The Jacksonville Jaguars held on for a 25-20 win over the Buffalo Bills after a thrilling finale at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

A crowd of 61,273, a new record for an NFL game at Tottenham, then watched the defences get on top, preventing a score for 22 minutes at the start of the second half.

But each side then scored two touchdowns apiece in the last eight, with Travis Etienne running in both for the Jaguars to secure an upset over ‘home’ side Buffalo.

The Bills were playing just their second international game – and their first since losing 34-31 to the Jaguars in another thriller at Wembley in 2015.

And the Buffalo fans, known as the Bills Mafia, created a raucous atmosphere in the second of this year’s three NFL games in London.

“It was so loud in here – the intensity, the crowd – everyone was going crazy,” said Etienne.

“I was leaning into the huddle and I couldn’t hear what Trevor [Lawrence] was saying. That’s the first time that’s happened to me in my NFL career.”

Lawrence edges quarterback showdown

One of the draws of Sunday’s game was that it featured two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence and Buffalo’s Josh Allen.

After last week’s 48-20 win over early-season pacesetters Miami, Allen, 27, came in as the new favourite for this season’s NFL Most Valuable Player award.

But during the opening stages he was outshone by 24-year-old Lawrence, the number one pick in the 2021 draft, who claimed his first NFL win in another Tottenham thriller in 2021.

Despite the huge noise the Bills Mafia created each time Jacksonville were in possession, Lawrence steered the Jaguars to a fine start.

Zay Jones made a superb catch for the game’s opening score, with Etienne running in a two-point conversion, before Brandon McManus added a field goal to give the Jags an 11-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

After losing their season opener, the Bills won their next three, averaging 41 points per game, but they were forced to punt on their first four possessions at Tottenham.

Allen finally managed to get their offence going late in the second quarter, resulting in a 15-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs.

The Bills’ defence then stepped up, sacking Lawrence five times and recovering two fumbles, but the momentum swung back in Jacksonville’s favour as Darious Williams intercepted an Allen pass early in the fourth quarter.

Etienne got in from six yards before Allen found Gabe Davis with a 19-yard touchdown pass to cut the score to 18-13.

Etienne then scored after a 35-yard burst and although the Bills again hit straight back as Allen got in from three yards they were not able to engineer another scoring opportunity on their final possession.

Allen’s 41st career rushing touchdown puts him in third all-time for a QB, behind only Steve Young (43) and Cam Newton (75).