The Jacksonville Jaguars became the first team in NFL history to win an international game in back-to-back weeks with a 25-20 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Many expected in-form quarterback Josh Allen and his hosting Bills to have the upper hand in London, but the visitors were the superior side by almost every measure in the first quarter, where a costly Buffalo penalty led to the Jags’ first touchdown.
And though AFC East leaders Buffalo, looking for a fourth straight win, finally broke through and narrowed the deficit to 11-7 by the halfway point, a scoreless third quarter and a Travis Etienne touchdown extended the Jags’ advantage to double-digits early in the fourth quarter.
Two touchdowns per side in the final 15 minutes kept things interesting as Buffalo twice came within five points of drawing level, but the visitors, who last weekend beat the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley, ultimately did enough to stave off a Buffalo comeback.
The stands – including Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo – skewed overwhelmingly in favour of Buffalo, but it was the visitors who first sparked to life through QB Trevor Lawrence’s sharp 30-yard pass to wide receiver Christian Kirk.
Jacksonville soon took full advantage after Buffalo’s Ed Oliver was punished with a five-yard penalty and Lawrence fired into the endzone, where a leaping Zay Jones completed the six-yard touchdown, Etienne successfully converting for two more.
Brandon McManus’ 44-yard field goal gave his side an 11-0 lead before the second quarter, where Buffalo pressed on in search of a solution to a Jags defence that, five minutes into the period, had held the hosts to just 35 yards on offence to their 167.
Buffalo finally broke through just before half-time, closing that gap with a 12-play, 86-yard drive ending in Stefon Diggs’ classy 15-yard touchdown reception to collect the pass from his QB with Tyler Bass booting the extra point through the uprights.
That drive alone was 32 yards longer than their first four combined and launched the hosts squarely back into the contest.
A promising third-quarter drive began with a promising 48-yard pass cleverly claimed by Diggs, but the hosts ultimately failed to capitalise on the gained ground.
Buffalo were down to the final 15 minutes after the scoreless third quarter and found themselves frustrated early in the fourth by a brilliant interception by Jags cornerback Darious Williams on Allen’s ball intended for Diggs.
Jacksonville extended their lead to double digits through Etienne, who crossed over from six yards, McManus good for the extra point.
With just over four minutes remaining, the Bills saw a touchdown nullified by a penalty but made good on the second attempt when Allen found Davis for the 19-yard touchdown to make it 18-13, Buffalo failing to convert the extras.
The final few minutes of an afternoon dominated by defence suddenly saw an offensive surge as Etienne crossed for another TD, McManus adding another extra point, but Jacksonville barely had time to celebrate before Allen had crossed into the endzone and Bass’ conversion clawed Buffalo back within five.
The frantic, entertaining close was at least enough to stir the Buffalo faithful, who came just short of seeing their side brilliantly bounce back.
Giants releasing embattled quarterback Daniel Jones
The Daniel Jones era in New York has officially ended.
The Giants agreed to Jones’ request to be released Friday morning, ending a rocky partnership that lasted nearly six seasons.
Giants president John Mara said in a statement that Jones’ release “would be best for him and for the team.”
“Daniel has been a great representative of our organisation, first class in every way,” Mara said in the statement. “His handling of this situation yesterday exemplifies just that. We are all disappointed in how things have worked out.”
The Giants benched Jones in favour of Tommy DeVito during their bye week. On Thursday, Jones told reporters he takes “full responsibility” for not winning more as the captain of one of the NFL’s signature franchises.
After learning of his new role, however, Jones asked the team to be released.
Jones signed a four-year, $160million contract extension before the 2023 season. Jones will go through the waivers process, but teams are likely unwilling to pay the rest of that contract. If he clears waivers, he will become an unrestricted free agent.
The Giants will absorb a salary cap hit of around $20million by releasing Jones.
Jones was the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft and has started 69 games over the last six seasons.
The former Duke quarterback had his best season in a contract year in 2022, throwing 15 touchdowns to just five interceptions and adding 708 yards and seven scores on the ground.
Jones has thrown eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions this season for the 2-8 Giants and ranks 32nd among qualified quarterbacks with a 79.4 passer rating.
Browns score late touchdown to end Steelers' streak in snowy contest
Nick Chubb ran for a 2-yard touchdown in heavy snow with 57 seconds left, and the Cleveland Browns stunned division rival Pittsburgh 24-19 on Thursday night, ending the Steelers' five-game winning streak.
Chubb's score came in his first game against the AFC North-leading Steelers (8-3) since the running back sustained a season-ending left knee injury on a carry last year at Pittsburgh.
The Browns (3-8) had blown a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter and were down 19-18 before getting the ball back with 3:22 remaining after Pittsburgh punter Corliss Waitman shanked a 16-yarder.
With snow piling up and covering the yard lines on the field, Cleveland's Jameis Winston completed a third-down pass to Jerry Jeudy to the Pittsburgh 9. Two plays later, Chubb barrelled into the end zone.
The Steelers had one last chance, but quarterback Russell Wilson's Hail Mary on the final play was knocked down by Browns safety Grant Delpit in the end zone, touching off a wild celebration at Huntington Bank Field.
NFL: Texans bounce back, extend Cowboys' woes
Joe Mixon's 109 rushing yards and three touchdowns helped get the Houston Texans back on track with Monday's 34-10 win over the floundering Dallas Cowboys.
Houston (7-4) snapped a two-game losing streak behind Mixon's powerful running and a defence that sacked Cowboys' fill-in quarterback Cooper Rush five times and forced two turnovers, including a fumble Derek Barnett returned 28 yards for a touchdown that gave the Texans a 27-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
Dallas (3-7) has now lost five straight, its longest skid since dropping seven in a row in 2015, and fell to 0-5 at home. The Cowboys have been outscored by 118 points (187-69) at AT&T Stadium, the third-largest negative differential through five home games in a season in NFL history.
Rush did throw a 64-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin in his second straight start subbing for an injured Dak Prescott, and finished with a career-high 354 passing yards with one interception while completing 32 of 55 attempts.
C.J. Stroud threw for 257 yards with an interception for Houston, which extended its lead over the second-place Indianapolis Colts to two games in the AFC South.
The Texans never trailed after Mixon ripped off a 45-yard touchdown run on the game's opening drive, and the veteran running back added a 1-yard scoring plunge late in the first quarter to give Houston a 14-0 lead.
Turpin got Dallas on the board by taking a short pass from Rush and breaking free from the Houston defence nine seconds into the second quarter, but the Cowboys were shut out in the second half after pulling to within 17-10 on Brandon Aubrey's 53-yard field goal with just under six minutes left before half-time.
Burnett's strip sack of Rush and return of the resulting fumble helped put the game away with 12:31 left, and Mixon tacked on his final touchdown of the night with 3:16 remaining to cap a 35-yard drive that began after the Texans stopped the Cowboys on downs.
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