ESPN’s John Clayton Feeling Optimistic About Tyrod Taylor

It was an extremely close game that came down to the final seconds. Ultimately, the Buffalo Bills held on for a 16-12 victory on the road.

Tyrod Taylor came out hot for the Buffalo Bills, going 5-5 in their opening drive that went 75 yards. That drive included an 18-yard pass to Reggie Bush, a 24-yard pass to Robert Woods and a 21-yard rush by LeSean McCoy.

It was capped off with a 7-yard TD run by McCoy, seen in the tweet below:

In the past three games, the Bills have opened the game with an impressive drive. In Week 9 vs. Seattle, they opened the game with an 80-yard drive that ended in a touchdown. In Week 8 vs. New England, they opened the game with a 70-yard drive that ended in a field goal.

They added to that streak with a 75-yard drive that ended in a touchdown.

However, the Bengals would respond with a nice, long drive of their own and score on a 2-yard rush by Andy Dalton. A missed extra point would give the Bills a 7-6 lead after the first quarter.

In the Bengals’ first drive of the second quarter, Andy Dalton was picked off by none other than Stephon Gilmore — who has had his fair share of struggles recently. The Bills would only turn it into a field goal, bringing their lead to 10-6.

In the pursuing drive, the Bengals would turn another long drive into a touchdown — this time a  one-yard TD pass to Tyler Boyd. However, their kicker would miss yet another extra point, leaving the game at 12-10 in favor of Cincinnati.

With three minutes left in the half, things got a little weird. The Bills were about to bring the ball into the red zone when Tyrod Taylor threw his fourth interception on the season. That play is shown below:

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/800422225660690432

It was a crucial play that could’ve given the Bills a lead going into halftime. Instead, they gave the Bengals another opportunity to score.

Luckily enough, nearly 40 seconds later Andy Dalton throws his second interception of the game — once again to Stephon Gilmore. It would spell the end of the half, with the Buffalo Bills trailing by 2.

Here’s  a look at Gilmore’s second INT:

The second half was dominated by the defense, who wouldn’t let the Bengals score one point the rest of the game. The Bills opened the second half with an 8-play, 32-yard drive that ended in a field goal, giving them a 13-12 lead.

Both teams would start to struggle on offense, until a little over 5 minutes were left in the third quarter when the Bills started to move the ball. They started the drive at their own 10-yard line and finally moved the ball into enemy territory off a 34-yard reception by Brandon Tate.

After pounding the ball up to the 2-yard line, the Bills were forced to settle for a field goal. They took a 16-12 lead with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Related Story: Grading the Bills' Offense Through Nine Games

Punts would spell the rest of the game with both teams combining for 6 punts in the final quarter. The Bengals would start to move the ball with a little over 2 minutes left in the game, desperate for a touchdown. They would bring the ball to the Bills’ 27-yard line, but would fail to score.

The Bills will enjoy their first Victory Monday in quite some time. They now sit at 5-5 on the season.

Let’s take a look at the final stats from the game and see how your favorite Bills’ players did vs. the Bengals.