Report card: Bills lose to Jaguars, 25-20

Report card: #Bills lose to J#aguars, 25-20:

The Buffalo Bills traveled across the pond to London to face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars in NFL Week 5 and left with a 25-20 loss.

It wasn’t a tip-top performance by the Buffalo, who entered the contest on a hot streak in their last several games, as their scoring in this one only took place in the first and last quarters.

The Bills return stateside to regroup and turn their attention to a matchup against the Giants next Sunday.

Here is the Bills Wire’s Week 5 report card for the Buffalo Bills (3-2) following the game:

Bills’ Stefon Diggs remains confident: ‘We will be better and we must’

#Bills’ Stefon Diggs remains confident: ‘We will be better and we must’

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs has been known to put up top-five NFL numbers at his position.

He also wears his heart on his sleeve to display his passion and emotions.

Sunday in London, where the Bills came up short against the Jacksonville Jaguars 25-20, was no exception.

Diggs put up a season-high 121 yards receiving on eight catches with a touchdown. He also showed a display of emotions from trying to lift and fire up his teammates when LB Matt Milano went down with a potentially season-ending injury on hard turf, to slamming his tablet in frustration at something he saw in a replay.

The Jaguars’ social media team took full opportunity to poke fun at the instance after the game.

Diggs does hate losing, and those feelings were on display.

He also felt there was something missing in the teams’ spirit on the trip.

“I felt like we did have a little – I’m not gonna say (we were) lackadaisical – but we were kind of just (didn’t have that) let’s go get it, let’s get after it, (attitude),” Diggs said during his postgame press conference. “We were trying to figure it out but that lack of sense of urgency, it showed.”

The spark or spirit the team seemed to be missing was noticed by the receiver because, normally, it’s something they do have.

“We have it in practice and you try to build off of it in the game. It’s supposed to be easier,” he said. “You work hard in practice and it’s (supposed to) carry over,” he added.

That being said, he also pointed out that there was that spark in the fourth quarter.

“When we get in that mode of not necessarily rushing but more so OK, we gotta score, you saw that,” Diggs said.

The Bills’ offense only had seven points through three-quarters of play thanks to the Diggs TD via Allen, Despite success in recent weeks, the offensive unit gained fewer than 20 yards on six of their first eight drives. This was followed by a fourth-quarter run that simply was too late to complete the comeback bid.

The WR1 made no excuses when asked if the travel, timezone change, and jetlag were a factor against a Jags team that had already been in London playing a game against the Falcons a week earlier.

“It’s easy to say that after the game,” Diggs pointed out. “Like if we won I would what would you have said? Like yeah, we were tired, or yeah we were this, or yeah we were that, but you know it’s easy to use an excuse I’m not a big excuse guy so I won’t say it.

Tired or not, or whatever, you’re going to get up to play a football game you know? I’m saying you get up to do the things that you love and play this game cuz it’s a blessing. Also, prayers for the guys we got hurt, but I won’t ever use the excuse.”

Personal responsibility and not making any excuses is a Bills hallmark under HC Sean McDermott’s leadership. It was a sentiment echoed by Bills QB Josh Allen as well, who went 27-of-40 with 359 yards and three total touchdowns, two throwing and one rushing, with one interception.

“They were ready. We weren’t,” Allen said.

And Diggs made his stance clearly aligned with the team as well.

“You know I feel like we could play better, we will be better and we must.”

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Bills’ Josh Allen on Jaguars’ Josh Allen: ‘He scares me’

#Bills’ Josh Allen on #Jaguars’ Josh Allen: ‘He scares me’

The clash in London on Sunday in NFL Week 5 will be between the Bills and Jaguars, but another interesting matchup will take place in addition to the UK-based NFL contest.

For the second time in his career, Josh Allen will face… Josh Allen.

Jags linebacker Josh Allen, that is.

The last time the two players faced each other was in Jacksonville in 2021. The Jaguars’ Allen logged eight tackles and a sack in an upset 9-6 win over Buffalo. The Bills’ Allen threw two interceptions and was sacked four times.

Josh Allen’s sacking of Josh Allen was the first time in NFL history that a player sacked a quarterback of the same.

“He scares me. He got me last time we played,” the Bills’ Allen said to the media. “He’s coming off a really good week, too. He’s a baller. He’s still considered kind of a young guy in this league, but he’s playing really good football right now. Their defensive group right now is playing at a high level. They work together very well. So we’re going to have our hands full.”

The Jags’ Allen is tied for an NFL-leading six-sacks (tied with Khalil Mack and T.J. Watt), three of which were in the Jaguars’ 23-7 NFL Week 4 win against the Atlanta Falcons in London, making him the first player in the history of the NFL history to record 3 sacks in a contest outside the US.

Even so, the Jags’ Allen knows it’s not going to be a walk in St. James’s Park against the Bills.

Buffalo Bill Allen just went 21-for-25 for 320 yards and five total touchdowns in a convincing 48-20 win against Miami that now sees him first in the league in completion percentage, tied for second in passing touchdowns (nine), and sixth in passing yards,

The two Josh Allen’s have shared not only a name but also the same draft position a year apart, the Bills Allen at No. 7 overall in 2018 and the Jaguars Allen at the same spot a year later.

Sharing those details in common with both players in the AFC has kept the story alive when their respective teams face each other.

“Yeah I mean again it’s I think it’s pretty crazy he’s one of the dominant pass rushers in this league, you know I think everybody that plays against them has to have a plan in place for him we’re going to be no different,” The Bills’ Allen added. “We’ve played some really good D lines already early in this year and it’s not stopping this week with this group, and again I think the DB’s do such a great job of working together their linebackers are flying around the ball, they got two Wyoming guys Muma and Wingard those are my guys, so those guys are good ball players.”

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College Football News: New College Football Playoff rankings released

What should the top four be?

After a crazy weekend of college football that saw the No. 1, No. 4, and No. 6 teams in the nation drop games we have the updated College Football Playoff rankings.  The CFP committee announced them on Tuesday night and how things have already changed.

We knew there would be a new number one after Tennessee‘s loss and we have that, but we also have a new team that has entered the top four.  How high did LSU end up after their upset with Alabama?  How far did Clemson drop after the drubbing they were handed by Notre Dame?  And how did the Fighting Irish after their huge home victory?

Here is the second edition of the College Football Playoff rankings following Week 10 of the season.

Watch: Storm surge nearly floods Portsalon Golf Club along the coast of Ireland

You certainly don’t see this everyday. 

You certainly don’t see this everyday.

Strong winds and heavy rains have hammered the United Kingdom over the last week, with the BBC reporting that three people were killed and 1.4 million homes were left without power due to storms Franklin and Eunice.

On Monday morning, Portsalon Golf Club course manager Johnny Shields shared a video from the par-4 third hole on Twitter of a storm surge nearly flooding the classic course in Ireland along the North Atlantic coast. Last year it was reported that Bill Murray and author Tom Coyne would visit Portsalon and a handful of Ireland’s best courses for a new series titled, “The Links Life.”

Curious what the course looks like when it’s not storming? Our Jason Lusk was at Portsalon in 2019 and detailed just how challenging the course can be if you miss the fairway.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByOYOn3FG44/?utm_medium=copy_link

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Angler lands enormous skate in ‘extremely rare’ catch from pier

A UK angler on Wednesday logged an extremely rare catch of a giant skate from a pier.

A U.K. angler on Wednesday logged an extraordinary catch of a giant skate from a pier.

Garry Mouzon, 34, a welder from Kirkwall, caught the estimated 121-pound common skate from the Hatston Pier.

He told The Orcadian that he had been hoping to catch a large skate for months. Two friends helped him get the fish onto the pier where it could be measured for an estimated weight before it was tossed back.

RELATED: Astonished angler reels massive catfish from Arizona canal

“The one I caught was a male, and the females are usually bigger,” Mouzon said. “So I’ll be going back to look for the girlfriend next.”

The Orcadian’s story was shared by the conservation group Blue Planet Society, which tweeted: “An extremely rare catch from a pier. Almost wiped out by bottom trawling, common skates are considered one of the UK’s most endangered species.”

The common skate, a.k.a. blue skate, is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. Anglers now practice catch and release when targeting the species.

The International Game Fish Assn. lists as the world record a 214-pound skate caught off Orkney, U.K., in 1968.

–Image courtesy of Garry Mouzon

NFL U.K. favors Buffalo Bills in 2021 season predictions

NFL U.K. favors #Bills in 2021 season predictions (via @stereorush):

Many media analysts have ranked the Bills highly ahead of the 2021 season. With a replenished roster, the team will look to build on last year’s success with the goal of winning the Super Bowl.

And NFL UK is among those who believe they can do just that.

NFL UK reporter and Sky Sports TV host Neil Reynolds shared his 2021 season predictions, which highly favor Buffalo and QB Josh Allen:

Reynolds has the team not only returning to the AFC Championship for a consecutive year but winning it. What’s more, in the Super Bowl he has the Bills defeating none other than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and long-time AFC East nemesis and UGG boots enthusiast, Tom Brady.

Reynolds also has Allen making such a run this upcoming season that would earn him the league’s MVP award on the way to the Championship he predicts for Buffalo. 

Last year, the Bills fell to Kansas City in the 2020 AFC Championship Game, and just short of a Super Bowl berth. Similarly, Allen was the runner-up in MVP voting, coming in second to 2021 winner Aaron Rodgers.

The Bills will begin this year’s pursuit of a Lombardi Trophy next Sunday, September 12th in their season opener against Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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