Josh Allen and the Bills face a January playoff test they have never passed

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are chasing something they have not found in more than three decades. A road playoff victory. Actually, several of them.

No home games for Bills in postseason

The NFL calendar has flipped to January again, and Buffalo is back at the playoff door. The 2025 regular season ended with a bracket few would have predicted. Kansas City is out. Indianapolis dusted off Philip Rivers for one last run. The Patriots are relevant again. Amid the chaos, the Bills failed to win the AFC East and landed as the No. 6 seed.

For Allen, the quarterback who has defined the franchise since 2018, the end of the regular season did not bring rest. It brought relocation. Any Super Bowl dream now requires boarding a plane every week. There will be no home games. No snow games in Western New York. No margin for error.

January does not care about passports or past success. Allen enters this postseason with seven career playoff wins, the most by any quarterback who has never played in a Super Bowl. At home, his record is convincing at 7-2. On the road, it is a different story. Allen is 0-4 as a playoff visitor. Every away game has become a wall Buffalo has not been able to climb.

Buffalo’s Super Bowl drought

Buffalo’s unfinished business stretches far beyond the current roster. The Bills last played in a Super Bowl after the 1993 season, when they lost Super Bowl XXVIII to the Cowboys in January 1994. Since then, 31 full seasons have passed without a return to the NFL’s biggest stage.

This winter also marked the end of an era. Highmark Stadium, home of the Bills since the early 1970s, hosted its final game last Sunday in a win over the Jets. The building that once echoed with O.J. Simpson’s runs and Jim Kelly’s throws is now part of history. A new stadium awaits, but the same old question remains. Can Buffalo win when it leaves home in January?

The McDermott era and the missing piece

The franchise reset began in 2017 with the arrival of coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane. A year later, Buffalo traded up in the draft and handed the keys to Allen. The bet worked. The Bills became consistent contenders again, respected across the league.

What they have not done is win a road playoff game under this regime. Not once. Not even in Jacksonville.

The first stop on that path came in January 2018, when Buffalo snapped a 17-year playoff drought and was rewarded with a trip to face the Jaguars, coached by former Bills assistant Doug Marrone. Tyrod Taylor and Nathan Peterman split quarterback duties. The 10-3 loss did not sting much at the time. Simply being back in the playoffs felt like a Super Bowl.

Three years later, in November 2021, Allen returned to the same stadium with a far superior roster and as a 14.5-point favorite. The result was one of the strangest games of his career. He lost a fumble, threw two interceptions, took four sacks and fell 9-6 to a Jacksonville team coached by Urban Meyer. Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen recorded a sack and a fumble recovery and stole the spotlight.

Bills build momentum away from Buffalo

Buffalo’s 2025 road schedule looked manageable early. The Bills opened with a blowout win over the Jets at MetLife Stadium. Then turbulence hit. Over their next four road games, they won once and lost to both Atlanta and Miami.

December changed the tone. Buffalo won three straight away from home, beating Pittsburgh, rallying against New England and holding on against Cleveland. Those wins did not erase the past, but they built a runway into January.

A tough matchup for Bills in Jacksonville

This week’s opponent brings real home-field strength. Jacksonville finished 7-1 at EverBank Stadium, with its only loss coming against Seattle. The Jaguars were also officially listed as the home team for a 35-7 loss to the Rams in London, but that game was played thousands of miles from Florida.

Jacksonville’s defense finished second in the NFL with 31 takeaways, including 22 interceptions. Linebacker Devin Lloyd had five picks, six tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits despite missing two games. Hines-Allen led the team with eight sacks and 28 quarterback hits.

Offensively, Trevor Lawrence threw for 4,007 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while taking 41 sacks. Travis Etienne rushed for 1,107 yards and seven scores. The Jaguars ranked 18th in the league at 5.2 yards per play and 27th in rushing average at 4.0 yards per carry.

Buffalo’s biggest weakness in 2025 came against the run. The Bills allowed several high-volume rushing performances and now face a team comfortable leaning on its ground game. That matchup has shaped every preview of this game.

The long road to Santa Clara

Sunday’s opener at 1 p.m. ET is more than just a Wild Card game. It is an exam Buffalo has repeatedly failed. The sixth seed means the Bills must envision a long, repetitive journey. To reach Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, they likely need to win at least three straight games away from home.

The postseason has a habit of rewriting stories without warning. In 2017, Buffalo learned how to return. In 2018, it found its leader. In 2021, it ran headfirst into old ghosts. In 2025, the Bills start again with packed bags.

Allen’s story is not about one trip. It is about a necessary journey, repeated until the result changes. So far, it never has when the Bills wear white on the road.

The Process continues as the old stadium says goodbye. January demands travel and memory. Buffalo knows how to win at home. It still does not know how to do it when everything is unfamiliar.

On Sunday in Jacksonville, the first chance arrives to pay off a debt that has followed Allen since the beginning of his career. Buffalo is back in the Lombardi Trophy race, and with Kansas City out of the picture, the field feels wide open.

The task for Allen, McDermott and Beane is simple to define and hard to execute. Win on the road in January. Win where they never have. Win as visitors as many times as necessary. The 2025 bracket has made it a mathematical requirement.

Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all.

Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.