Bills 33, Raiders 30: Buffalo escapes Las Vegas after a late scare
Buffalo scored 20 second-half points and held on when Kirk Cousins' 44-yard touchdown to Tre Tucker cut a 10-point lead to three with 92 seconds left.
The Buffalo Bills beat the Las Vegas Raiders 33-30 at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, moving to 5-1, but they needed a recovered onside kick to finish it. The Raiders fell to 3-3.
A second-half push
Buffalo gained 345 total yards, 169 of them in the second half, and scored 20 points after the break, according to Yahoo Sports. Josh Allen finished 23-of-33 for 255 yards and two touchdowns. One was a 12-yard shovel-style pass to Keon Coleman in the third quarter that made it 23-13 with 6:22 left in the period, per Field Level Media.
Las Vegas answered. Matt Gay kicked a 23-yard field goal to end a 15-play drive, and Cousins then found Tucker from 11 yards out to tie the game at 23 with 8:07 remaining, Field Level Media reported.
The go-ahead drive
Buffalo's response was a 66-yard, seven-play drive finished by James Cook's 3-yard touchdown run, putting the Bills up 30-23 with 4:43 left. Tyler Bass added a 38-yard field goal with 1:56 to play to make it 33-23. Cook finished with 95 rushing yards, Field Level Media reported.
A late charge
Cousins did not go quietly. He hit Tucker for a 44-yard touchdown with 1:32 left, a diving score that cut the deficit to 33-30. Gay's onside kick attempt was a drop kick that travelled too far, and Khalil Shakir caught it in the air, Yahoo reported, ending the Raiders' chance to get the ball back. Yahoo noted the Raiders have not recovered an onside kick since 2017.
Cousins finished 23-of-41 for 313 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Tucker had five catches for 97 yards and both touchdowns. Michael Mayer caught seven passes for 95 yards. Ashton Jeanty scored his first rushing touchdown of the season, Field Level Media said, a first-quarter score.
By the numbers
The Fox Sports box score shows Las Vegas out-gained Buffalo 378 yards to 345, and passed for 313 yards to the Bills' 242, while Buffalo ran for 103 to the Raiders' 65 and won the turnover battle 0-1. Time of possession was 31:48 to 28:12 in Buffalo's favour.
One incident worth noting: Bills defender C.J. Gardner-Johnson was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct with 15 seconds left in the first half, per Field Level Media.
What it means
The result keeps Buffalo ahead of the pack at 5-1 and shows it can win without dominating the stat sheet. For Las Vegas, the passing offence produced 313 yards and two late touchdowns, but a slow start to the second half and the failed onside kick left it a score short.