Jags Pay The Bills

Bills Mafia invaded London and made incredible noise at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. But the Jacksonville Jaguars silenced them and the Buffalo Bills, winning 25-20 thanks to outstanding performances from quarterback Trevor Lawrence (25-for-37, 315 yards, one touchdown), running back Travis Etienne (26 carries for 136 yards and two touchdowns), and a remarkable string of injuries for Buffalo.

With the Bills having cut the lead to 18-13 late, the Bills defense, which had withstood so much through almost four quarters, finally gave way. They couldn’t contain Etienne, who ran in his second touchdown of the game.

The first quarter was a disaster for the Bills. They allowed a touchdown, a two-point conversion (thanks to a roughing the passer call on the touchdown pass), and a field goal, and also got pretty banged up. Linebacker Matt Milano got carted off with a possible major leg injury, defensive end DaQuan Jones left with a pectoral issue, and several other members of the defensive line dealt with various with issues but managed to remain on the field.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, looked brilliant, opening scoring on their second drive thanks to a fantastic catch from Zay Jones.

The second quarter was a little better for the Bills. Josh Allen connected with Stefon Diggs to finally get Buffalo on the board with a touchdown. Bills pass rusher A.J. Epenesa, who had a two-sack day, stripped the ball from Lawrence and recovered it for a huge stop with less than 15 seconds left, denying Jacksonville a chance to tack on more points.

Defense was still the star in the second half. The Bills continued to court flags, with play-by-play announcer Rich Eisen saying at one point “there’s more flags than an embassy here!”

Early in the third, one of those Bills flags (unnecessary roughness for trucking defenseless wide receiver Calvin Ridley) gave Jacksonville a fresh set of downs. But instead of taking advantage, that led to a wild few plays that saw Lawrence get sacked and then fumble for a loss of 19 yards to waste the opportunity.

Suddenly, after nearly two full quarters without a single point scored, there was a flurry of action. The Jags scored a touchdown to go up 18-7. Shortly after, Allen and wide receiver Gabe Davis found each other, but the Bills missed the two-point try.

After Etienne’s 32-yard touchdown run, the Bills answered back, but but it was too late. They needed more time, which is something you can’t create in football. When the game ended, their records were an identical 3-2, but the Jags had a huge statement win, while the Bills had to deal with losing on top of terrible jet lag.