Bills lean on run game to rout hapless Jaguars

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – The Buffalo Bills scored on five consecutive possessions spanning the first and second halves, including a 44-yard touchdown run by C.J. Spiller, to cruise past the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars 34-18 on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Special teams and defense sparked a run of 27 unanswered points for Buffalo, including a 51-yard kickoff return by Marcus Easley and a sack-fumble recovery by Mario Williams that set up 10 points. Running back Fred Jackson finished with 109 yards rushing on 25 carries and Spiller 77 on 14 as Buffalo relied on a strong running game in the steady rain.

A sparse crowd of 53,971 watched on an unseasonably warm, but wet and windy day, and playing a weak opponent no doubt helped the struggling Bills win. With the victory, the Bills moved their record to 5-7 with four games to play, while Jacksonville, coached by former Buffalo coach Mike Mularkey, fell to 2-10.

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw touchdown passes of 11 yards to Scott Chandler and 13 to Stevie Johnson, Rian Lindell kicked field goals of 29 and 50 yards, and Spiller scored on his long run to rally the Bills from an early 10-7 hole. After that, the Bills reached a 34-10 lead that was too much for the Jaguars to overcome.

The Bills opened the scoring with a 1-yard Fitzpatrick run that capped a drive that included a 51-yard pass play to rookie T.J. Graham. Graham earned his first NFL start in place of an injured Donald Jones.

The first half ended with the Bills leading 17-10, but it took a flurry of big plays to get things started. Easley's kickoff return led to Chandler's touchdown and Williams sack play, in which quarterback Chad Henne was hit as he threw, forcing the fumble and recovering the ball all in one fell swoop at the Jags' 14-yard line. That led to Lindell's first field goal.

Those plays made up for a Fitzpatrick interception, thrown to ex-Bills linebacker Paul Posluszny, that set up a Jacksonville field goal and a turnover on downs by the Bills that led to Jaguars touchdown drive. Buffalo was stopped on fourth-and-five at the Jacksonville 37-yard line when a Fitzpatrick pass to Chandler was batted away by linebacker Russell Allen.

Henne took that opportunity to drive his team 63 yards in four plays to the go-ahead touchdown and a 10-7 lead. He completed throws of 24 and 12 yards and capped the drive with a one-yard dive.

The Bills host St. Louis next week.

Leo Roth writes for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, a Gannett property.