Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1), right, celebrates after scoring a touchdown during an NFL football game between Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London on Oct. 8.Ian Walton/The Associated Press
Travis Etienne rushed for 136 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the jet-lagged Buffalo Bills 25-20 on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Jaguars (3-2) may not want to leave London after getting back-to-back wins in the British capital, ending Buffalo’s three-game winning streak and proving they can hang with an AFC powerhouse.
The Bills (3-2) had routed their past three opponents but looked tired at times, rushed for only 29 yards, and had a rash of injuries.
Etienne scored on a 35-yard run with just under three minutes left after carrying it in from 6 yards earlier.
Josh Allen twice brought the Bills back late in the fourth quarter. He ran it in from 3 yards to complete a 75-yard drive that took just 45 seconds, making it 25-20 before the two-minute warning.
With the Bills out of timeouts, the Jags punted to the Buffalo 6, leaving the Bills just 22 seconds. Stefon Diggs caught a pass and tried to lateral it, but Jacksonville recovered the fumble.
In between Etienne’s touchdowns, Allen completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Gabe Davis to cut the deficit to five points with 4:03 to play.
Allen was 27 of 40 for 359 yards and two touchdowns. Diggs had eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown and Davis had six catches for 100 yards and a score.
The Jags survived two costly strip-sack lost fumbles by Trevor Lawrence, both times in Buffalo territory.
The Jags led early when Zay Jones made an acrobatic play to haul in a 6-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone in the first quarter and Etienne added the 2-point conversion.
Lawrence finished 25 of 37 for 315 yards, with the touchdown and two lost fumbles.
Diggs channelled his inner Ronaldo after catching a 15-yard touchdown pass to get Buffalo on the board with 1:14 left in the half. The wide receiver, who had promised fans a soccer-style celebration if he scored, beat cornerback Tyson Campbell off the line of scrimmage.
The Jags quickly moved the ball to the Buffalo 12, but edge-rusher A.J. Epenesa’s strip-sack and fumble recovery ended the Jacksonville threat with 10 seconds left in the half. Epenesa beat left tackle Cam Robinson – just back from suspension – on Lawrence’s blind side.
Epenesa and Leonard Floyd each finished with two sacks.
Early in the fourth quarter, defensive tackle Ed Oliver sacked Lawrence and recovered the fumble at the Buffalo 32.
The Bills lost starting linebacker Matt Milano to a knee injury in the first quarter.
The Josh Allen vs. Josh Allen showdown only came into play when the Jags edge rusher was flagged for roughing the passer late in the game to give the Bills the ball first- and-goal from the 9. The Bills then scored to make it 18-13 on Davis’ touchdown.
The Bills next game is at home when the New York Giants visit in a Sunday night matchup.