Sports

Josh Allen carries Bills over Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Josh Allen took a pounding and doled out punishment -- looking every bit like the reigning MVP.

He carried Buffalo to its first road playoff win in more than three decades, 27-24 over Jacksonville in the AFC's wild-card opener Sunday. Tough and tenacious, Allen did what he does best.

With linebacker Devin Lloyd bearing down on him, Allen found Brandin Cooks for 36 yards just before the two-minute warning and then capped the go-ahead drive with a 1-yard touchdown run in which Jacksonville let him score.

On the fourth down play before his score, Allen gained 10 yards on a sneak, refusing to go down while being pushed and pulled to the goal line.

"When your quarterback's that type of warrior, that type of competitor, it just goes through the whole team," Bills coach Sean McDermott said.

Buffalo (13-5) will play at Denver next Saturday, a chance to build a road winning streak after a decades-long skid.

"Now we have a chance to do it again," said Allen, who came up short on final drives in playoff games the past two years.

"Feels good. Feels good. At the same time, it just means we get another game."

Focused on getting rid of the ball quickly and negating Jacksonville's pass rush, Allen completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown. He ran for two scores, was sacked just once and played turnover-free football. Khalil Shakir caught 12 passes for 82 yards for the Bills.

"Such a competitor," Jaguars coach Liam Coen. "He was spitting it out pretty good, obviously. … He definitely carried them."

It was somewhat necessary considering NFL rushing leader James Cook was mostly bottled up, finishing with 46 yards on 15 carries.

"We're going to play for each other, we're gonna fight to the very last second, and you saw that here today," Allen said.

Jacksonville got the ball back with a chance to drive for the win, but Trevor Lawrence's first pass was tipped and intercepted. Tre'Davious White got a hand on the ball, and fellow safety Cole Bishop corralled to end any chance of a comeback.

"It was awesome," Allen said. "A guy that's been under a lot of scrutiny throughout the last couple years. To get him back and get him back in a Bills uniform and making plays for us when we need it the most, that's Tre."

The Bills had been 0-5 on the road in the playoffs under McDermott, starting with a 10-3 loss at Jacksonville in the 2017 wild-card round.

Patriots advance

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Drake Maye threw a touchdown pass to Hunter Henry in the fourth quarter, and New England's defense roughed up Justin Herbert as the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 in an AFC wild-card playoff game on Sunday night.

Andy Borregales kicked three field goals for the Patriots, who won a playoff game for the first time since their Super Bowl victory to cap the 2018 season. They'll host the winner of tonight's game between Pittsburgh and Houston in the divisional round next Sunday.

In his first career playoff game, Maye completed 17 of 29 passes for 268 yards and ran for a team-high 66 yards. He also threw an interception and lost a fumble, but the Chargers couldn't capitalize on those turnovers.

New England held the Chargers to 207 yards.