Did controversial Sean McDermott decision risk Bills' Wild Card win over Jaguars?

Cole Bishop saved the Buffalo Bills' season. Did the much-maligned safety also save Sean McDermott's job?

All's well that ends well, and after Sunday's 27-24 victory over the Jaguars in Jacksonville the Bills are gleefully on to next weekend's AFC Divisional Round game at the Denver Broncos. In the aftermath of their first road playoff win since 1992, however, is the nagging concern that McDermott jeopardized the outcome with a controversial strategical decision.

Bishop muted the controversy with his game-ending interception of Jag's quarterback Trevor Lawrence. But critics are pointing out that the defense shouldn't have been forced to make the key play.

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Trailing, 24-20, and facing 4th-and-inches at Jacksonville's 10-yard line with 1:10 remaining, the Bills' season was on the line. They smartly kept the ball in the hands of Josh Allen who - with a huge assist (carry) from offensive lineman O'Cyrus Torrence - took a quarterback sneak 10 yards inside the 1-yard line.

Now with 1st-and-goal and only 1:05 remaining - and Jacksonville out of timeouts - the Bills had a chance to milk the clock, score the winning touchdown and never force their defense back on the the field. McDermott, however, had other ideas.

JOSH ALLEN‼️

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/B8JcEa7GXl
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 11, 2026

"I really honestly wanted to try and bleed the clock down if we could," McDermott explained after the game. "But it's like, okay, what plays that you have that do that? You want to take a knee, and we could go through this for probably about an hour and talk about this. We're like, all right, let's not get cute, let's just go win this thing, put our defense out there.”

McDermott's idea of "cute" is many NFL observers' idea of "correct."

On the next play, Allen scored easily on a 1-yard run. Fullback Reggie Gilliam helped shove him into the end zone, but it was necessary at all. Knowing the only way to win the game was to get the ball back as soon as possible, the Jags made the savvy decision to let Allen score. He went in standing up, with zero resistance from Jacksonville's front seven.

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott high-fives teammates during the fourth quarter of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24 | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Needing only a field goal to tie, the Jags got the ball back at their own 23-yard line with 1:04 remaining. With a kicker in Cam Little who this season made field goals from 67 and 68 yards, they only needed to gain 27 yards. On the second play, however, Tre'Davious White deflected a pass that Bishop snagged and then smartly took a knee to end the game.

All of that, however, could have - should have - been unnecessary. We understand McDermott's thinking. If Buffalo runs an offensive "play" from the 1 there could always been a fumble, a false start, even a holding penalty.

But in that situation, if you do exactly what your opponent wants you to do you're probably doing the wrong thing. Jacksonville begged for Allen to score, and McDermott let him.

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But as CBS analyst Tony Romo said at the time, "The perfect play here is for Josh to take the snap, dive, and gain one inch."

Said ESPN's Mike Greenberg Monday morning's Get Up!, "They absolutely should not have scored on this play!" If it would have cost them the game or even forced overtime, it would have been a huge storyline."

Added former NFL head coach Rex Ryan, "No doubt. They scored way too early."

If the Jags would have forced overtime and then won - or scored a touchdown on their final drive - there undoubtedly would be calls for McDermott to be fired today.

Having just seen Allen gain 10 yards on a sneak on the previous play, McDermott needed to trust his offensive line, his fullback and his MVP quarterback to run the clock down and score the touchdown with :00 on the clock.

There were risks on both sides of the play call. Long-time Buffalo News reporter Jay Skurski sided with what the Bills did.

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"This might sound like a Sean McDermott apologist, but I was fine with Allen scoring when he did.," he wrote. "Taking a knee on first down moves the ball back a yard, decreasing the likelihood of using the tush push. Obviously, above all else, you have to score there. It all worked out."

McDermott chose the easy route and the simplest strategy that risked the game and the season. Fortunately, Bishop bailed him out.

Josh Allen | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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