Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Jacksonville Grades, Notes and Quotes
In a wild contest across the pond, the Jacksonville Jaguars overcame their issues to secure a 34-31 win over the Buffalo Bills. The Jaguars are now 2-5 and will head into the bye week with a win.
Playing in London has been an exciting experience for the Jaguars, but the past two years have seen relentless defeats. This year, it seemed like it was the Jaguars' turn to be the dominant squad as they took a 27-3 lead over the Bills in the second quarter.
The Bills slowly battled back, and with just over five minutes left, Bills safety Corey Graham picked off quarterback Blake Bortles to helped give Buffalo a 31-27 lead. Yes, Buffalo scored 31 unanswered points.
The Jaguars looked to be in a familiar and awful position, but the offense drove down the field under Bortles and concluded the drive with a spectacular catch from Allen Hurns.
The Jags played really well for a half of this game and likely deserved to lose after that comeback. But when it mattered, they drove down the field and were able to secure their second win of the season.
Position Grades
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | C- |
| RB | B |
| WR | B- |
| TE | C |
| OL | B- |
| DL | B+ |
| LB | B+ |
| DB | C+ |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | C- |
The offense performed when it mattered but had quite a few errors. Bortles had one his worst performances in a while, but orchestrating that drive late was a big moment for him and the Jaguars. Running back T.J. Yeldon had a fantastic game (115 yards, one score), and his efforts were a big help to the Jaguars' first-half offense and the first drive of the second half.
The wide receivers were decent, and the tight ends were relatively average. The Jaguars offensive line had its best game of the year so far, and the holes it opened for Yeldon and the protection for Bortles was a one-two punch that hasn't been seen this season.
The defense was explosive, and the worst performing group, the secondary, still put in a relatively stable performance. Cornerback Dwayne Gratz was easily the weakest link on the defense, and Buffalo quarterback EJ Manuel targeted him consistently because of it, which resulted in two touchdowns from Robert Woods and Marcus Easley.
The coaching staff had numerous mistakes again Sunday, with the most notable being the decision to give backup running back Toby Gerhart four handoffs from the 2-yard line. The Jags didn't score, and the Bills took the ensuing drive for a touchdown. Not a good look for offensive coordinator Greg Olson.
Defense Plays Explosively, Wreaks Havoc for Manuel and Bills Offense
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In 2014, the Jaguars defense let up a fair amount of points but could be proud of its ability to force turnovers and get to the quarterback. That hasn't been the case for most of this season, but the Jags were able to finally break that wall against the Bills.
It started with corner Aaron Colvin getting his third sack of the season and forcing a fumble that defensive end Chris Clemons scooped up and brought into the end zone for a score. Linebacker Telvin Smith was the next to get on the board, intercepting a bad pass from EJ Manuel and taking it to the house.
Finally, linebacker Paul Posluszny recorded his second pick of the season, and the Jaguars scored on the proceeding drive. The defense was responsible for 20 points scored in the second quarter, and that made the difference.
The offense's second-half struggles made it difficult for the defense, and that showed as the Bills gained momentum offensively. However, a final big play from safety Johnathan Cyprien resulted in a fumble from Bills running back LeSean McCoy.
Although the team still lost the lead, the Jaguars defense made massive plays on Sunday. Jacksonville needed a confident, explosive outing, and it finally got it in London.
Blake Bortles Struggles but Leads Game-Winning Drive Late
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Bortles has been one of the bright spots of the 2015 season, but he wasn't nearly as good in London as he's been stateside. Completing 13 of 29 passes, h totaled 183 yards, two touchdowns and his seventh career interception returned for a touchdown.
While Bortles wasn't as accurate or quick as his recent performances, ending with more touchdowns than interceptions is a small positive, and the fact that the second of those two TDs was the game-winning score makes his day a little less sour.
After a familiar half of offensive struggles, the Jaguars trailed 31-27 and had one guaranteed drive to go down and take the lead. Bortles and the offense answered admirably, piecing together a drive and a score.
The catch from Hurns was better than the throw, but Bortles delivered the ball in a safe location. He doesn't deserve a ton of credit for Sunday's victory, but that last drive and last throw salvaged a win and gave him a below-average performance rather than an awful one.
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T.J. Yeldon Breaks out in London
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Yeldon missed Week 6 with a groin injury, and it wasn't certain whether he would be available for the battle in London. He got the go-ahead nod, however, and took the opportunity and ran with it. Twenty carries for 115 yards and a touchdown later, Yeldon and the Jaguars can be thankful he saw the field.
Yeldon showed the toughness we've seen throughout the season, but better blocking by the offensive line resulted in bigger pickups than normal. He got chances throughout the game and made sure to earn every yard he could.
His mindset was rewarded when he busted a 28-yard run for his first rushing touchdown in the NFL and one that put the Jaguars up 27-3. His first-half performance was stellar, which makes his absence from the second half that much more confusing.
He was used consistently on the opening drive of the second half, but with two yards to the end zone, Olson went with Gerhart four times instead of a handoff to the well-performing back. It made no sense, and it kept the game alive for the Bills.
Hopefully, Olson realized his mistake and won't make a similar error in the future. Yeldon can get it done in any situation, and not even giving him a handoff there was a major error.
Gus Bradley Talks Mentality and Locker-Room Attitude
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The Jaguars came close to throwing away another late lead but were able to do enough to win. These kinds of nerve-wracking situations typically do a number on head coaches, and many wondered how Gus Bradley would feel after a win that shouldn't have been that close.
Bradley's postgame press conference, as streamed by Jaguars.com, was relatively normal, all things considered. However, he did talk about how the team felt after losing the lead and how it felt in the locker room after the game.
"I felt like, 'Oh, here we go'", Bradley said. "We’ve been in this situation and they had a 'we weren’t going to give this one up' mentality.” He also said that the players "felt that there were more plays left on the field."
The Jaguars' standing up to adversity is something we haven't seen much this year, but their rally to win does deserve extra praise. But as the coach said, even the team realizes it left a lot on the field and will look to improve on those mistakes in the coming weeks.
Blake Bortles Compliments Defense and Reaffirms Bradley's Thoughts
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As mentioned, Bortles didn't have a stellar day, and he apparently recognized that in his postgame press conference, as streamed by Jaguars.com. He seemed disappointed with his performance and happy with the win, and he made sure to give due credit to the defense for it.
"It was a good team win," Bortles said. "I thought the defense played incredible, they gave us that cushion early. ... I think I left a lot of plays out there."
Bradley said that a lot of players felt like they could've done more, and Bortles is understandably one of those players. Everyone has off days, but it almost seemed like Bortles' mistakes were going to be the tip of the scales to give the Bills win.
But he found fortitude and was able to reorganize the offense and drive the field to get a clutch score and a big win. He can walk away feeling lackluster, but time will allow him to realize how special that last drive was.
All stats provided by ESPN.com unless otherwise stated.
Evan Reier is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report covering the Jacksonville Jaguars. Follow Evan on Twitter @evanreier.
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