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The Buffalo Bills finished the first half with a scoring flurry and continued it into the third quarter to get a big lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars. They held on in the fourth and beat the Jags 34-18 to keep their slim playoff hopes alive for the time being.
The rain was falling as the Bills and Jags squared off and both quarterbacks had a tough day. Ryan Fitzpatrick was 9-of-17 for 112 yards, two touchdowns passing and one rushing with one interception. Chad Henne was 18-for-40 playing from behind and finished with 208 yards and a short touchdown pass with a late interception.
Buffalo amassed a 34-10 lead after an exhilarating 44-yard touchdown run by C.J. Spiller. He finished with 77 yards on the ground and 7 yards receiving, snapping his streak of consecutive 100-yard games at six. Fred Jackson pounded the rock for 109 yards on the ground and 10 on two receptions. Even Brad Smith got in on the act gaining 28 yards on two Wildcat runs.
Defensively, the Bills played a solid game. Jairus Byrd nabbed an interception to ice the game to continue leading the AFC in that statistic. Mario Williams had a sack, strip, and recovery late in the first half and Alex Carrington had the game of his life with a sack, a pass defensed, and some key stops in the running game.
The news was much worse on the injury report than the scoreboard. Early in the first quarter, Leodis McKelvin pulled up with tightness in his back. Offensive tackle Chris Hairston was carted off the field with an apparent ankle injury. Center Eric Wood was being evaluated for a knee injury and wide receiver Stevie Johnson limped off with tightness in his hamstring.
Buffalo moves to 5-7 and are second place in the AFC East. New England clinched another division crown with a win over the Miami Dolphins today. The Bills host the St. Louis Rams next week in another likely blackout.