Bills vs. Seahawks: Score and Twitter Reaction for Monday Night Football

The Seattle Seahawks escaped a late challenge from the Buffalo Bills in one of the season's most entertaining Monday Night Football games and moved to 5-2-1 on the year with the 31-25 victory at CenturyLink Field.

The Bills lost their third straight and dropped to 4-5, and they would have loved the opportunity to kick a game-tying field goal on their final drive were it not for a confusing situation at the end of the first half.

Buffalo drove inside Seattle's 10-yard line in the final minute of the game but had to go for it on fourth down trailing by six. Tyrod Taylor's pass fell incomplete, which clinched the win for the Seahawks. 

However, Buffalo could have been down by just three had Dan Carpenter made a field goal on the first half's final play. His eventual 54-yard miss came after Richard Sherman jumped offside and plowed into him, which caused the kicker to grab his leg. The trainers came out, and Carpenter had to leave the game for a play because Sherman wasn't flagged for the hit. 

The Bills spiked the ball on that play and sent their kicker back out with one second left, but he missed the attempt after a delay of game penalty pushed them back another five yards. Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk said the officials were still spotting the ball with four seconds on the play clock before the penalty.

Senior Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino responded to the sequence:

While Buffalo has reason to be upset, it also could have won if it contained Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. He threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score, as Seattle running backs finished with just 33 yards on 12 carries.

Tight end Jimmy Graham spearheaded the offense alongside Wilson with 103 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

On the other side, Taylor threw for 289 yards with one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown and one interception. LeSean McCoy added 85 yards on the ground and 35 receiving yards, while Robert Woods cracked the century mark with 162 yards on 10 catches. No other Bills receiver tallied more than 43 yards through the air. 

Despite some of the impressive offensive numbers, Buffalo did commit 11 penalties for 115 yards, per ESPN.com. Many of those were on the defensive side, as the cornerbacks struggled to keep up with Seattle's receivers in man coverage.

Special teams played a major role throughout. Buffalo's Jerry Hughes blocked a punt on the initial possession and set up his offense at the Seattle 3-yard line. Taylor ran it in on the next play to open the scoring, but Tyler Lockett returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards.

The Seahawks converted on the favorable field position when Wilson hit Doug Baldwin for a 50-yard gain and then scored on a three-yard run.

Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report said, "For a guy who supposedly can't throw from the pocket, Wilson sure can throw from the pocket," while the NFL shared his perfectly placed pass:

The Bills answered with a steady 17-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that Taylor capped off with a five-yard pass to Justin Hunter.

Rich Eisen of NFL Network pointed out that offenses don't usually march like that against Seattle:

The offensive fireworks continued when the Seahawks countered with another touchdown. Wilson connected with Graham on two straight passes, the second of which went for a 17-yard score. The tight end hauled it in with one hand despite pass interference:

Carpenter gave the Bills a 17-14 lead with a field goal, but Lockett made his presence felt again with a 22-yard punt return to set up Seattle inside Buffalo territory.

The offense took advantage and seized its first lead when Christine Michael scored from three yards out after Buffalo committed a pass interference penalty on a deep ball to Baldwin.

Sal Maiorana of the Democrat and Chronicle critiqued the Bills defense:

That defense couldn't stop the Graham show on Seattle's next possession. He caught three passes on the drive that gave Seattle a 28-17 lead, the most impressive of which was another one-handed touchdown. He also hurdled a defender to help set up the score.

The NFL shared the hurdle:

Things then took a strange turn before the end of the half with the field-goal situation that should have seen Sherman penalized. Ed Werder of ESPN reacted to the confusion:

Sherman stopped Buffalo fair and square on the opening possession of the second half when he intercepted Taylor's pass in the end zone and let Bills coach Rex Ryan know about it, via NFL Network:

The turnover stopped a promising drive for the Bills, but they moved the ball right back into Seattle territory on their next possession thanks to timely third-down conversions. The Seahawks maintained their 28-17 advantage through the third quarter, but the Bills were in the red zone and dictating the tempo, as Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com noted:

Mike Gillislee finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run, but it proved costly as center Eric Wood was carted off the field. Chris Brown of the Bills' official website said backup Patrick Lewis was inactive, which meant guard Ryan Groy was forced into action.

Taylor still found the end zone with a draw on the two-point conversion to make it 28-25.

Steven Hauschka drilled a 49-yard field goal on Seattle's next drive, but it came after Jermaine Kearse dropped a potential touchdown that would have given the Seahawks another two-score lead.

The Seahawks forced a Buffalo punt with less than four minutes remaining after a tripping penalty backed the Bills out of field-goal range. Tim Graham of the Buffalo News questioned the play-calling:

Buffalo's defense gave its offense a final chance with a quick three-and-out, although a field goal was not an option facing a six-point deficit after the debacle at the end of the first half.

Taylor made an incredible throw on the run to Woods to convert a 3rd-and-21. He was also on the receiving end of a roughing the passer penalty, which moved the ball to the Seattle 23-yard line. He led the Bills inside the 10-yard line, but was sacked on two straight plays before throwing an incompletion on 4th-and-goal from the 15.

The win came with controversy, but the Seahawks defense came through when it mattered most.

What's Next?

The Bills head into a much-needed bye week before hitting the road again to face the Cincinnati Bengals. They then return home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Those two teams are a combined 5-10-1, so Buffalo will have a chance to climb back into the postseason race.

As for the Seahawks, they travel to face the New England Patriots next in a Super Bowl XLIX rematch. New England won that game, 28-24, after Malcolm Butler intercepted a Wilson pass at the goal line.

While a regular-season victory wouldn't exactly mean revenge, it would move Seattle one step closer to an NFC West crown.

Postgame Reaction

Sherman responded to the controversial play at the end of the half, per ESPN.com:

He also claimed he didn't have an exchange with Bills assistant head coach Rob Ryan at the end of the half and said "he was talking to himself," per Matthew Fairburn of NYup.com.

Graham talked about his two touchdowns, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com): "We talked this week if we get a favorable matchup, throw it. It's one of those things in the National Football League these windows are so small that sometimes when a guy is on you, you just have to throw it up."

On the other side, Rex Ryan discussed Sherman, per the Bills: "He came over and was mean mugging...I think I said you're too good of a player to act like an ass."

He also talked about Wood's injury, per the Bills: "We lost Eric Wood with a broken leg. Tough loss because I think he's the best center in football."

Taylor wasn’t afraid to criticize the officiating, per the Bills: "The refs were horrible at managing it, and made some horrible calls throughout. We're not blaming them, we just need some explanations."

It's hard to blame Taylor for his frustration, but Buffalo had the chance to win the game at the end with him on the field.