Jaguars improve to 2-0 in London with 25-20 win over Bills

The Lords of London: Jaguars improve to 2-0 on English soil this season with 25-20 win over the Bills as Buffalo’s Super Bowl hopes take another hit

  • Lawrence tossed for 315 yards and a TD as the Jags improved to 2-0 in London
  • His former Clemson teammate, Travis Entienne Jr., added two TDs for the Jags 
  • DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news 

THE BUFFALO BILLS flew into London looking like a Super Bowl team. They left it battered, defeated and missing key defensive pieces for the second straight week.

It was tense, topsy-turvy and featured four fourth quarter touchdowns, four turnovers, 10 punts, five sacks, but Jacksonville won a London thriller to put both teams on 3-2.

Jacksonville were electric at the start, looking fully acclimatized to their home away from home. They had been in England for nine nights, and it initially showed as Trevor Lawrence looked accomplished in the opening phases.

He went on to win another duel against Josh Allen, but to do so, he needed help from his supporting cast. Travis Etienne put in a shift, with his two touchdowns and 136 yards on the ground aided by the gaps in the normally swarming Bills defense. Calvin Ridley was an effective safety blanket too, his 122 yards coming off seven receptions, several in pressure situations.

But Jacksonville did it the hard way. Despite dominating the first half, they only took an 11-7 lead into the break with self-inflicted wounds preventing them from opening up a lead that adequately reflected their dominance.

Trevor Lawrence tossed for 315 yards and a touchdown as the Jags improved to 2-0 in London

Josh Allen had 359 passing yards and a touchdown, but also tossed an interception in London

A general overall view of British and United States flags at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Forget the battle of Josh Allen v Josh Allen. The Bills quarterback said he was scared of his namesake ahead of this game. The Jags pass rusher was kept quiet – a fourth quarter sack was wiped out for a questionable roughing the passer call.

But AJ Epenesa will give Lawrence sleepless nights for years to come. Lawrence was tormented by the Bills linebacker and had to rely on the timeliest of interceptions from safety Darious Williams – his third in London after two against Atlanta last week – to finally put Buffalo away.

Following the depleting season-ending injury to Tra’Devious White, the Bills went into the game missing defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Greg Rousseau as well as cornerback Christian Benford.

The injury list grew in the first quarter. Linebacker Matt Milano was carted off with a serious leg injury, leaving the field with a towel over his head after having his leg caught up in a heap of players during Jacksonville’s second drive. And their defensive line took another knock in the first quarter with DaQuon Jones suffering a pectoral injury.

The Jags welcomed back receiver Zay Jones from a knee injury. He missed the past two games, but slotted straight back in, offering a threat in the red zone that had been sorely missed . He beat Dane Jackson, snaffling Lawrence’s six yard pass to cap a 73-yard drive.

A Buffalo Bills fan holds up a sign referencing Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence

Jacksonville Jaguars’ Travis Etienne scores one of his two touchdowns at Tottenham Stadium

Facing an offense that had outscored the last three opponents by a combined 90 points, the Jags went for two. And got it, Etienne rushing to the right. They edged further ahead after Brandon McManus’s field goal.

In a half which saw Buffalo punt four times – they had only punted seven times in the four games before landing in London, they ended it on a high.

Allen used his head, legs and arm orchestrating an 11-play, 86-yard drive, which concluded with an easy grab for Stefon Diggs. Corner Tyson Campbell was nowhere as Diggs reeled in his fifth touchdown of the season.

But the Jags should have been out of sight. Lawrence found multiple targets – Jones, Kirk and Etienne to put them within field goal range.

But he didn’t see Epenesa coming off the edge after he whipped past returning left tackle Cam Robinson. The Bills linebacker forced strip sack and recovery to stall the drive.

Stefon Diggs celebrates after scoring a TD

Self-inflicted wounds cost the Jags dearly – they only led 11-7 at the half despite dominating most of it. Corner Ronnie Harrison incurred two penalties – one for holding, the other for being ineligible – and Jones made a key drop on third down.

A chaotic third quarter began as the second had ended, as Epenesa tormented Lawrence.

With Jacksonville backed up after another penalty – this time on Robinson – Epenesa got his hand on Lawrence’s pass on second down.

It appeared the Jags had some respite after a soft flag for roughness by Jordan Poyer on Ridley, but then the strife turned up a notch.

First Epenesa sacked Lawrence. Then he forced a fumble. With Tottenham Hotspur Stadium quaking under the of expectation of fans – most of them Bills Mafia – Lawrence couldn’t take a high snap, nor a sack, and lost 15 yards.

Lawrence appeared to steady the ship by using Ridley as a comfort blanket – STATS – but after a scoreless third quarter, Lawrence was rattled once again. Sacked by Ed Oliver, the ball was recovered by Tyrel Dodson.

But Buffalo couldn’t maintain possession either. Williams beat Diggs to Allen’s pass, snaffling his third takeaway in London after his two against Atlanta last week.

First finding Ridley again, a false start and a pass interference call further relieved the pressure on Lawrence. Somehow, Jacksonville were within touching distance of a two-score lead.

Lawrence and Diggs greet each other on the way off the field in London after Sunday’s game

Etienne darted to the right and opened up an 18-7 lead.

Buffalo struck back with a scoring drive of their own, with Gabe Davis finishing off from Allen’s 19-yard pass.

But they failed with a two-point conversion and when Etienne darted for a 35-yard score it looked done and dusted. But still Buffalo weren’t finished. Allen marched up the field, darting over from three yards to make it 25-20.

It caps a perfect week for Jags owner Shahid Khan, with Fulham and the Jaguars both winning twice. But for Buffalo, they must lick their wounds and count the costs of what may be a pivotal afternoon in their season.

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