New England ended Buffalo’s recent dominance of the AFC East to win the division for the first time since Tom Brady left the team in 2020.
Current Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is one of the favourites to be this season’s MVP and after New England led the Chargers 9-3 going into the final quarter, he found tight end Hunter Henry for the game’s only touchdown.
Buffalo were the pre-season Super Bowl favourites but New England’s division title meant the Bills had to hit the road in the play-offs, while Jacksonville won the AFC South after ending the regular season on an eight-game winning streak.
They played out a tight affair in Florida, with Buffalo leading 10-7 at half-time, then 13-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
The game then turned into a quarterback shooutout, with the Jaguars’ former number one draft pick Trevor Lawrence making touchdown passes to Parker Washington and Travis Etienne, either side of a Josh Allen strike to Dalton Kincaid.
Allen then barged over for his second rushing touchdown, which proved decisive as on the first play of what could have been a game-winning drive for Jacksonville, a Lawrence pass was tipped into the arms of Buffalo safety Cole Bishop.
That clinched victory for the Bills, who are aiming to reach their first Super Bowl since 1994, and this could be the best chance yet for 29-year-old Allen to reach the NFL’s championship game.
Kansas City knocked Buffalo out of the post-season in four of the past five years but the Chiefs have failed to reach this season’s play-offs.
The Pittsburgh Steelers host the Houston Texans on Monday (01:00 GMT, Tue) to complete the Divisional Round line-up.