JAGUARS 18, BILLS 15

David Garrard's career - headed into Sunday - included just three come-from-behind wins in more than seven seasons as an NFL quarterback. But against Buffalo, Garrard engineered his second comeback in as many weeks to lead the Jaguars to an 18-15 victory and their first three-game winning streak in nearly two years. The Jags (6-4) are now tied for the lead for the AFC wild card and own the best conference record (5-2) among the teams in wild-card contention. "Everybody knows that any given play we can make it happen. We've done it in the past," Garrard said. "Guys understand that we get into [a] situation [of playing from behind late in the game] that it's not a loss. It's an opportunity to make the plays to get the win. When I walk into that huddle, you can see in everybody's eyes that [they're] focused, ready to roll." That confidence helped the Jags rally from a 15-10 deficit to start the fourth quarter with a 12-play, 68-yard drive, capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass from Garrard to Mike Sims-Walker. That assuredness also helped the team bounce back from a Garrard fumble that came close to snuffing out the comeback bid with 8:24 left to play. The defense, led by two Clint Ingram tackles and a John Henderson sack, forced a three-and-out on Buffalo's ensuing drive, which gave the Jags' offense another chance. The Jaguars took possession at their own 32. And led by Garrard, running back Maurice Jones-Drew and receivers Torry Holt and Mike Sims-Walker, the offense went to work. Garrard completed 5 of 6 for 66 yards, all to Holt and Sims-Walker. Lined up in the slot and running across the formation on a crossing route, Sims-Walker was actually Garrard's third read on the touchdown that gave the Jaguars a 16-15 lead with 56 seconds remaining. Garrard ran a quarterback draw up the middle for the two-point conversion. "You've got to be excited about making the plays you have to make at crunch time, having your quarterback lead you down," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "We're a resilient group. At this point, we don't have a roster full of Pro Bowl guys. We're just scratching and clawing, giving ourselves a chance." The Bills (3-7) helped give the Jaguars that chance. Penalties wiped out two Buffalo touchdowns (a 9-yard run by Fred Jackson in the first quarter, and a 53-yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Lee Evans in the fourth quarter). The Bills settled for a field goal that tied the score 3-3 in the first quarter after a chop-block penalty nullified Jackson's run. They punted four plays after the fourth-quarter touchdown. So the two penalties basically cost the Bills 11 points. The Jaguars' defense also forced three turnovers. The last was Anthony Smith's interception of Ryan Fitzpatrick's fourth-down pass with 26 seconds to go to preserve the victory. The first was a Sean Considine interception on the third play from scrimmage. It led to a Jose Scobee 29-yard field goal to open the scoring. The Bills responded with a pair of Rian Lindell field goals (26 and 28 yards) to take a 6-3 lead. Jones-Drew, who was limited to just 66 yards on 25 carries, had scored Jacksonville's lone touchdown (3-yard run) until Sims-Walker's game-winning catch. "They prepared well and they executed well. We just executed better at the end," Jones-Drew said. "They were doing a great job of adjusting to what we were doing." Lindell kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to narrow the gap to 10-9. The Bills opened the second half with the longest play in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium's history when Fitzpatrick hit Terrell Owens for a 98-yard touchdown on a fade route. Tyron Brackenridge, who started in place of injured cornerback Rashen Mathis, lined up over Owens, and Considine, who was lined up on Brackenridge's side, appeared to be creeping inside toward the line of scrimmage, anticipating a run. The safety on the other side - Reggie Nelson - was walking out toward Derek Cox's side to help out on Lee Evans. "We had a run play called and Ryan [Fitzpatrick] got out of it because of what the defense showed, and we made a big play out of it," said Owens, who finished the game with a season-high nine catches for 197 yards. The touchdown gave the Bills a 15-10 lead, which they took into the fourth quarter. That normally would be a big concern for the Jaguars , who were 9-41 under Del Rio when trailing after three quarters. "I let David [Garrard] do what he does," said Sims-Walker, who finished with eight catches for 91 yards. "I trust David 100 percent." Garrard passed for 113 yards in the fourth quarter to finish with 215 yards and an 87.5 rating. Even after seemingly fumbling away the game with 8:24 left, Garrard said he knew the Jaguars would recover if given another possession. "I've got to do a better job of just getting down, stop trying to be a tall Maurice Jones-Drew, and just be the quarterback I am," Garrard said. "They know if I have the time to sit back there and deliver the ball, it's gonna happen." The key now is for the Jags to not let success affect preparation for the upcoming schedule, which includes a trip to San Francisco this week, followed by three consecutive home games. "There's nothing to be overconfident about because we stumbled a bunch of times," said Jones-Drew. "We had breakdowns in our offense, we were dropping balls, [and] we weren't running efficiently. There are a lot of things we have to work on." But it appears the Jags have the comeback down pat. michael.wright@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4657 Follow him on Twitter @jagsreporter. WINNING STREAK The Jaguars have their first three-game winning streak since 2007. They won all three by 3 points or fewer: Date Opponent Score Comment Nov. 8 Kansas City 24-21 Late Chiefs rally makes it close. Nov. 15 at N.Y. Jets 24-22 Jones-Drew takes a knee instead of TD. Nov. 22 Buffalo 18-15 Game-winning drive in final minute again. j INTERACT Watch video of coach Jack Del Rio?s press conference after the game and view a photo gallery of all the action in and around the stadium. ultimatejaguars.com