JACKSONVILLE – Team reporter Kainani Stevens each week during the 2025 postseason will speak with a media member covering the Jaguars' opponent.
Up this week:
Bills team reporter Maddy Glab on the Bills as they approach Sunday’s 2025 AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Jaguars at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.
Question: We all know about Bills quarterback Josh Allen. What's the season been like as a whole for the Bills? From the outside, it looks like it has been a little bit different than years past.
Answer: It has been an up-and-down season, and a ride at times. The Bills finished 12-5 in the regular season, winning five of their last six games. They've been known for their second-half comebacks all season, but I think they have done a fantastic job of putting things together in the second half of the season. The Bills have struggled on the road this year, going 5-3 but winning their last three games on the road. Josh Allen is coming off that MVP campaign, and he has shown how he has grown in several areas. This year it has been [running back] James Cook running the show, the rushing title leader and the offensive line helping set things up. The engine of the offense this year is that rushing attack, but it has been Cook and Allen. There hasn't been that No. 1 receiver, which helps when it comes to going up against different defenses because you're not sure who's going to be catching the ball in any given game.
Q: Let's talk a little about James Cook. The Jaguars have the best run defense in the NFL and they haven't allowed a 75-yard rusher this season. Cook is having an amazing season, but Josh Allen can also get out and run. Do you feel like that dynamic has helped Buffalo's offense this season?
A: Definitely. The Bills lead the league in in total rushing yards. Cook and Allen made up for 2,200 of those yards, which is 81% of the total number. I think the pair of them together is really what makes this offense hard to defend. Cook has turned into this fantastic running back. He's really good at reading and reacting to what's happening on the field. He's very close with his offensive line and they do a fantastic job of communicating. If you're going to stack the box against the Bills because they're running the football, Allen can have success through the air. Then if you're going to drop some guys back, Allen can run it himself. Anyway that a defense presents itself, I think Buffalo can find answers.
Q: The Jaguars have had trouble with tight ends and the Bills have two that are very talented. Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid. What do they bring to the offense?
A: Knox and Kincaid this season have been sharing duties because Kincaid has not been in the lineup every week. He missed Week 17 with a knee injury but played sparingly in Week 18. I think the coaching staff just wanted to see how he was doing and how he could hold up for the playoffs. When Kincaid or Knox is on the field, it presents challenges to a defense because defending a tight end is hard. They have the height, they have the size, and you have to be particular in how you're going to defend that. Kincaid has been fantastic at burning defenses when he's on the field this year. Allen has a great rapport with him. The issue this season for Kincaid has been the consistency. He's been on and off the field due to injury. Seems to be in an okay place right now, especially just being limited to start the practice week. Knox has really stepped up in Kincaid's place this season. He has been targeted a lot more in the second half of the season and he has answered with some big games.
Q: The Jaguars have really come into their own with quarterback Trevor Lawrence's play the last two months. Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen was very complimentary of the Bills' pass defense and what they've been able to do this season. What are some of the strengths of Buffalo's secondary?
A: The secondary finished as the best in the league allowing under 160 passing yards per game. That's something the secondary really hangs their hat on, putting up numbers like that throughout the season. They started to play a lot more physical down the stretch. Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott has talked about spinning the dial and throwing different coverages at an offense throughout the game to confuse quarterbacks. We've seen corners being sent on more blitzes and it paying off in pass deflections that become interceptions. This is the foundation of why they've played so well in the second half of the season. On the back end you have safeties Jordan Poyer and then Cole Bishopm who's in his second year. Once those two got on the field together, you saw Bishop's game IQ and his play has gone to another level. They seem like a very cohesive unit and that's turned into really limiting opponents when it comes to the passing attack.
Q: Do you have any X-factor players who you feel will need to have good games for the Bills to get a win?
A: Kincaid. Buffalo's offense is a different offense when he is healthy and on the field. I think he just adds a different wrinkle to everything. He's another player you have to scheme for because when he's on the field, he's going to make plays. For Buffalo's defense, I don't think it's one player but it's the pass rush getting to Lawrence. You see so many games in the NFL that are one-possession games, and it seems like the Jaguars have just been blowing teams out. McDermott emphasizes it starts in the trenches and on defense it starts with a pass rush. I think it's those guys up front playing together and making sure they're communicating with the back end. If they can do that and tee off a little bit in the beginning of the game, they might be able to find opportunities for takeaways.
