No. 15: Jacksonville Jaguars win 34-31 over Buffalo Bills

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We’re counting down to the 2020 NFL preseason opener what would have been the Jacksonville Jaguars preseason opener by ranking all 51 regular season wins over the past decade.

Today at No. 15? Leading by a billion against the Buffalo Bills in London only to almost lose it at the very end.

Week 7 — October 25, 2015

The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Buffalo Bills by a score of 34-31 today. Gus Bradley & Co. will go into the bye week with his second win of the season. We’re 2-5.

Cool. But that’s not what matters most today.

What matters most today is that the Jaguars can’t stop melting down in the fourth quarter. Delay of game penalties, pick-six interceptions, hurried snaps, near fumbles... it’s absolutely maddening.

If not for the Bills having one of the worst quarterbacks in the league in E.J. Manuel who threw two interceptions, fumbled another, and gifted the Jaguars two of their touchdowns, the Jaguars are looking at a rout.

Let me say this again — the Jaguars had four turnovers, scored twice on defense, held a 24 point lead, and were still in serious danger of losing this game.

Blake Bortles was awful today. Don’t let the last-minute touchdown fool you. He was very, very bad. The box score doesn’t even come close to painting a truthful picture at 13-for-29 for 182 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Bortles looked like a rookie out there on all but four or five snaps. Rex Ryan’s exotic blitzes and shifty pre-snap defense got to Bortles.

Thank God for T.J. Yeldon though, who had his best game of the season — 20 carries for 115 yards and one touchdown. He ran well. He ran hard. And that 28-yard touchdown was the mixture of speed and strength that caused the Jaguars to reach for him at No. 36 overall in last year’s NFL Draft.

The offensive line also played well, especially in run blocking. They gave up two sacks, which is what’s going to happen against the Bills, but other than that I thought they protected well.

On the defensive side of the ball, if Dwayne Gratz isn’t re-benched and Davon House isn’t re-inserted into the starting lineup, I’m going to jump off a cliff. Gratz was burned not once, but twice today for touchdowns. Granted, his safety “help” was Johnathan Cyprien, but Gratz should not be starting opposite Aaron Colvin for one more game.

Yes, we won. I get it. But there are still a lot of things wrong with this team. And while a win is nice, that’s what matters most.

Why the ranking at No. 15?

This game had it all — Allen Hurns makes a Superman catch, Toby Gerhart fails four times at the goal line, and Blake Bortles arm punts multiple times.

Up tomorrow?

Another insurmountable lead that was almost surmounted by the Indianapolis Colts.