Much-maligned running back Chris Johnson continued his resurgence with 153 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns as the Tennessee Titans posted a 23-17 victory over the host Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Johnson, who broke out of a season-long slump with 190 yards rushing a week ago, scored on runs of 48 and 4 yards as Tennessee (7-5) won its second straight game to stay alive in the AFC playoff picture.
Buffalo took a 7-3 lead in the first quarter on a wild play. C.J. Spiller raced to the Tennessee 5-yard line for 30 yards and then fumbled the ball into the end zone. On replay, officials ruled that Spiller recovered the ball in the end zone for the touchdown.
But the lead was short-lived as Johnson scored on a 48-yard run four plays later to give the Titans a 10-7 lead.
Rob Bironas booted three field goals and the Bills (5-7) lost their fifth straight game and appear headed to miss the playoffs for the 12th straight year.
The Bills trimmed a 23-10 deficit to 23-17 with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Stevie Johnson. The Bills got the ball back with just over a minute to play but didn’t threaten.
Fitzpatrick finished with 288 yards by completing 29 of 46 attempts. Spiller rushed for 83 yards on 14 carries.
Tennessee | Buffalo | |
Chris Johnson | Player | C.J. Spiller |
23 | Attempts | 14 |
153 | Yards | 83 |
6.6 | Avg Yards | 5.9 |
2 | Touchdowns | 1 |
48 | Long | 35 |
Tennessee | Buffalo | |
Damian Williams | Player | Brad Smith |
4 | Receptions | 7 |
62 | Yards | 72 |
15.5 | Avg Yards | 10.3 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
18 | Long | 29 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
Tennessee | 317 | 187 | 130 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | 3 |
Buffalo | 386 | 104 | 282 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 |