The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network
Jags A.M. Podcast Ep. 210 | Home Underdogs, Focus on Containing Josh Allen and James Cook
07 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What are the Jaguars' playoff prospects against the Buffalo Bills?
Welcome into Jags AM. I'm kind of Stevens, Brian Sexton, John Osier with me today as the Jaguars are playoff bound. We're preparing for the wildcard matchup against the Buffalo Bills this week as we look ahead to that opponent and also look a little bit about where this team came from about a year ago. Let's go over our big things for you today.
Brought to you by GEHA Government Employees Health Association. 365 days ago, the Jaguars didn't have a head coach because they just released Doug Peterson, and there were so many question marks. About three or four weeks after that, Liam Cohen became the new head coach of these Jags.
John, we've kind of talked about this and how far this team has come in a year, but to see what Liam Cohen has been able to do with this team, it becomes even more impressive when you look at it in terms of what he's done in such a short amount of time.
Well, it's remarkable. And, you know, as you do this, being around the NFL for a long, long time, you get an appreciation as time goes by of how much structure and belief matter around an organization.
Chapter 2: How has the Jaguars' coaching changed over the past year?
And I think that, you know, everything else, Trevor's development, all the stuff on the field has stemmed from the fact that very quickly you realize that between Tony Buscelli and James Gladstone and Liam Cohen and no particular order there, that there was going to be structure. there was going to be doing things the right way.
And above all, Brian, the players were going to, over time, believe strongly in the direction. And I think that's why you have the feeling that you have all the other stuff, but I think it started there.
What bears that out is the fact that Antonio Johnson, Monteric Brown, look at all the players who are playing at a really high level who we doubted. Devin Lloyd is another name that comes to mind. You look at the players who were here who didn't play like they are right now, and you can understand the depth and the breadth of what these men have done. They took what was here and made it better.
They brought in some guys and added. But the biggest story to this season is the way that guys who were here that didn't play very well are all of a sudden playing their best football.
Chapter 3: What historical playoff matchups have the Jaguars had with the Bills?
And I think that speaks loudly about the coach, about the general manager, and about what Tony Buscelli has done. They have created a system that took what was here and made it better. And of course, thinking forward about what they're going to do, you can see that they could be successful there also.
Liam Cohen, certainly our coach of the year. I think he'll be considered nationally for that as well. As we go into our second big thing today, we're going to look ahead to the Bills game. Wild history. We talk about the two wild card playoff matchups against the Bills in the past.
Brian, I know you love to be our history buff here, but they've played the Bills two times in the playoffs, and the Jags have gotten two wins out of it, and they were pretty notable games.
Yeah, listen, a lot of people will remember the 2017 game, so I'll leave that alone.
Chapter 4: Why is Josh Allen considered a key player for the Bills?
Suffice to say, it was one touchdown pass that beat the Bills, and it was Blake Bortles to Ben Koyak. But if you go back to 1996 and the Jaguars' first ever playoff appearance, they went into Orchard Park and it was Rich Stadium back then. And that particular Buffalo Bills team still had all the Hall of Famers playing. Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Andre Reid.
The list is long and distinguished. And the Jaguars did something that nobody thought they could do. be the first team to win a game on the road at Ridge Stadium. This play to me signifies as much as anything what the Jaguars did. They got big plays. That's playing above the X's and O's.
Chapter 5: What strategies should the Jaguars use to contain James Cook?
That's Clyde Simmons who snatched that ball out of the air and tied the game at seven. Kai, the context here is that the Jaguars were down 7-0 already at that point, had gone three and out on the ensuing possession, and it just felt like the momentum was building. And then there's Natron Means. Listen, he had a brilliant run through the playoffs that year. He was amazing in this ballgame.
And they got big plays from Keenan McCardell and from Jimmy Smith and Chris Hudson. Big players. There's Pete Mitchell to set up what would be a Natron means 30-yard touchdown run. John, I know you remember the game.
Chapter 6: How can the Jaguars' defense prepare for Josh Allen's running ability?
You were there as well. It was a day in which the Jaguars played their best football of the year. Here's that touchdown run where he just bounces off of Phil Hansen and Bruce Smith. And that's Chris Spielman, by the way, in there as well. Great players. The Jaguars, big players, made big plays that day. Played above the X's nose. That's what has to happen this year.
And by the way, it introduced the football world to Tony Vasselli. Yeah.
Chapter 7: What are the implications of being home underdogs in this playoff game?
And so, but... You're right. If we're going back memory lane, the Clyde Simmons play for people who weren't alive or following it back then, the Jaguars had this perception, I think even those who followed us, of having sort of be the cute little team that got into the playoffs because Morton Anderson missed. But you really didn't know that they could go and beat the Bills.
Everybody talks about the Denver game. The Buffalo game, obviously, you don't get to the Denver game without that. It was almost as big. I mean, and when they had scored, and I'm sitting there taking notes going, okay, well, I'm right in the loss. And all of a sudden, Clyde picks it and goes all the way, and it's never ā It's never a one-sided game from that point.
Chapter 8: What are the predictions for the Jaguars' performance in the playoffs?
Clyde Simmons sort of made the nation know that the Jaguars could do something special. And Clyde, a great guy, great locker room guy, always enjoyed him. But fond memories, guys, fond memories.
Absolutely. Hopefully another fond memory from this week's playoff game. We're going to look ahead. Our final big thing is Josh Allen. Of course, he's the X Factor in many games that he's a part of. And Liam Cohen talked a little bit about what he does so well.
He's extremely impressive. I remember, you know, we played him in 2020, and we played him again in 2022, and he did some really good things against us, like stiff-arming defenders, throwing the ball down the field a million miles, and I've got a lot of respect for their coaching staff. I know some of the guys on the offensive staff specifically, and to watch him play, the competitor,
So many playoff games, division, whatever it is, big games, he typically shows up and makes critical plays at critical moments, and that's why he's been an MVP candidate for a long time.
John, we talk about this. It's a team game, but Josh Allen is one of those players that you can never count out, and he can take over a game. What do the Jags need to do to prepare this week?
Well, I think you alluded to what I was going to say, Kai. You know, the phrase, a quarterback lifting a team, is really overused because only a few guys can do it. This kid can do it. And, you know, If you, the most scary thing is how you can completely defend a play and then he can break two tackles and man his way into the end zone on a 40-yard run.
We've all seen the play against the Chiefs a couple years back, but he does that all the time. That to me, Brian, is the X factor. He's so strong and can run over defensive linemen. Again, I go back to what I said at the beginning. Everybody talks about players who can lift a team. Only if you can do it, he may be the best in the NFL at doing it.
Yeah, that's why they call him Superman. He puts the team on his shoulders and carries them. When it seems like nothing is working or the situation is so against the Bills, he finds a way to make a play. No quarterback in NFL history has as many rushing touchdowns as Josh Allen. He has his 79th this season. That's incredible.
This is not a guy that you look at and go, well, there's a running quarterback right there. He's 6'6". You'd think that's a pocket passer. Not him, and he relishes it. If you can stop James Cook, you have a chance against Josh Allen. But if you can't stop... James Cook, then Josh Allen has some freedom, right? Because you've got to pay attention to both.
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