Bills vs. Jaguars 2013: E.J. Manuel leads Buffalo to victory

E.J. Manuel overcame early struggles to lead the Bills to a victory over a Jaguars team that struggled with turnovers.

The Buffalo Bills beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday to improve to 5-9 on the season, but had it not been for several key turnovers, it may have been the Jaguars that pulled the upset. The Jaguars finished the day with four turnovers and Alfie Crow of SB Nation's Jaguars blog, Big Cat Country, said that the story could have been much different if the team was able to continue its streak of winning the turnover margin.

It felt like a game that the Jaguars let slip away. Not to discredit anything that the Bills did at EverBank Field, as they capitalized and forced mistakes, but it was a game that could have just as easily been a Jaguars victory if not for four turnovers.

Brian Galliford of SB Nation's Bills blog, Buffalo Rumblings, also mentioned the turnovers forced by the road team, but he gave a lot of credit to rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel for the victory.

Manuel threw an interception in that stretch, but responded with a big second quarter, hitting Robert Woods for a seven-yard touchdown and running one in from eight yards out on a quarterback keeper to help the Bills open up a 20-10 halftime lead.
Bolstered by a running game that re-discovered its legs against one of the league's worst run defenses - Buffalo ran for 198 yards on the day - Manuel utilized the play-action pass deftly throughout the afternoon.

After a 13-yard touchdown pass from Chad Henne to tight end Marcedes Lewis tied the game at 20-20, Manuel led the Bills on nine-play, 80-yard drive that finished with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Frank Summers.

The Jaguars will play a third straight home game in Week 16 when they host the Tennessee Titans, while the Bills will also have a home game against the Miami Dolphins.