JACKSONVILLE – The processing continues, and it's brutal stuff.

Trevor Lawrence spoke to the media along with multiple Jaguars veterans late Monday morning – and with a memorable 2025 season now a memory, that was the theme:

The ride was wonderful. The end just stinks.

"You put so much work in and all of a sudden, it's over," Lawrence said.

Lawrence, the Jaguars' starting quarterback, spoke as players cleaned out lockers Monday – a day after a 27-24 loss to the Buffalo Bills in an AFC Wild Card Playoff game at EverBank Stadium ended a successful, remarkable season.

"We're not sad because we lost it, but we're sad because all the work that we put into it and all the things that we did to get to that moment," Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. said. "I'm just grateful."

Such was the mood around the Miller Electric Center Monday on "getaway day" – a mix of pride in a 13-4 AFC South Championship season and stunned regret that the season ended short of the ultimate goal.

"Lessons and blessings – that's how I kind of sum it up," wide receiver Jakobi Meyers said. "It was a blessing to have the opportunity to compete for another week and at the same time you learn from it."

Some players emptied lockers into black, plastic trash bags. Others signed jerseys for departing teammates. There were hugs and handshakes, with players realizing – and struggling with – the sudden finality that NFL postseason losses bring.

"I wasn't really expecting to be done playing right now, so I'm still trying to comprehend it," veteran linebacker Devin Lloyd said.

The Jaguars, winners of eight consecutive games to end the regular season, rallied to take the lead three times against the Bills – who were making their seventh consecutive postseason appearance and who will visit the New England Patriots in an AFC Divisional Playoff next weekend.

Lawrence capped two fourth-quarter go-ahead drives with touchdown passes – one to wide receiver Parker Washington (six yards) and another to Etienne (14 yards) – but quarterback Josh Allen's 1-yard sneak with 1:04 remaining gave the Bills the final margin of victory.

"There's a level of just disappointment and the fact that we couldn't close the game out," Lloyd said. "Now you look around and everybody's packing the locker and it all just happens so fast. It's going to linger, especially knowing we don't have another week to make it right.

"At the same time, you have to get over it and get your body right and you just look back on all the good things. I'm just so proud of everybody."

Players on Monday spoke not just of disappointment, but of what appears to be bright future. The South title marked the fifth division title in franchise history, their 13 regular-season victories were one shy of the franchise record set in 1999 and their eight consecutive victories marked the second-longest single-season winning streak in franchise history.

"Obviously we set a new standard for how we want things within the organization," defensive end Travon Walker said.

The offseason, like all NFL offseasons, will feature change – with players such as Etienne and Lloyd scheduled to become unrestricted free agents in March. Both players on Monday said they want to return to the Jaguars, with both players also speaking of the NFL as a business.

"I'm just grateful to be a part of a standard that has been set here," Etienne said. "It's a standard that's set and just for the guys who will be here in the future, they have something to follow now. I'm just proud of that and grateful I was able to be a part of that journey."

Said tight end Brenton Strange, "It always looks different and that's the hard part about it, and I think that's what stands the most about it. We are going to continue. We have a group of guys that I think are going to have to come together and we're going to do the right things.

"This offseason, we're going to work hard and just put our heads down and do what we did this past year – just put one foot in front of the other and find ways to get better."

QUOTABLE

• Lawrence: "It was an awesome season as far as fun – just the experience with this team coming together, how it changed throughout the season, the growth, the steps we took as a team, individual players, the success stories of guys just stepping up in big moments. There were so many good things, so many positives in it. Obviously, we left a lot out there at the end of it. We feel like we had a real shot to keep playing and find a way to win Sunday."