LAS VEGAS (AP) Jim Kelly set the standard for every Buffalo Bills quarterback, but even the Hall of Famer probably wouldn’t have made the type of play Josh Allen made on Sunday.
Allen passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns, using his improvisational skills to tie Kelly’s franchise record for touchdown passes, and Buffalo held off the Las Vegas Raiders 33-30 on Sunday.
The Raiders (3-3), who have lost three straight games, rallied late to tie it at 23. James Cook rushed for a 3-yard touchdown with 4:43 left to give the Bills (5-1) the lead for good. Tyler Bass added a 38-yard field goal with 1:56 left for what proved to be a crucial two-possession lead.
Allen tied Kelly’s franchise record of 258 touchdown passes in the third quarter, escaping a near-sure sack by throwing a 12-yard pass to Keon Coleman. Bills fans, who made up well more than half the crowd at Allegiant Stadium, chanted “MVP!”
“Over the last two weeks, it’s pretty remarkable the number of fans we’ve had at both stadiums,” Allen said, referring to the friendly crowd at SoFi Stadium during a win over the Rams. “It feeds us and we play better when we feel that energy and juice.”
As for the draw against Coleman, Allen said he was “just doing what I needed 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 with a rushing touchdown ended, one short of the Super Bowl era record set four years ago by Chicago’s Justin Fields.
Cook, especially careful to secure the ball after fumbling twice Monday night against the Rams and losing one in overtime, made no mistake in running 95 yards. He also caught three passes for 58 yards, including a 26-yarder against a Raiders defense going the other way, leaving him alone to set up his go-ahead score.
“They asked me last night at the (CBS) production (meeting), ‘What are you going to do with James Cook?’ I was like, ‘Give him the football,'” Brady said. “I couldn’t be here without James, and that’s the trust I have in him to not make something bigger than what it should be. I have confidence that he will correct it and clean it up, and he was outstanding today.”
The Bills had their first game without a turnover after committing nine in the previous three weeks.
Kirk Cousins threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns to Tre Tucker for the Raiders. The latter was a magnificent 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 compatriot Brock Bowers had four receptions for 70 yards.
The Raiders had an opportunity 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.
“This is unacceptable,” said coach Klint Kubiak. “And it starts with me.”
A critical missed opportunity for Las Vegas came early in the fourth quarter, when it scored second-and-goal from the Bills’ one-yard line while trailing by 10 points.
Ashton Jeanty was stuffed for a 3-yard loss when defensive lineman Greg Gaines crossed 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 have 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 CJ Gardner-Johnson, playing for his sixth team in six seasons, was ejected late in the first half after spitting on a Raiders player.
Las Vegas had just picked up a first down on a defensive call, and the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Gardner-Johnson advanced the ball to the Buffalo 14-yard line. That helped set up Matt Gay’s 27-yard field goal as time expired to make the score 13-13.
Bills: WR DJ Moore (shoulder) and DL Ed Oliver (knee) did not play for the second straight week. 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.
Bills: After a bye, host Baltimore on November 1.
Raiders: Host the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday.
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