The No. 3 seed Jacksonville Jaguars were favored to beat the No. 6 seed Buffalo Bills in their wild card matchup against the on Sunday.
But there’s one thing the oddsmaker forgot to take into account: reigning MVP Josh Allen.
The All-Pro quarterback donned his Superman cape yet again, willing the Bills to a 27-24 win after falling behind 24-20 with 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Allen led a 9-play, 66-yard touchdown drive minutes later, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run up the middle to clinch the first road playoff win of his career and Buffalo’s first in over three decades.
Now, the Bills will travel to Denver to play the top-seeded Broncos in the divisional round with a trip to the AFC Championship game on the line.
Bills Lose Key WR to Brutal Injury
GettyBuffalo Bills WR Gabe Davis
The Bills will likely be shorthanded offensively for Sunday’s win-or-go-home matchup with the Broncos after wide receiver Gabe Davis suffered a pretty nasty knee injury in Sunday’s win over Jacksonville.
Davis shared a photo of the injury on Instagram, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport believes the considerable bruising around the kneecap will keep him sidelined next weekend.
“#Bills WR Gabe Davis will have an MRI today, but his knee is so swollen that doing an initial diagnosis was a challenge. Does not look good for the rest of the playoffs…,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport stated on X.
“My one concern for the Bills is health on short week,” CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson added. “They were already without Ty Johnson (ankle in boot) and Josh Palmer (IR), lose Gabe Davis for the season. Shavers (knee) got banged up. Defensively CB Hairston and LB Bernard missed the game and may not be back. Poyer left with hamstring.”
Davis had come on down the stretch for the Bills, logging 12 receptions on 18 targets for 129 yards and a score over the team’s final six games of the season. He had 2 catches on 3 targets for 14 yards before his injury on Sunday.
However, with Davis out the WR production now falls on Khalil Shakir and Brandin Cooks’ shoulders. Shakir performed admirably (12 catches, 82 yards) against the Jags, while Cooks had a few big catches as well.
With Palmer on IR, Davis likely out on Saturday, and Shavers also injured, the Bills could ask second-year WR Keon Coleman to be a bigger factor in Sunday’s game
Buffalo’s Defense Took a Hit Too
GettyBuffalo Bills DB Jordan Poyer
The offense wasn’t the only unit that suffered an injury setback.
Unfortunately, defensive back Jordan Poyer also reinjured his hamstring in the second quarter against the Jaguars. His absence in the secondary forced rookie Jordan Hancock into action.
After Poyer’s exit, Jacksonville started to connect on some big play passes down the field. Buffalo’s secondary gave up a 34-yard pass at the end of the second quarter that put Jacksonville in position to kick a tying field goal (it was missed) and Trevor Lawrence connected on a 31-yard pass on the team’s final touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
Though Buffalo was already without defensive tackles Ed Oliver and Jordan Phillips, cornerback Maxwell Hairston, linebacker Terrel Bernard, and safety Damar Hamlin, things look even more grim.
Losing Poyer is another big blow going against a Broncos passing attack that ranked 11th in the NFL during the regular season (223.9 yards per game) and averaged nearly 24 points per game.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Josh Allen, Bills Hit With Bad News Before Broncos Playoff Clash appeared first on Heavy Sports.