LONDON – Whenever Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills tried to rally in the fourth quarter on Sunday, Travis Etienne and the Jacksonville Jaguars had an answer.
Etienne rushed for 136 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns and Jacksonville outlasted the jet-lagged Bills for a 25-20 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Recommended Videos
“We answered the bell every time they rung it,” Etienne said.
Jaguars (3-2) may not want to leave London after getting back-to-back wins in the British capital, ending Buffalo’s three-game winning streak and proving they can hang with an AFC powerhouse.
“We as a team, I think, are figuring out that we’re very capable of winning these types of games,” Jags coach Doug Pederson said. “It’s big. We came over here 1-2 and we’re going back 3-2.”
The Bills (3-2), who arrived in London on Friday morning, had routed their past three opponents but looked tired at times, rushed for only 29 yards, and had a rash of injuries.
Etienne scored on a 35-yard run with just under three minutes left after carrying it in from 6 yards earlier. He also caught four passes for 48 yards. And Calvin Ridley had seven catches for 122 yards.
Allen twice brought the Bills back late in the fourth quarter. He ran it in from 3 yards to complete a 75-yard drive that took just 45 seconds, making it 25-20 before the two-minute warning.
With the Bills out of timeouts, the Jags punted to the Buffalo 6, leaving the Bills just 22 seconds. Stefon Diggs caught a pass and tried to lateral it, but Jacksonville recovered the fumble.
In between Etienne’s touchdowns, Allen completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Gabe Davis to cut the deficit to five points with 4:03 to play.
Allen was 27 of 40 for 359 yards and two touchdown passes and an interception. Diggs had eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown and Davis had six catches for 100 yards and a score.
“We didn’t take care of the little things,” Allen said. “That’s on us captains, making sure that this team is ready to go. You know, the opposing team, they were ready to go today. We weren’t.”
The Jags survived two costly strip-sack lost fumbles by Trevor Lawrence, both times in Buffalo territory.
“We knew what kind of game it was going to be,” Lawrence said. “They're a great team. It's going to be a four-quarter game no matter how it starts.”
The Jags led early when Zay Jones made an acrobatic play to haul in a 6-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone in the first quarter and Etienne added the 2-point conversion.
Lawrence finished 25 of 37 for 315 yards, with the touchdown and two lost fumbles.
Diggs channeled his inner Ronaldo after catching a 15-yard touchdown pass to get Buffalo on the board with 1:14 left in the half. The wide receiver, who had promised fans a soccer-style celebration if he scored, beat cornerback Tyson Campbell off the line of scrimmage.
The Jags quickly moved the ball to the Buffalo 12, but edge-rusher A.J. Epenesa’s strip-sack and fumble recovery ended the Jacksonville threat with 10 seconds left in the half. Epenesa beat left tackle Cam Robinson — just back from suspension — on Lawrence’s blind side.
Epenesa and Leonard Floyd each finished with two sacks. The Jags had no sacks in the game.
Early in the fourth quarter, defensive tackle Ed Oliver sacked Lawrence and recovered the fumble at the Buffalo 32.
The Bills lost starting linebacker Matt Milano to a knee injury in the first quarter.
The Josh Allen vs. Josh Allen showdown only came into play when the Jags edge rusher was flagged for roughing the passer late in the game to give the Bills the ball first-and-goal from the 9. The Bills then scored to make it 18-13 on Davis' touchdown.
“HOME” FIELD ADVANTAGE
The Jags were roundly booed running onto field by the overwhelmingly partisan Buffalo crowd in what was technically a Bills home game. Quarterback Josh Allen's blue game jersey comprised the unofficial plurality. Bills great Thurman Thomas was on hand pregame to hype the crowd. Front row fans in one end zone had a banner with Von Miller's image saying they came from France and want a picture with the Bills star.
“Bills Mafia was full effect today,” Pederson said. “It did feel like a road game for us.”
The Jags went to a silent cadence because of the crowd noise, Lawrence added.
It was 75 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff — not the type of home-field weather advantage the Bills usually enjoy.
INJURIES
Jaguars: Ridley was evaluated for a concussion and was cleared to return. He said he feels fine. Lawrence got calf treatments in the second half after cramping and also reported “feeling pretty good, excited to get off my feet” for the flight home. WR Jones left in the second half. ... OL Walker Little left in the first quarter with a knee injury. Pederson said both would be evaluated.
Bills: LB Matt Milano left in the first quarter with what Bills coach Sean McDermott said is a knee and lower leg injury that is “not looking good.” DT DaQuan Jones (pectorcal) went to the medical tent in the first quarter. McDermott said Jones is “also not looking good at this point." Taron Johnson left briefly with a knee issue but returned. DE Shaq Lawson (toe) and Christian Benford (shoulder) were inactive.
UP NEXT
Jaguars: Host the Indianapolis Colts with a chance to sweep their AFC South rival after beating them in the season opener.
Bills: Another home game when the New York Giants visit in a Sunday night matchup.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL