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The Buffalo Bills gave the Los Angeles Chargers an early Christmas present on Saturday night, defeating them 24–22 in SoFi Stadium, even though it took nearly 60 minutes.
Tyler Bass' 29-yard field goal with less than 30 seconds left gave the Bills the victory they needed to keep themselves in the running for a postseason berth. As the clock ran out, Ed Oliver put the icing on the cake by sacking Easton Stick for the second time in the game to pressure the Charger's offence.
Josh Allen finished with two touchdowns and two yards gained on the ground, in addition to 237 throwing yards, a passing touchdown, and an interception. He recorded his 11th game with both a passing and running touchdown. Touchdown to surpass the single-season NFL record he established against the Dallas Cowboys last week.
Taylor Rapp led the defence with nine tackles, and the front four, including cornerback Rasul Douglas, totalled three sacks.
The Bills trailed by ten points early in the second quarter, following two unsuccessful drives to begin the game. After the Chargers kicked a field goal on their opening drive, they were set up for a brief scoring drive by a Deonte Harty fumble on a punt return.
The Buffalo offence took advantage of the Chargers being forced to go three and out in the second quarter, and they would not give up the lead for the rest of the game. The Bills needed just one play to enter. Allen rolled to his right, hit Gabe Davis in perfect stride, and scored a 57-yard touchdown as he fell back toward the end zone.
After two games in which he had not registered a reception, Davis had a huge night for the Bills, recording four receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown, including a long pass that set up Buffalo's third touchdown and helped the Bills secure the victory.
On his debut carry as a Buffalo Bill, running back Leonard Fournette went up the middle and gained three yards. Activated for the first time since the Bills signed him to the practice squad, the former LSU Tiger concluded the evening with five touches for fifteen yards.
Throughout the game, the Bills suffered from critical errors, but they ultimately managed to win.
The Chargers were down just two points when Cook fumbled on the Bills' 31-yard line in the fourth quarter, putting them in scoring position.
Christian Benford had an interception deep in Chargers territory before Harty's fumble in the first quarter, but a defensive holding call nullified the play.
Allen's deception resulted in an injury. In the middle of the third quarter, Buffalo's lead was reduced to just one point thanks to a good field goal from L.A.
The Chargers went down to the Buffalo 16-yard line on the next drive but were forced to settle for a field goal when defensive tackle Poona Ford made his first sack of the season at a critical moment. To give the Bills extra breathing room, Buffalo responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive that was highlighted by Allen's second score of the game.
Penalties eliminated positive plays during the game. What would have been first-down sports were nullified early in the fourth quarter by consecutive calls against Spencer Brown and Mitch Morse. The Bills backed into their end zone rather than heading towards the Chargers' end zone.
The Chargers forced their fourth punt on third-and-23 after Allen was sacked for the first time, giving them the ball back and an opportunity to reclaim the lead. Sam Martin was forced to punt from the back of the Bills end zone due to yet another infraction.
Martin's impressive 58-yard punt helped to solve the offensive penalty issues. The punter, who twice pinned the Chargers inside their 10-yard line, allowed the Bills to dominate the field for a large portion of the contest. And on one of his four punts, it was inside their 15.
With a full schedule of crucial games against the rest of the league on Sunday, the Bills advance to 9-6 on the season and sixth in the AFC.
