Bills Beat Jaguars 34-18
By Luke Sims
Chad Henne returned to reality, the Jaguars defense wasn’t any better with Jason Babin, and the Jacksonville Jaguars sunk lower to 2-10.
This game got off to a rough start offensively for the Jaguars. Chad henne completed just three of his first 13 passes, the running game was sputtering, yet the defense managed to keep the Jaguars in it. That all crumbled when the Bills realized they could go big against the Jaguars.
Spiller’s big run demoralized the Jaguars and put the game out of reach. Source: Timothy T. Ludwig-US PRESSWIRE
Ryan Fitzpatrick only had 112 yards, two touchdowns, and nine complete passes (of 17 attempts) the entire game. It was up to Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller to dominate the Jaguars. And they did. Jackson had 109 yards on 25 attempts (4.36 yards per attempt), providing the workhorse role for the Bills. Spiller ripped off a dominating 44 yard run to exemplify a 77 yard performance on 14 carries (5.5 yards per carry) with one touchdown.
The Jaguars just couldn’t seem to get the Bills off the field. The Bills held the ball for 42 minutes in the game, forcing long drives and slowly punishing the defense. With Spiller and Jackson’s big play potential the Jaguars were forced to respect every play and could neither commit entirely to stacking the box or to playing a bit more loose since the Bills’ running backs’ talents were multidimensional.
The Jaguars offense showed again that it needs Maurice Jones-Drew back. Rashad Jennings fumbled twice en route to an uninspiring 20 yards on eight carries. Montell Owens, traditionally the third or fourth string back, filled in and provided a lackluster 29 yard performance on the day. Owens had a bit more spark than Jennings and averaged 4.1 yards per carry. Unfortunately, the Jaguars fell too far behind to commit to the run with Owens.
A game that the Jaguars thought they could win turned into a route in the fourth quarter. Fitzpatrick was conservative in his passes but managed to convert the opportunities the Bills had into points. It wasn’t a statement win and it wasn’t a dominating performance, but the Bills used a suffocating running attack to slowly choke the Jaguars out of the game.
It was a gameplan that other teams should keep in mind when facing the Jaguars.
– Luke N. Sims
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