For the sixth season in a row, quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills advanced to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Their latest march into Round II comes after they rallied Sunday to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-24 at EverBank Stadium. It was a career-first road victory in the playoffs for Allen.

Allen, the league’s reigning MVP, led the Bills on a last-minute drive that he capped with the game-winning 1-yard touchdown plunge on a tush push. The score followed an incredible 10-yard tush push on fourth-and-1 from the Jaguars’ 11-yard line. Allen finished the game with a pair of scores on the ground, while going 28-of-35 through the air for 273 yards and another score.

Following Allen’s go-ahead TD, Jacksonville, down three points, had a little less than a minute to score, but Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s first pass was deflected into the air and intercepted by Bills safety Cole Bishop, which effectively ended the game. It was Lawrence’s second interception of the game. He finished 18-of-30 passing for 207 yards, with three touchdowns and two INTs.

Waiting for the Bills in the divisional round is the top-seeded Denver Broncos, who earned a first-round bye.

The fourth quarter was a wild one, with each team trading blows. The Bills entered the final period leading 13-10, but the Jaguars regained the lead early with Lawrence hitting wide receiver Parker Washington for a 6-yard score to put Jacksonville up 17-13. Washington was spectacular again for Jacksonville on Sunday, finishing with a team-high seven receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown. It was the fourth 100-yard game of Washington’s career and the third in his last four games.

Allen and the Bills quickly responded, however, as the QB led a 65-yard drive that he finished off with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Kincaid to take a 20-17 lead. Jacksonville answered with a long drive of its own, marching 63 yards before Lawrence connected with running back Travis Etienne for a 14-yard touchdown with 4:03 left to take a 24-20 lead.

However, the Jaguars’ defense was unable to hold up, as Allen punched in the game-winning touchdown to end the Jaguars’ season. While the loss surely stings for Jacksonville, it does not undo a fabulous season under first-year coach Liam Coen. The Jaguars went 13-4 and won the AFC South title for the first time in three years.

New heroes step up

The Bills’ primary offensive weakness all season has been their pass-catchers. They’ve been hurt a lot. They’ve been benched. They’ve been healthy scratches. Then they lost receiver Gabe Davis in the fourth quarter to a gruesome knee injury. But a couple of their most frustrating cases — for different reasons — came to play in Jacksonville.

Sophomore wideout Keon Coleman made a 36-yard catch-and-run to set up Buffalo’s first touchdown, and their frequently injured tight end, Kincaid, snagged a go-ahead touchdown with 8:56 to play. Another clutch play happened right before the two-minute warning, when Allen connected with a wide-open Brandin Cooks, signed as a free agent in late November, for 36 yards to Jacksonville’s 20-yard line. Slot receiver Khalil Shakir, the most consistent of the group, had his busiest game, catching all 12 of his targets for 82 yards. But dudes with a lot to prove came up with the big chunk plays. — Tim Graham, NFL Senior Writer

Too many mistakes

The Jaguars made early mistakes on offense. They were out of sync with their opening three-and-out, and Lawrence’s first pair of downfield passes were bad, including an incompletion that was way behind Washington and an interception when he never saw Shaq Thompson in the underneath zone. The Bills only gained a yard on their ensuing possession, but the pick yielded their first points on a field goal to make it 3-0. The Jags were also stuffed on fourth-and-2 at the Buffalo 8-yard line, and Cam Little hooked a 43-yard field goal at the second-quarter buzzer. — Jeff Howe, National NFL Insider

Coming up clutch

Just as the Bills’ defense has been doing throughout the past two months, it stepped up in huge moments to secure a victory. Even though the unit allowed some big plays here and there, it got the stop it needed with the game on the line. On Lawrence’s first attempt of the Jaguars final drive, cornerback Tre’Davious White tipped the pass, it deflected up, and Bishop picked it off to secure the game.

White had a masterful game in his first game as a full-time starter since earlier in the year. He deflected several passes and had been around the ball all game. It’s a full circle moment for White, as he was a part of the Bills team that lost its first playoff game under head coach Sean McDermott in 2017 to the Jaguars in Jacksonville. Now, the Bills have their first playoff road win under McDermott, and they head to the AFC divisional round for the sixth year in a row. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer

Coming up short

Jaguars DC Anthony Campanile’s defense was solid enough to win, although they couldn’t come up with the decisive stop at the end. While the Jags only forced one turnover in kick coverage, they got the ball out on an Allen scramble, though officials ruled Allen’s forward progress was stopped. Edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen recorded the Jaguars’ only sack in the fourth quarter, but it aided a three-and-out before the offense gave them a 24-20 lead. However, Jacksonville’s defense collapsed at the end, as the Bills flew down the field to make it 27-24, converting on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1, with those Allen tush pushes the only stressful moments of the series. — Howe