After a moribund first half on offense, the Buffalo Bills wasted no time changing the mood in the second half. LeSean McCoy scampered for a career-best 75 yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, and the Bills held on to win a back-and-forth struggle, 28-21.
The usually reliable-in-the-second-half Buffalo defense was leaky in the third and fourth quarters, allowing two Blake Bortles passing touchdowns, but they held up just enough to maintain the win. A huge stop on fourth and nine following a delay of game penalty on the Jags allowed the Bills to get the ball back and run out the clock.
The Bills’ offense struggled in the first half, but was solid in the second. Tyrod Taylor was solid, if unspectacular, in the second half, capping the day’s scoring with a beautiful go-ahead touchdown pass to Justin Hunter. Taylor finished 12-of-18 passing, with 166 yards and the aforementioned touchdown. He added 38 yards and a touchdown with his legs. Sixty-two of Taylor's 166 yards came on a big pass to Sammy Watkins, which finished with 3 catches for 80 yards to lead Buffalo receivers and drew several penalties on long passes. LeSean McCoy had himself a good day statistically, carrying 19 times for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Buffalo is now 6-5 and in the heart of the AFC playoff race. Following tonight’s match-up between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo will be just one game out of sixth place in the conference with looming games against the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers on the schedule.
While it might have been ugly, a win is a win. We can revel in the fact that the Bills did enough to keep themselves alive for the time being!