Jacksonville Jaguars vs Buffalo Bills Prediction & Picks - NFL

Prediction published on 1/11/26, 9:10 AM  by Bill Christy | Modified on 1/16/26 at 4:42 AM in NFL Picks

The 1st game of Sunday’s set of Wild Card games will take place in Jacksonville. The 3-seeded Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4) will host the 6-seeded Buffalo Bills (12-5) as a short home dog.

Jacksonville secured the 3 seed by becoming the AFC South division champions. It has been a magical season for the Jaguars and the best of Trevor Lawrence’s career. They finished the regular season by winning 8 straight games. During that stretch, Lawrence has had the offense clicking on all cylinders. During the 8-game winning streak, the Jaguars have been scoring an average of 33.6 points per game. On the season, the defense finished 8th in points allowed, holding opponents to under 20 points per game. That will surely be tested in this matchup with Josh Allen and the Bills.

Buffalo finished the regular season on a bit of a letdown. Their chances of hopping New England for the division were derailed with a 13-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2nd to last week of the season. That said, this is still a team that finished with 12 wins and ranked 1st in the entire league in rushing offense. James Cook surpassed 1600 yards on the ground this season. That, combined with Josh Allen’s ability to scramble have been the recipe for such a successful ground attack. With Kansas City out of the playoff picture, this could be Josh Allen’s best shot at reaching the Super Bowl.

Jacksonville’s staunch defense will be tested in this Wild Card matchup by the strong rushing attack of the Bills. This game could come down to which team controls the time of possession and makes the most of their red zone opportunities.