Cleveland, Ohio (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bills closed out the road portion of their regular season schedule, and only managed to inch by the Cleveland Browns, 23-20, on Sunday at Huntington Bank Field.
After receiving the opening kickoff, Shedeur Sanders and the Browns offense wasted no time going down the field to score, as he connected with tight end Harold Fannin Jr. on a 13-yard touchdown pass.
The Bills responded quickly on their first offensive drive, as running back James Cook weaved his way through defenders and found the end zone from 44 yards out.
Cleveland started to drive into Buffalo territory on its next drive, but the Bills came away with a turnover off a tip drill. After a Sanders pass was just a bit off the mark for running back Quinshon Judkins, the ball squirted up in the air for safety Jordan Poyer, who came down with the interception.
The Bills offense allowed the drive to trickle into the second quarter, where Buffalo was able to take its first lead of the game with a two-yard touchdown run from Ty Johnson. The Bills took a 13-7 lead after new kicker Michael Badgley missed his extra point attempt by striking the right upright.
The Browns managed to respond with another scoring drive, but were held to just a field goal by the Bills defense, a 24-yard field goal from kicker Andre Szmyt, to cut into the Bills lead, 13-10.
Allen and the offense managed to put together another scoring drive of their own on the next possession, and it came courtesy of Cook once again finding the end zone. This time, the Bills capped a seven-play drive spanning 68 yards with a three-yard touchdown run to put the Bills up 20-10.
With time running out in the first half, the Browns had a great opportunity to attempt a field goal as time was expiring to make it a one-score game, but punter Corey Bojorquez could not handle the snap and a kick never got off.
After going three-and-out offensivelu to start the second half, the Bills defense was able to force another turnover with another interception on a tip drill. This time, pass rusher Joey Bosa was able to get his hands on a pass attempt from Sanders that ended up in the hands of defensive tackle DaQuan Jones.
Despite being set up at the Browns' 25-yard line to start the drive, Buffalo was only able to move the ball a couple of yards, setting up a 41-yard field goal from Badgley to make it a 23-10 game with 9:37 still remaining in the third quarter.
The Browns still had some fight in them, though, as Sanders and the offense responded with a long 14-play drive that took 8:01 off the clock and resulted in a one-yard touchdown run from Fannin Jr.
As the clock bled into the fourth quarter, the Bills managed to get back into Cleveland territory, but failed to come away with any points. Instead, the Bills turned the ball over on downs after quarterback Josh Allen had missed on a couple of passes to Khalil Shakir and Tyrell Shavers.
That resulted in the Browns having the chance to recapture the lead with a touchdown, but the Buffalo defense stayed firm and forced a 41-yard field goal from Szmyt to make it a 23-20 game with 8:46 to go.
That ended up being the final scoring done by either team, as defense was the name of the game the rest of the way.
After stuffing the Browns on a fourth down, thanks to a Greg Rousseau sack, the Bills had the chance to put the game firmly out of reach with a touchdown. However, on a fourth-down pass to the end zone, tight end Dawson Knox could not complete the pass as he went to the ground, dropping the pass and turning it over back to Cleveland.
Then after pinning the Browns deep in their own territory and forcing a punt, the Bills finally killed off the remaining clock by picking up a first down and forcing Cleveland to burn its remaining timeouts in the process.
With the win, the Bills are now 11-4 on the season, and can clinch a playoff berth with some help, needing the San Francisco 49ers to beat the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night.
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SCORING RECAP
First Quarter:
- 7-0 CLEVELAND: Browns Touchdown (10:42) - Shedeur Sanders connects with Harold Fannin Jr. for a 13-yard touchdown pass. (Andre Szmyt's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 8 plays, 69 yards, 4:18
- 7-7 TIE: Bills Touchdown (7:47) - James Cook weaves his way through defenders and finds the end zone for a 44-yard touchdown run. (Michael Badgley's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 5 plays, 80 yards, 2:55
Second Quarter:
- 13-7 BUFFALO: Bills Touchdown (12:54) - Ty Johnson pounds his way into the end zone for a 2-yard rushing touchdown. (Michael Badgley's extra point attempt hits the right upright)
Drive info: 9 plays, 61 yards, 5:01
- 13-10 BUFFALO: Browns Field Goal (5:38) - Andre Szmyt's 24-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 13 plays, 65 yards, 7:16
- 20-10 BUFFALO: Bills Touchdown (2:23) - James Cook extends for a 3-yard touchdown run. (Michael Badgley's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 7 plays, 68 yards, 3:15
Third Quarter:
- 23-10 BUFFALO: Bills Field Goal (9:37) - Michael Badgley's 41-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 4 plays, 2 yards, 1:02
- 23-17 BUFFALO: Browns Touchdown (1:36) - Harold Fannin Jr. barrels his way into the end zone for a 1-yard rushing touchdown. (Andre Szmyt's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 14 plays, 67 yards, 8:01
Fourth Quarter:
- 23-20 BUFFALO: Browns Field Goal (8:46) - Andre Szmyt's 41-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 8 plays, 43 yards, 4:44
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SKYWORKDS EQUIPMENT RENTAL STATS OF THE GAME:
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What's next:
The Bills return home for the final two games of the regular season, starting next Sunday against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at Highmark Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 4:25 p.m. on the official voice of the Bills - WGR Sports Radio 550.