JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars thought the bad times were behind them. The Buffalo Bills taught them that things can always get worse.
Rob Johnson guided the Bills into scoring position, and Jake Arians made a 46-yard field goal with 1:03 left Thursday night to put Buffalo in the win column with a 13-10 victory over sinking Jacksonville.
"How mindboggling is it for me?" Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said. "I don't know how to describe it. It's a low point for me personally, professionally and every other way."
Bills coach Gregg Williams felt quite the opposite. He earned his first victory as a head coach and got the game ball, in part because he gave Arians a chance at the game-winner on fourth-and-inches, even though the kicker missed from 41 and 39 yards.
"Jake came back," Williams said. "We talked about it at halftime. I said, 'Jake, you're going to win this ballgame for us."'
Three plays after Arians' kick, Travares Tillman intercepted a pass that bounded off Stacey Mack's hands, and the Bills (1-4) found themselves on the winning side for the first time this year.
"Unbelievable," Johnson said. "It's been six weeks and we finally got a win. It was a team win. The first one is always the toughest."
Mark Brunell threw for 150 yards and was showered with boos by Jaguars fans, who watched Jacksonville (2-3) lose for the third straight time and take part in an inept display nobody could have expected from a team with so much supposed talent.
"The bad part about it is that games we should win, we're just giving them away," Jaguars receiver Jimmy Smith said.
They needn't worry about that for a while. After dropping "winnable" games to Cleveland, Seattle and Buffalo, Jacksonville's next two games are at Baltimore and Tennessee — a pair most people expect them to lose.
Unlike the Jaguars, who were thinking Super Bowl, the Bills didn't expect much this season. They took their salary cap lumps in the offseason, trying to shape things up for the future.
Midway through the third quarter, Johnson hit Eric Moulds for a 27-yard touchdown pass and a 10-7 lead.
Johnson, who backed up Brunell in Jacksonville before being traded to the Bills in 1998, finished 23-of-30 for 238 yards. He improved to 9-14 as Buffalo's starter.
Johnson also got a mental boost as the Bills prepare for next Sunday's game against San Diego and the quarterback the Bills' fans love, Doug Flutie.
"He grew up and became a top-notch quarterback," Larry Centers said of Johnson. "I don't want to give him too much credit because I want him to continue to improve, but in my opinion, he did an excellent job."
Trailing 10-7 early in the fourth quarter, Jacksonville kicker Mike Hollis lined up for a 27-yard field goal, but never got a chance to kick it because snapper Joe Zelenka sent the ball flying over holder Chris Hanson's head.
A few minutes later, Jacksonville regained field position after a bad Buffalo punt went out at the Bills 29. The Jaguars managed only 6 yards and had to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Hollis and a 10-10 tie with 3:54 left.
From there, Johnson led the Bills on a 10-play drive, making liberal use of Centers to set up the winning score.
Brunell was 16-of-26 with two interceptions and a 20-yard TD pass to Kyle Brady. For the second straight game since his concussion, Brunell looked tentative.
Buffalo came into the game with five sacks, but added four more against Brunell. The Bills were allowing an average of 32 points a game, but Jacksonville — playing without Fred Taylor and Tony Boselli — mustered just a single touchdown for the third time in its last four games.