It took nearly all 60 minutes, but the Buffalo Bills got an early Christmas present Saturday Night, beating the Los Angeles Chargers 24-22 in SoFi Stadium.
With just under 30 seconds remaining, Tyler Bass hit a 29-yard field goal to give the Bills the win they needed to stay in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs. Ed Oliver put the exclamation point on the victory, sacking Easton Stick for the second time of the night to put pressure on the Chargers offense as the clock ticked down.
Josh Allen finished with 237 passing yards, a passing touchdown and an interception, adding 15 yards and two scores on the ground. In the process, he recorded his 11th game with both a passing and rushing touchdown to extend the NFL single-season record he set last week against the Dallas Cowboys.
Taylor Rapp led the defense with 9 total tackles and the front four – along with cornerback Rasul Douglas – accounted for three total sacks.
After two stalled drives to start the game, the Bills found themselves down 10 early in the second quarter. A Deonte Harty fumble on a punt return set the Chargers up for a short touchdown drive after they kicked a field goal on their opening drive.
In the second quarter, the Buffalo defense forced the Chargers to go three-and-out and the offense took advantage, taking a lead they would not yield for the remainder of the game. It took the Bills just one play to get in the end zone, as Allen dropped back, rolled to the right and hit Gabe Davis in perfect stride for a 57-yard touchdown.
Davis, who had failed to record a reception in the Bills' previous two games, had a big night, recording four catches for 130 yards and a touchdown, including a deep ball that set up Buffalo's third touchdown of the night and allowed the Bills to pull away with the win.
Running back Leonard Fournette got his first carry as a Buffalo Bill, running up the middle for a 3-yard gain. The former LSU Tiger finished the night with five carries for 15 yards after being activated for the first time since the Bills signed him to the practice squad.
Key mistakes cost the Bills throughout the game, but they did enough at the end to escape with the win.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, Cook fumbled on the Bills 31-yard line to put the Chargers in scoring position down just two points.
Before Harty fumbled in the first quarter, Christian Benford had an interception deep in Chargers territory but was called for defensive holding, which negated the turnover.
Allen's interception led to a successful field goal from L.A., cutting Buffalo's lead to just a point in the middle of the third quarter.
On the following drive, defensive tackle Poona Ford's first sack of the season came at an opportune time, forcing the Chargers to settle for a field goal after they drove down to the Buffalo 16-yard line. Buffalo answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive capped off by Allen's second touchdown of the game to create more breathing room for the Bills.
Penalties killed positive plays throughout the game. Early in the fourth quarter, consecutive calls against Spencer Brown and Mitch Morse negated what would have been first down plays. Instead of progressing towards the Chargers end zone, the Bills found themselves backing up towards their own.
On third-and-23, Allen was sacked for the first time of the night to force their fourth punt, giving the Chargers back the ball with a chance to take the lead. Yet another penalty forced Sam Martin to punt from the back of the Bills end zone.
Martin bailed out the offensive penalty problems by booming a 58-yard punt. The punter helped the Bills control the field for much of the game, pinning the Chargers inside their own 10-yard line twice and inside their 15 once out of his four punts.
The Bills improve to 9-6 on the season and are currently sixth in the AFC ahead of a full slate of key games among the rest of the conference on Sunday.
Key stats and facts to know:
- Josh Allen's second half rushing touchdown was the quarterback's 50th in his six-year career. Allen trails O.J. Simpson for the second-most in team history
- His touchdown pass gave him 27 on the season, the fifth-most in a single season by a Bills quarterback
- Allen's three total touchdowns made him the first ever player in NFL history to record 40+ total touchdowns in four consecutive seasons. He also extended his streak of games with two or more offensive touchdowns to 14 straight games
- Stefon Diggs' five receptions surpassed Eric Moulds and Peerless Price for the fourth-most catches by a Bill in a single season
- With 70 rushing yards, James Cook reached over 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career. Cook is the first Bill with 1,000 or more rushing yards in a single season since LeSean McCoy in 2017
- Ed Oliver's pair of fourth quarter sacks extended his career season-high to 8.5 sacks
SCORING PLAYS
6:32 1Q | BUF 0 LAC 3 | Cameron Dicker 20-yard field goal is GOOD
13:49 2Q | BUF 0 LAC 10 | Easton Stick run right for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN
9:02 2Q | BUF 7 LAC 10 | Josh Allen pass deep right to Gabe Davis for 57 yards, TOUCHDOWN
0:38 2Q | BUF 14 LAC 10 | Josh Allen run short right for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN
7:22 3Q | BUF 14 LAC 13 | Cameron Dicker 40-yard field goal is GOOD
1:28 3Q | BUF 21 LAC 13 | Josh Allen run up the middle for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN
12:36 4Q | BUF 21 LAC 16 | Cameron Dicker 47-yard field goal is GOOD
7:19 4Q | BUF 21 LAC 19 | Cameron Dicker 45-yard field goal is GOOD
5:26 4Q | BUF 21 LAC 22 | Cameron Dicker 53-yard field goal is GOOD
0:28 4Q | BUF 24 LAC 22 | Tyler Bass 29-yard field goal is GOOD
