Josh Allen's 9-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir gave the Bills a 13-7 lead over the Raiders with 7:13 left before halftime, per Pro Football Talk and Yahoo Sports. That lead did not last. Our box score has the game tied 23-23 with 8:07 left in the fourth quarter, and an official timeout was the last play logged.
The other major story is discipline. CBS Sports' Zachary Pereles reported that Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was ejected after spitting at Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, and that it was Gardner-Johnson's second career ejection. The feed summary gives no time for the ejection and no word on a penalty or a possible league discipline. Gardner-Johnson has 1 tackle in the box score and had 26 total tackles on the season coming in. Buffalo has been flagged 7 times for 55 yards, against 5 for 37 for Las Vegas. Bowers has 4 catches for 70 yards.
The highlight outlets are focused on a different touchdown. Yahoo Sports called Allen's touchdown flip "one of NFL's best plays of the year." Sportsnet described him evading multiple Raiders defenders in the pocket and then throwing underhand to Keon Coleman for a touchdown. The r/nfl highlight post is titled "Josh Allen flips it to Keon Coleman for 6." None of the summaries say when that play happened. The box score credits both receivers with a touchdown, Coleman on 3 catches for 44 yards and Shakir on 2 for 25. Allen has two touchdown passes, so the flip and the Shakir score appear to be separate plays. The summaries don't confirm that.
Allen is 18 of 27 for 191 yards with no interceptions and a 111.8 rating. He has been sacked twice. He has also rushed twice for 4 yards, and James Cook has 64 yards on 14 carries. Entering Sunday, Allen had thrown for 1,249 yards, 7 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in five games, and he had 8 rushing touchdowns. Buffalo's offense has produced 253 total yards to Las Vegas's 334, and the Raiders are 7 of 11 on third down. Kirk Cousins has 269 yards, one touchdown and one interception, which Dorian Williams made.
The result matters in the AFC standings. Buffalo came in 4-1, first in the AFC East, after a 37-34 win at the Rams on Oct. 12, and it lost 29-26 to New England on Oct. 4. Las Vegas was 3-2 and had lost two straight, 45-17 at New England and 30-27 to Kansas City.
Buffalo's next game is at home against Baltimore on Nov. 1. Las Vegas hosts the Rams on Oct. 25. Whether Gardner-Johnson's ejection brings further discipline is unreported so far.
Discussion