Buffalo really dropped the ball against the London-Jacksonville Jaguars

After putting a major league beatdown on the Miami Dolphins last week, it looked like the Buffalo Bills were taking a step toward separating themselves in a highly competitive AFC. One game after scoring 48 points against a hot Dolphins squad, the Bills couldn’t even muster up half of that in Week 5, losing to Jacksonville in London, 25-20.

Once again, the Bills are favorites for some to be atop the AFC come season’s end. While this is just one loss early in the year, it’s one that follows Buffalo’s MO. Just when it looks like they’re a step or two ahead of the game, they take a couple steps backward.

Buffalo’s 48-20 victory over Miami last week was shocking, considering the Dolphins were coming off a blowout against Denver. One in which they scored 70 points and won by 50. The way the Bills offense was rolling, it seemed like a given that they’d take that momentum to London against the Jaguars. Unfortunately, the Bills left nearly everything (offensively) on the field against Miami.

Getting back over the hump

Since the Bills lost the AFC title game against the Chiefs, they’ve come up short in the two following campaigns. Even with winning three consecutive division titles, the last two seasons have ended in the divisional round of the postseason when many picked them to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

Let’s not get it twisted; the Jags are no longer a team to sleep on, but this could be a one-off. Traveling across the pond to play a midseason game can be challenging, especially if you rarely do it. This was the second game in a row for the Jaguars in London. They beat the Falcons 23-7 last week.

Overall, Jacksonville is 6-5 in London after defeating the Bills Sunday morning. For Buffalo, this was only the second time they’d played a game in London since 2015. That was another loss to Jacksonville. London has become a home away from home for the Jags over the past decade.

However, coming out of this game, there is good and bad news for the Bills. The good news is their next opponent is the New York Giants. Albeit the bad news is, they only get a little rest time after flying back from London, as that game is next Sunday. Not to make excuses for the Bills, but traveling across the United States week to week is tough. Going across the Atlantic Ocean twice in a matter of days is almost cruel.

At 3-2 in a cluster (expletive) of a conference, the Bills are still in a good spot, but they really squandered the chance to push ahead in the AFC. Now they’ll come back in Week 6 at home to play a desperate Giants franchise that really needs to get things going. On paper, it might be disguised as a sure win for the Bills but could wind up being a trap game that drops Buffalo to .500.