jacksonville closed out the 2025 season with wins in eight-straight games, resulting in an AFC South championship and the 3-seed in the AFC.
The Jacksonville offense is filled with weapons, led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who finished this season with his third-career 4,000-yard passing season and accounting for 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Over the last eight games of the season, Lawrence threw for 2,009 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions, while completing 62.7% of his pass attempts.
From there, Lawrence has a plethora of options to throw from, whether it's Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers, Parker Washington or Brenton Strange. While there was no definitive No. 1 option for Lawrence this season down the field, it was Washington who ended up leading the Jaguars in receiving with 847 yards on 58 receptions.
Lawrence can also hand the ball off to running back Travis Etienne Jr., who had a bit of a revival season in Jacksonville with 1,107 yards on 260 carries this year and seven touchdowns. He also added 292 yards receiving on 36 receptions and another six scores.
As a unit, the Jaguars finished the 2025 season with the 11th-best offense, averaging 337.4 yards per-game, and the sixth-best scoring unit, averaging 27.9 points per-game.
Defensively, the Jaguars have been very effective this season in the run game, giving up the fewest yards per-game (85.6) this year, as they get set to face the best rushing offense in the NFL in 2025.
Where the Bills may be able to take advantage is through the air, as Jacksonville gives up an average of 218.1 yards per-game.
Overall, the Jaguars are the definition of a "bend, but don't break" defense, giving up an average of 303.6 total yards per-game, but only giving up 19.8 points per-game.
Leading the group overall is head coach Liam Coen, who helped the Jaguars to a 13-4 record in his first year in charge in Jacksonville.
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Despite some past struggles against the Jaguars when Buffalo travels to Jacksonville, Howard Simon still believes Buffalo will continue to roll in the Wild Card Round. He has the Bills beating the Jaguars, marking Buffalo's sixth-straight victory in the opening round of the playoffs.
Where it ends for Buffalo will come in the AFC Divisional Round, as the picks made by Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase have the Bills heading to Houston to face the Texans at NRG Stadium.
After being beaten up by the Texans in Houston earlier this season on "Thursday Night Football", Howard feels it may be much of the same for the Bills in the playoffs, with Buffalo getting beaten up by one of the best defensive units the NFL has seen in years.
Be sure to follow along on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the latest picks from Howard by using the hashtag #HowardPicksTheBills. You can also track all of Howard's picks throughout the season with Brayton Wilson's picks tracker on X: @BraytonJWilson. We will see if the playoff picks hold true.
Listen to the latest edition of Howard Picks the Bills at the player below, you can also watch up at the top of the page: