Why Jaguars Didn't Run the Ball More Against Bills

Going into Wild Card Weekend, the narrative around the Jacksonville Jaguars' clash with the Buffalo Bills centered around two questions. Firstly, could the Jags take advantage of a Buffalo run defense that struggled heavily throughout the regular season? Secondly, would reigning MVP Josh Allen be able to overcome that weakness for the Bills and all of the other disadvantages they had on paper against Jacksonville?

It looked like Head Coach Liam Coen and his team were well on their way to exposing Buffalo's ground defense en route to a first-round victory. Travis Etienne Jr. and Bhayshul Tuten ran amok against the Bills, but the Jaguars inexplicably abandoned the rush, despite their repeated success. Ultimately, Jacksonville fell just short, 27-24, and fans and analysts are left wondering why Coen fixed what wasn't broken.

Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL playoffs, Buffalo Bills, Head Coach Liam Coen, Trevor Lawrence — Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen wait to see the result of a challenge during the second quarter in an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. Bills lead 10-7 at the half over the Jaguars. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Liam Coen stands firm

Just as expected, the Jacksonville Jaguars were able to exploit the Buffalo Bills' poor run defense. Travis Etienne Jr. and Bhayshul Tuten combined for 118 yards on just 14 carries. Seeing a stat line like that would suggest that the Jags were playing from behind all game and couldn't afford to run the ball, but Buffalo never led by more than three points at any juncture. Jacksonville media asked Head Coach Liam Coen about the Jaguars' early struggles in the passing game while pointing out that they seemed to find success on the ground:

"Yeah, we were running the ball well. Ran it well. Obviously, it's a pretty solid pass defense. They were doing some stuff pre-snap, post-snap, changing the picture a little bit, and just didn't really get going. We had a couple busts, a couple poor calls, just a couple [times] not executing in the pass game in the first half. But we were fortunate enough to be still in a good position obviously at the half. Missed a field goal. But, gave ourselves a chance. I thought we ran it better, though."

The Jaguars are averaging 9.7 yards per carry. Unclear why they’re not sticking with the run.
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) January 11, 2026

They followed up, asking Coen why he seemed to favor passing the ball in the second half: "I'm not really sure exactly what you mean. But just called the game like the way I always call the game." Coen has always been confident in his decision-making, and he's not one to second-guess himself. He did call the game the way he usually does, with confidence, but Jacksonville had far fewer designed hand-offs than usual in this one.

Ultimately, the offense was able to take the lead with just four minutes left in the contest. It's not like the passing game completely failed, and the Jaguars couldn't have won it with the approach they took against the Bills. Still, it's not easy to digest just 14 combined carries for ETN and Tuten when they averaged over eight yards a pop.

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