For the first time in Jaguars history, Jacksonville played back-to-back games in London, and are now winners in consecutive weeks.
In a highly anticipated matchup between two perennial contenders in the AFC, and the Josh Allen vs. Josh Allen matchup, Jacksonville prevailed and beat the Buffalo Bills, 25-20.
The Jaguars came out of the gates strong, scoring on two of their first three possessions and limiting the Bills offense to two straight three-and-outs to open the game.
Jacksonville’s second drive resulted in Trevor Lawrence leading a nine-play, 73 yard drive that resulted in a six-yard touchdown grab by Zay Jones, and then a two-point conversion by Travis Etienne to put themselves on top 8-0 early. The ensuing drive for the Jaguars was another nine-play drive that resulted in a field goal to extend their lead to 11-0 in the first quarter.
Buffalo punted on their first four drives of the game before they finally found any kind of rhythm, punching it into the end-zone before halftime. Buffalo’s Josh Allen led an 11-play, 86 yard drive that resulted in a 15-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs, cutting the lead to 11-8 going into halftime.
In the second half, Jacksonville continued to do a great job of moving the ball down the field, chewing up the clock, and keeping the ball away from the Bills offense. However, the Jags couldn’t capitalize on some early opportunities. A 17-play drive that took more than eight minutes off the clock resulted in zero points for the Jaguars as Ed Oliver hit and forced a fumble on Trevor Lawrence.
The fourth quarter was widely entertaining for both teams as four straight possessions led to a touchdown. Jacksonville went 10 plays for 93 yards and Travis Etienne finished it off with a six-yard score to extend the lead to 18-7. The ensuing possession, Buffalo went 75 yards and capped it off with a 19-yard touchdown to former UCF Knights wideout Gabe Davis.
Jacksonville was up 25-13 and was faced with a big third and 14 with 3:15 remaining in the game. Trevor Lawrence threw a beautiful ball down the seam to Calvin Ridley who converted the play on a 32-yard gain. The Jaguars finished off their drive with another Travis Etienne touchdown, this time for 35 yards.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen responded immediately by going 75 yards in less than one minute, finishing it off with a three-yard touchdown run.
Jacksonville was up 25-20 with 1:49 remaining in the game but it was too little, too late as the Jaguars essentially ran the clock out before punting the ball away with only 22 seconds remaining in the game.
Stefon Diggs had a 16-yard reception before fumbling the ball on an attempted lateral pass that was recovered by Travon Walker.
Offensively, Trevor Lawrence played arguably his best game of the season, completing 25-of-37 passes for 315 yards, one touchdown, and had a passer rating of 102.9.
Travis Etienne was phenomenal as he ran the ball 26 times for 136 yards and had another 48 yards in the air.
Calvin Ridley had his first big game since week one, catching seven passes for 122 yards. Christian Kirk chipped in with another good performance as he grabbed six catches for 78 yards.
Jacksonville will be looking to carry this momentum back to the United States as they prepare for a week six matchup versus the Indianapolis Colts, a divisional rival, at home.