Josh Allen ties Jim Kelly's Bills TD pass record as Buffalo holds off Raiders 33-30
Allen passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns, using his improvisational brilliance to tie Kelly's franchise record for TD passes, and Buffalo held off the Las Vegas Raiders 33-30 on Sunday.
The Raiders (3-3), who have lost three in a row, rallied late to tie it at 23-all. James Cook rushed for a 3-yard touchdown with 4:43 left to put the Bills (5-1) ahead for good. Tyler Bass added a 38-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining for what turned out to be a crucial two-possession lead.
Allen equaled Kelly's franchise record of 258 TD passes in the third quarter, escaping almost a sure sack by shot-putting a 12-yard pass to Keon Coleman. Bills fans, who accounted for well more than half the crowd at Allegiant Stadium, chanted “M-V-P!”
“The last two weeks, the amount of fans we've had in both stadiums is pretty remarkable,” Allen said, referencing the friendly crowd at SoFi Stadium in a win over the Rams. “It feeds us, and we play better when we feel that energy and feel that juice.”
As for the toss to Coleman, Allen said he was “just doing what I got to do to help this team win a football game.”
Bills coach Joe Brady joked that “it was a great play call.”
“That's who he is,” Brady said. “I thought he was outstanding today.”
Allen's five-game streak of games with a rushing touchdown ended, one short of the Super Bowl-era record set four years ago by Chicago's Justin Fields.
Cook, making extra certain to secure the ball after fumbling twice Monday night against the Rams and losing one in overtime, was mistake-free in rushing for 95 yards. He also caught three passes for 58 yards, including a 26-yarder against a Raiders defense that went the other way, leaving him alone to set up his go-ahead score.
“They asked me in the (CBS) production (meeting) last night, ‘What are you going to do with James Cook?’ I was like, ‘Hand him the football,’” Brady said. “I didn't get to stand right here without James, and it's the confidence I have in him in not making it anything bigger than what it needs to be. I trust that he's going to correct it and clean it up, and he was outstanding today.”
The Bills had their first game without a turnover after committing nine over the previous three weeks.
Cousins has good numbers but Raiders struggle in red zone
Kirk Cousins threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns to Tre Tucker for the Raiders. The latter was a gorgeous 44-yarder with 1:32 left that brought Las Vegas within three points. Tucker finished with five catches for 97 yards.
Michael Mayer caught seven passes for a career-high 95 yards for Las Vegas, and fellow tight end Brock Bowers hauled in four receptions for 70 yards.
The Raiders had opportunities to put even more pressure on one of the league's best teams, but they scored touchdowns on two of five trips to the red zone.
“That’s unacceptable,” coach Klint Kubiak said. “And that starts with me.”
A critical missed chance for Las Vegas came early in the fourth quarter, when it had second-and-goal at the Bills 1-yard line while trailing by 10 points.
Ashton Jeanty was stuffed for a 3-yard loss when defensive lineman Greg Gaines blasted through the line of scrimmage. Then, Bills cornerback Davison Igbinosun broke up Cousins' third-down pass in the end zone to force a field goal.
“We got to come away with those four-point plays and get the touchdown,” Cousins said.
The Bills appeared to be in firm control when they took a 23-13 lead on Allen's sensational pass to Coleman, but the Raiders tied it on Cousins' 11-yard pass to Tucker with 8:07 left.
Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who is playing for his sixth team in six seasons, was ejected late in the first half after spitting at a Raiders player.
Las Vegas had just picked up a first down on a defensive holding call, and the unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on Gardner-Johnson advanced the ball to Buffalo's 14-yard line. That helped set up Matt Gay's 27-yard field goal as time expired to make it 13-13.
Injuries
Bills: WR DJ Moore (shoulder) and DL Ed Oliver (knee) did not play for the second week in a row. OLB Bradley Chubb (ribs) went out briefly in the second quarter before returning. TE Dalton Kincaid (ribs), playing in his hometown on his 27th birthday, was injured in the third quarter but returned.
Up next
Bills: After a bye, host Baltimore on Nov. 1.
Raiders: Host the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday.
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