The Bills opened up an 11-point lead early in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers, but it’s gone away.
Jameis Winston hit a wide-open O.J. Howard for a 33-yard touchdown down the left sideline with just over 10 minutes left to play in the game and Patrick Murray’s extra point tied the game at 20. It was the second time that Winston and Howard hooked up for a score in the second half -- they had a seven-yarder in the third quarter -- as Tampa has overcome a pair of first-half turnovers to put themselves right back into the game.
The Bills opened the third quarter with a Tyrod Taylor touchdown pass to tight end Logan Thomas, who preceded Taylor as a starting quarterback at Virginia Tech before getting converted to his new position last year. Taylor’s passes have been a mixed lot as a handful of big plays to Nick O’Leary and Deonte Thompson have accounted for most of the yards on a day that’s seen a lot of misfires that could have kept drives alive.
The worst pass of the day might have been a completion as a two-yarder to Jordan Matthews led to the clock running out without a field goal try at the end of the first half. Those lost points loom large in the final stages of this one.
