Bills hold off Raiders as Allen ties team TD pass record

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen celebrates a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders in Las Vegas on Sunday. (Jonathan Bachman / The Associated Press)

BILLS 33 RAIDERS 30

LAS VEGAS — Jim Kelly set the standard for every Bills quarterback, but even the Hall of Famer likely wouldn’t have made the type of play Josh Allen pulled off Sunday.

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 equalled 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 fun 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 feels 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 Raiders defense that went the other way, leaving him alone to set up his go-ahead score.

“The last three weeks I’ve been building up confidence a bit more,” Cook 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 Tre’Davious White 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 Powers-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.

— The Associated Press