Before the long flight to Western New York, the Buffalo Bills are leaving London empty-handed.
Due to some too-little-too-late offensive production and a failed defense in the fourth quarter, the Bills dropped their second game of the season after losing 25-20 to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
The Bills (3-2) were very inconsistent against a Jaguars team (3-2) that looked comfortable after spending last week in Europe. Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence was the difference, as he made some impressive third-down throws before completing 25 of 37 passing for 315 yards and a touchdown. Bills quarterback Josh Allen had a big statistical day, going 27 of 40 passing for 359 yards, three total touchdowns and a pick, but it wasn't enough.
Jags running back Travis Etienne Jr. had one of the best games of his young career, posting 26 carries for 136 yards and two crucial, game-changing touchdowns. In which he added four grabs for 48 yards.
The Bills did not gain their first down until about 30 seconds left in the first quarter. The Jags' strong defense left a surprisingly weak Bills offense struggling to find any rhythm, which proved to be the difference in Buffalo's catch-up play for most of the game.
Buffalo, which never led in the game, finally got on the board in the first half when Allen found Stefon Diggs for a 15-yard touchdown that cut the Jags lead to 11–7 at halftime.
The Bills bounced back from their disappointing first half and stayed in the game thanks to some more strong play from Sean McDermott's defense. But despite a solid day overall, the defense collapsed in the final stages of the game, as Etienne Jr.'s 35-yard rushing score made it essentially a 25–13 game with 2:56 left. Jacksonville's victory was sealed. ,
After putting up 11 quick points in the first quarter, the Jags were held scoreless until the fourth quarter when Etienne capped off a 93-yard drive with his first touchdown of the day on a six-yard score. Despite a solid day on defense, the unit could only do so much until failing in the fourth quarter, as the Buffalo offense's inability to sustain drives allowed Jacksonville to run a total of 82 plays compared to 54 for the Bills.
What initially seemed to be a major turning point in the second half came when Ed Oliver had a strip sack of Lawrence. After a long 17-play drive, the Jags came up empty just outside the red zone.
But the Jags returned the favor with a turnover of their own after Diggs' Allen's deep shot was picked off by Darius Williams, leading to Etienne's aforementioned six-yard touchdown run, giving Jacksonville an 18–7 lead.
Urgency was set for the bills, which were responded to immediately. Allen found Gabe Davis for a 19-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 18–13 with four minutes to play. But that was the last bit of realistic hope that Buffalo was able to muster despite holding possession for the last minute to end the game.