Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Back in Week 10 of the 2025 NFL season, the Jacksonville Jaguars took a 29-10 lead into the fourth quarter in a key AFC South matchup with the Houston Texans.
The Texans were playing their backup quarterback, Davis Mills, due to an injury to C.J. Stroud, and the Jaguars were dominating the home team. Jacksonville's win probability before that final quarter started was 96%.
However, the Texans stunned everyone by scoring all 26 fourth-quarter points and winning the game, 36-29.
The Jaguars must have been really angry, because that was the last time they lost a game.
Jacksonville will bring an eight-game winning streak into Sunday's AFC Wild Card matchup with the Buffalo Bills at EverBank Stadium.
There is some context to that streak, though.
Four of those eight wins came against teams that ended the year with a 3-14 record. They beat the Tennessee Titans twice, as well as the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals.
Two of the wins came over an Indianapolis Colts team that was in a full collapse.
There were a pair of very good victories - one over the Los Angeles Chargers and the other was the Jaguars' best win of the season: A rout of the Broncos in Denver.
Jacksonville is led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who had his best season since entering the league as the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The former Clemson star threw for 4,007 yards and had 29 touchdown passes. Lawrence's legs are also a weapon, especially in the red zone, as he ran for 359 yards and nine touchdowns.
After turning the ball over 16 times in the first 11 games this season, Lawrence had just one giveaway over the next six starts.
His former Clemson teammate, Travis Etienne Jr., is the Jaguars' leading rusher. He totaled 1,107 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns, but Etienne hasn't had a 100-yard game since Week 4.
The passing attack was completely changed by the in-season trade for wide receiver Jakobi Meyers from the Las Vegas Raiders. It gave Jacksonville a middle of the field presence they were lacking.
In nine games with his new team, Meyers registered 42 catches for 483 yards and three scores. The threat of Meyers in the middle has also opened up more deep throws for Brian Thomas Jr.
Thomas finished the regular season second on the team in receptions (48) and receiving yards (707).
The Jaguars' leading receiver is Parker Washington, who had 58 catches for 847 yards and five touchdowns.
Tight end Brenton Strange is also a good weapon, totalling 46 catches for 540 yards and three scores this season.
Jacksonville's offense was ranked sixth in the league in points per-game, 20th in rush yards, 11th in pass yards, seventh in first downs and 19th in third-down efficiency.
The 2025 Jaguars also set a franchise record for the most points in a season with 474.
The defense has been a huge part of the Jaguars' success this season.
They had 31 takeaways, which was second-best in the league only to the Chicago Bears. Jacksonville's 22 interceptions are second-most in the NFL.
Jacksonville also boasts the NFL's top-ranked run defense. It will be quite the matchup on Sunday when they go up against the Bills' league-leading rushing attack, featuring James Cook.
The Jaguars' leading tackler is linebacker Foyesade Oluokon with 143 tackles. The second leading tackler on the team is 60 behind Oluokon, who is also second on the squad with 11 passes defended.
Defensive end Josh Hines-Allen has a team-leading eight sacks.
The Jaguars' pass rush is strong with defensive tackle Erik Armstead (5.5 sacks) and defensive end Travon Walker (3.5 sacks). Armstead is playing with a cast on a broken hand, and Walker has been playing through a knee injury.
Game-changing linebacker Devon Lloyd and safety Antonio Johnson each have five interceptions this season.
Cornerbacks Montaric Brown and Jourdan Lewis have combined for 22 passes defended and four picks.
The Jaguars defense is eighth in points per-game, first in rush yards, 21st in pass yards, and 20th in third-down efficiency.
There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to special teams.
Washington averaged 13 yards on punt returns and had two touchdowns.
Place kicker Cam Little is one of the best in the NFL. He was 50-for-51 on extra points this season, and 30-for-34 in field goal attempts. Little was 8-for-10 on kicks from 50-plus yards, and kicked an NFL record 68-yard field goal earlier this season. He also kicked a 67-yard field goal in last week's season finale.
Jacksonville's kick coverage was just 24th in the league. That could mean Ray Davis, who led the NFL with his average of 30 yards a return, could have a big day.
Jaguars notes:
- Jacksonville went 5-3 against teams that made the playoffs this season.
- The Jaguars are 7-2 at home, with losses in back-to-back weeks to the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams.
- Jacksonville was 4-3 before the bye week and 9-1 after the break.
- The Bills are 0-2 all-time against Jacksonville in the playoffs (1996, 2017).
- The Bills and Jaguars had four common opponents this season. Both teams played Houston, the Cincinnati Bengals, Jets and Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills went 4-1, while the Jaguars were 3-2.
- Lawrence joined Josh Allen and Cam Newton as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with 4,000-plus passing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in a season.
- Lawrence became the fourth quarterback in league history with, at least, 25 pass touchdowns and 10 rush touchdowns in the same season. Allen has done that three times.
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