By Mike Bonts, Florida Sports Wire
JACKSONVILLE – The Buffalo Bills lost 25-20 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Jaguars Running back Travis Etienne seemingly iced the game with a 35-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter, but the Bills responded with a 45-second touchdown drive capped off by a powerful run from quartrback Josh Allen for the score.
Etienne Jr. posted 136 rushing yards, 48 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Etienne’s 184 scrimmage yards are the most scrimmage yards he has recorded in a game in his career. His performance also marks the most scrimmage yards at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in NFL history.
Allen and the Bills offense had the ball at their own 6-yard line with just over 20 seconds remaining in the game and couldn’t pull off the miraculous drive needed to score a go-ahead touchdown.
Jacksonville QB Trevor Lawrence completed 25 of 37 passes for 315 yards and a touchdown with a 102.9 rating. This is the seventh time Lawrence has thrown for over 300 yards in his career. Lawrence recorded the most completions against Buffalo in team history with 25, passing Mark Brunell from the 1997 season.
Jacksonville dominated the possession battle 38:10 minutes to the Bills’ 21:50.
Jaguars’ wide receiver Zay Jones posted three receptions for 23 yards and one touchdown, his second touchdown of the season. Christian Kirk posted six receptions for 78 yards. Today’s game marks his fourth straight game with at least 50 receiving yards.
With only 14 rushing attempts for 29 yards, Buffalo never got the ground game going, interrupting the flow of their offense.
Cornerback Darious Williams recorded seven solo tackles, one forced fumble and one interception, his second interception as a Jaguar. His seven passes defensed are tied for the most in the NFL. LB Foyesade Oluokun recorded seven total tackles (five solo) in the game. With 53 total tackles so far this season, he is tied for third in tackles in the NFL.
The Jaguars forced a three-and-out on the opening drive for the fifth consecutive game. Additionally,
Jacksonville held Buffalo’s offense to zero points in the first quarter for the first time this season. The Bills committed five offensive penalties and could not put together consistent positive plays in time to stay in the game.
Buffalo finally got in the end zone late in the half after an 86-yard, 11-play drive that resulted in a 15-yard touchdown reception from Stefon Diggs. Allen found wide receiver Deonte Harty on third-and-6 who slid to make the catch for a key 19-yard pickup to keep the scoring drive alive.
Their second came on a 75-yard drive that was extended by some crucial penalties committed by the Jaguars defense. Allen’s initial touchdown pass to Gabe Davis was nullified after an offensive pass interference called against Diggs, but Allen found Davis for a 19-yard score on the following play.
Jacksonville offensive lineman Tyler Shatley played in the game, marking his 128th consecutive game played as a Jaguar. He is currently tied with Joe Zelenka (2001-2008) for the most consecutive games played in franchise history.
The Jaguars return home after a 10-day trip in London. Jacksonville won both of their games in London, defeating the Falcons and the Bills. This Sunday, Jacksonville takes on Indianapolis to conclude the season series between the two teams.
2023 is the second consecutive season in which the teams will have played each other twice before the month of November. In last season’s home matchup, the Jaguars shutout the Colts 24-0 while the Jaguars’ defense forced three turnovers and allowed 218 total yards.
The Jaguars have defeated Indianapolis eight straight times as the home team, including seven times in Jacksonville (in 2016, the two teams played in London) outscoring the Colts 232-104. On Sunday, the Jaguars can sweep the season series against the Colts for the first time since 2017.
(Photo by Bill Wippert/Buffalo Bills)
