In the first of three wild card games on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills went on the road and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-24.

Josh Allen was the hero for the Bills, engineering a nine-play, 66-yard touchdown drive that resulted in the game-winning score with just over a minute remaining. On the first play of the Jaguars’ attempted game-tying or game-winning drive, Cole Bishop intercepted Trevor Lawrence on a pass that was tipped into the air by Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White.

The Bills had trailed by four points twice in the fourth quarter, and both times Allen led touchdown drives to give them back the lead. On the afternoon, Allen completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 33 yards and two scores on 11 carries. That rushing line includes the game-winning touchdown on a tush push, which came after he previously converted a fourth-and-inches with a 10-yard run on the previous play.

Allen entered the medical tent twice in the first half — once to be checked by the independent neurologist and once for a leg injury — but he returned to the field both times and ultimately led his team to victory.

The Bills were bottled up in the run game by the league’s No. 1 rushing defense as James Cook ran for only 46 yards on 15 carries, but Allen repeatedly peppered Khalil Shakir (12 receptions for 82 yards) with short passes and moved the chains with intermediate throws to the likes of Brandin Cooks, Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid, the last of whom caught Allen’s touchdown pass. 

On the opposite side of the ball, Trevor Lawrence went 18 of 30 for 207 yards and three touchdowns, but he was also intercepted twice, including on the Jaguars’ final play of the game as they attempted to drive for the tying score. Lawrence’s first interception came in the first quarter and led to a Bills field goal.

The Jaguars ran the ball 23 times for 154 yards, averaging 6.7 yards per carry against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. They made timely plays in the passing game, with Parker Washington catching seven passes for 107 yards and a touchdown, Travis Etienne grabbing five for 49 and a touchdown and Brian Thomas Jr. hauling in two for 21 yards and a score. But their efforts ultimately proved futile thanks to Allen’s heroics and the game-clinching interception by Bishop.

The Jaguars had multiple missed opportunities. They were stopped on a fourth-and-short deep in Buffalo territory, which led to a Bills touchdown drive on the next possession. And on their final possession of the first half, the Jaguars got into field-goal range but saw Cam Little hook his kick wide left. Lawrence also threw two interceptions, which led to three points the first time and the Bills kneeling out the clock the second.