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A preview of the AFC wild-card matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars
When: Sunday, 1:05 p.m. ET (CBS)
Where: Jacksonville's EverBank Field
Line: TBA
Injuries: A major subplot of this game will be the status of Bills RB LeSean McCoy, who was carted off the field in Week 17 after suffering an ankle injury.
More: NFL playoffs schedule 2018: Games, dates, times, TV channel info
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Let's party like it's 1999: The last time the Jags hosted a playoff game ... was 1999. The last time the Bills reached postseason ... was 1999 (a trip curtailed by the Music City Miracle). This is an opportunity that's been a long time coming for both franchises, and the Jaguars have already gotten permission to boost their stadium capacity by 3,500 after removing those ugly tarps from the upper decks of EverBank Field. Both teams have to be thrilled to be here given almost no one could have predicted this meeting during training camp. But it feels like the Bills — given McCoy's injury and their late entry into the field after a miraculous meltdown by the Ravens — are playing with house money, while the Jags' propensity to draw attention to themselves could ultimately be counterproductive.
2. Defense of the defense: Though "quarterback-driven league" has become a popular NFL catchphrase in recent years, three of the last five Super Bowl champions (2012 Ravens, 2013 Seahawks, 2015 Broncos) have been primarily reliant on defense. That's not to say a quarterback can be superfluous to a title run — Baltimore's Joe Flacco caught fire in 2012, Seattle' Russell Wilson ably executed what was more of a game-managing role in 2013, and Peyton Manning still provided plenty of wisdom and occasional big plays to Denver's 2015 run.
But these Jaguars can — and will almost certainly have to — ride their deep and talented defense as far as it will take them. They have playmakers at all three levels, and their ability to dually apply intense pressure in tandem with tight coverage on the back end is a challenge to most opponents and certainly one as limited offensively as Buffalo.
The Bills defense hasn't been quite as good, though they are stingy with TD passes allowed (tied for fewest with 13). Still, this could be a tight game, and one that could fuel even more scrutiny of QBs Tyrod Taylor and Blake Bortles, who are often perceived as hindrances rather than assets even if both have often outperformed their reputations in 2017.
3. Coachspeak: Buffalo's Sean McDermott is a first-year head coach who's already survived one infamous rookie move — his decision to bench Taylor for fifth rounder Nate Peterman in a Week 11 blowout loss to the Chargers that nearly scuttled the Bills' season. Jacksonville's Doug Marrone — remember, he chose to leave his post as Buffalo's coach after the 2014 season — is also now taking a team to the playoffs for the first time and blamed his own game management blunders on the Jags' Week 12 loss at Arizona. Just like rosters chock full of young, green players, inexperience could be an issue under the headsets on Sunday afternoon.
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Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis
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