LONDON, England – Senior writer John Oehser's five takeaways from the Jaguars' 34-31 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Wembley Stadium in London, England, Sunday
1."A lot of work to do."The reaction around the Jaguars Sunday afternoon? Mixed, to say the least. The smiles were real, because a 34-31 victory over Buffalo was a game they easily could have lost, and they showed grit and guts to end a four-game losing streak. Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley understandably lauded the ability to make plays at game's end after losing a 27-3 first-half lead. "We've seen it all year where they've come back and fought back, but never showed the results we hoped," Bradley said. "They continue that. That's why I'm so excited for them. They continued that. It showed up in this game and it paid benefits for them … There were some hard truths out there in that game. But there were some really, really good plays …" Bradley spoke a lot about areas that must be improved over the bye and players agreed that while the victory was important, this is a team with a lot of areas to improve. "I think it did a lot for the morale of the team going into the bye week – for Gus and for the organization," defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks said. "Fans are pissed and everybody's irritated, so it was big for that. It was a good win, and we finished – and we'd been talking about that – but overall, we still have a lot of work to do."
2.Return with a flair.T.J. Yeldon returned in a big, big way – and showed a lot of why the Jaguars think highly of him midway through his rookie season. Yeldon, the Jaguars' starting running back and a second-round selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, missed last week's loss to Houston with a groin injury and was questionable on the final injury report of the week. He started Sunday, and looked more confident and comfortable than he had all season. He finished with a career-high 115 yards on 20 carries, 63 of which came on nine first-half carries. He also scored his first career rushing touchdown – and the Jaguars' first rushing touchdown of the season – on a 28-yard run midway through the second quarter. On that run, Yeldon tested the middle before shifting to his left and scoring as he was tackled. "I thought he did a great job," Bradley said, noting that Yeldon was sick Saturday. "For him to come back and play as strong as he did shows you a lot about him. How he fights through things and how he handles it I think is a big part of his personality."
3.Big-time.The growth of Allen Robinson continues, and the longer the 2015 season goes on, the easier it is to picture him as a go-to receiver. Robinson, a second-round selection in the 2014 NFL Draft, caught six passes for 98 yards and a touchdown Sunday, and before the Jaguars' defensive barrage early in the second quarter it was Robinson and Blake Bortles who gave the Jaguars momentum. One play after Bortles passed 22 yards to Allen Hurns, Robinson caught a 23-yard pass to give the Jaguars a first down at the Bills 28. Five plays later, Bortles threw under pressure to Robinson, who caught the pass at the 1 in front of safety Corey Graham. Robinson used his body to shield Graham, then reached the ball over the plane of the goal line for a touchdown and a 7-3 Jaguars lead. Robinson also had two receptions for 38 yards on the Jaguars' game-winning drive, the second of which was an 18-yarder to the Bills 48.
4.Takeaway time.Defensive coordinator Bob Babich was prophetic this week. He talked on Thursday about takeaways coming in bunches – and early in the second quarter that's just what they did. The Jaguars, who had three takeaways in the first six games of the season, forced three turnovers on the first three Bills possessions of the second quarter. All three led to touchdowns and the result was a 27-3 lead. First, Chris Clemons returned a fumble six yards for a touchdown for a 7-3 lead and linebacker Telvin Smith's 26-yard interception return on the ensuing Bills offensive play made it 21-3, Jaguars. Middle linebacker Paul Posluszny's interception ended the next Buffalo possession and led to Yeldon's 28-yard touchdown run and a 27-3 lead. The Jaguars got a fourth turnover in the fourth quarter when Josh Evans recovered a fumble by Bills running back LeSean McCoy deep in Jaguars territory after a hit at the 1-yard line by safety Johnathan Cyprien. "Everybody was saying, 'Ya'll have no turnovers … ya'll ain't producing' … things like that," Smith said. "`We said, 'They're going to come.' Today, they did. We just have to keep them coming."
5.Bogging down.The Jaguars' game-winning drive came after an up-and-down half for the offense. The unit produced one of its most efficient drives of the season to start the second half, using 17 plays and 9:30 to move 79 yards. But Toby Gerhart was stuffed four times from the 1-yard line and the Jaguars got no points on the possession. The Jaguars then went three-and-out on three consecutive possessions before Bortles' only interception of the game was returned 44 yards for a touchdown by Graham. During that series of three-and-outs, defensive end Tyson Alualu – the fullback in the Jaguars' short-yardage offense – also was stopped on third-and-1. Bradley discussed the short-yardage issues afterward. "We had four downs to get it in," Bradley said of the drive that ended on the 1. "We thought, 'Let's put it on the offensive line.' It didn't work out. The way we think down there is, 'If it doesn't work out, we still have them backed up.''' Bradley added of the short-yardage offense, "We'll take a look at that. That's one of the things we have to take a look at over the bye week."