Khalil Shakir, former Boise State star, threatens Buffalo Bills playoff record in victory over Jacksonville Jaguars

The Buffalo Bills found themselves in an all-out war on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.

With the Jaguars stuffing Buffalo’s running back, star quarterback Josh Allen needed some wide receivers to step up. His favorite target — former Boise State wideout Khalil Shakir — was up to the task.

Khalil Shakir caught a career-high 12 passes for 82 yards as the Bills earned a hard-fought 27-24 road win to keep their season alive. Shakir was one catch shy of matching Thurman Thomas’ franchise receptions record in the playoffs.

“To have that reliability, to have that safety valve if you will, he’s tough as nails, just continues to do his job,” Allen said of Shakir. “He finds himself in big spots and he makes the plays for us and that’s because of how hard he works and how much he loves his teammates.”

Shakir said the Bills remained calm after falling behind 16-13 and 24-20 in the fourth quarter.

“Just keep putting one foot in front of the other,” Shakir said. “No need to panic, no need to freak out. At the end of the day, there’s time on the clock and we’ve just got to keep taking it one play at a time.”

The Bills will be back in action on Saturday against the top-seeded Denver Broncos.

Here is how former Boise State players fared during the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.

Ezra Cleveland, Jacksonville Jaguars: Started at left guard and allowed just two quarterback pressures in a back-and-forth 27-24 home loss to the Buffalo Bills. The Jaguars gained 359 total yards and averaged 6.7 yards per rushing attempt (23 carries, 154 yards).

DeMarcus Lawrence, Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks received a bye for the Wild Card round after earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC. The Seahawks will host the San Francisco 49ers at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the Divisional round.

Scott Matlock, Los Angeles Chargers: Recorded no stats at fullback as the Chargers struggled to move the ball in a 16-3 road loss to the New England Patriots.

Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills: Had 12 catches for 82 yards in the 27-24 road victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The veteran joined Thurman Thomas as the only players in franchise history with 12 or more catches in a playoff game.

JL Skinner, Denver Broncos: Skinner and the Broncos were idle over the weekend after capturing the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC. The Broncos will be back in action at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday against the Buffalo Bills.