The Sports Xchange
Dec 18, 2016
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- LeSean McCoy rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns and the Buffalo Bills kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 33-13 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at New Era Field.
The Browns lost their 17th straight game dating back to last season and became the fourth team in NFL history to start 0-14.
Embattled quarterback Tyrod Taylor was 17 of 24 passing for 174 yards for the Bills (7-7). Tight end Charles Clay had his best game of the season with seven receptions for 72 yards and touchdown.
Taylor also ran for 49 yards, Mike Gillislee gained 37 yards and scored a touchdown, and the NFL's top rushing attack rolled up 275 yards. Buffalo's three rushing touchdowns brought its season total to 27, a franchise record.
McCoy's rushing total was his highest in two seasons with the Bills and put him over 1,000 yards for the fifth time in his career.
Robert Griffin III couldn't ignite the Browns' offense in his second start after missing 11 games with a broken bone in his left shoulder. Griffin completed 17 of 28 passes for 196 yards and was the Browns' leading rusher with 48 yards and a touchdown.
McCoy scored on a 3-yard run midway through the third quarter and an 8-yard run early in the fourth to give the Bills a 30-13 lead. Dan Carpenter added a 34-yard field goal later in the fourth.
Griffin brought the Browns within a touchdown on their first drive of the second half when he lunged across the goal line at the end of an 18-yard scramble.
Taylor led a 91-yard drive that spanned half of the second quarter and connected with Charles Clay for a 19-yard touchdown that gave the Bills a 17-3 lead heading into halftime.
The Bills rushed for 97 yards on their first two drives and went ahead 10-3 on Gillislee's 3-yard run at the end of the first quarter.
Both teams settled for a field goal after reaching first-and-goal at the 5 in the first quarter. McCoy ran for 44 yards on his first two carries to set up Carpenter's 21-yard kick. Cody Parkey tied the game with a 35-yard field goal. Parkey also hit from 40 yards out in the third quarter.
NOTES: Buffalo won its 400th regular season game ... The Browns have not led at any point in their last four losses. ... Taylor moved past Jim Kelly for the second-most rushing yards by a quarterback in franchise history on a 28-yard run that led to McCoy's first touchdown. Taylor has rushed for 1,088 yards in 28 games with the Bills. ... Carpenter missed his fifth extra point of the season. ... Bills LT Cordy Glenn (back) did not play.