The 2025 NFL playoffs are upon us, and there’s a lot to unpack regarding the various matchups on tap, with the Buffalo Bills’ showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars being one of them. The Jags made a wild resurgence under head coach Liam Coen, flipping their 4-13 record from 2024 to 13-4 this season.
One Pro Bowl wide receiver believes the team’s regular-season showing could make things interesting in the playoffs.
Pro Bowl WR TJ Houshmandzadeh Explains Why the Jaguars Will Beat the Bills on Wild Card Weekend
The Jaguars closed out the regular season with an eight-game winning streak, sending Coen’s men into the postseason on a high note. Their streak included only one game in which they surrendered more than 20 points. At the same time, they only scored fewer than 25 points once.
Former Cincinnati Bengals wideout TJ Houshmandzadeh thinks very highly of Jacksonville heading into the postseason. He highlighted their run defense as a key factor in them knocking Buffalo out of Super Bowl contention.
“[The Jaguars] are about to beat the sh** out the Bills, man,” he said on ‘Speakeasy’ on Tuesday. “Yeah… And I like the Bills. I got people — Josh Allen, I’ve been knowing him forever, good dude… [the Jaguars’ defense] is No. 1 against the run, which is your opponent’s main asset.”
Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile has done a solid job of putting together a playoff-contending defense, featuring Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker, and Foyesade Oluokun.
While the rest of the “Speakeasy” cast initially opposed the idea, Houshmandzadeh emphasized that key Bills stars like Dalton Kincaid might not even play. Buffalo lacks receiver depth, and the Pro Bowler is convinced that Jacksonville will punish them for it.
“The Jags have been slept on,” he added. “[The Jaguars] are gonna make them one-dimensional.”
Houshmandzadeh also mentioned the rest of the AFC playoff field, saying this should be the year that Allen and company make it to the Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and Cincinnati Bengals all missed the postseason.
“And this really should be the year that Josh Allen gets [to the Super Bowl],” he concluded. “Mahomes not in the playoffs, Lamar not in the playoffs, Burrow not in the playoffs — this should be his year.”
However, given the weaknesses the Bills have shown during the regular season, they risk being caught off guard by surging teams like the Jaguars, New England Patriots, and Denver Broncos.
The Bills face a steep climb to the Super Bowl, and even then, they’ll have to take down one of numerous powerhouses from the NFC as well.