Week 14: Buccaneers 33, Bills 27, overtime
At Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
Plays of the game: Tom Brady hit Breshad Perriman with a short pass that turned into a 58-yard game-winning touchdown after a tremendous second-half Buffalo rally forced overtime. Tremaine Edmunds lost Perriman in coverage and trailed the whole way.
Josh Allen ran for more than 100 yards and scored three touchdowns, rallying the Bills from a 24-3 halftime deficit to tie the score at 27-27 on a Tyler Bass 25-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation.
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Allen rushed for one touchdown and threw two more scores, to Dawson Knox and Gabriel Davis, to close the deficit to 27-24 with about five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Don't miss Katherine Fitzgerald's quarter-by-quarter analysis of the Buffalo Bills' 33-27 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For the record: Bills 7-6; Buccaneers 10-3.
Tom Brady passed Drew Brees for the most completions in NFL regular season history with a 20-yard pass to Mike Evans late in the first half. Evans was pushed out of bounds at the 2. Moments later, Brady scored on a quarterback sneak to give the Bucs a 24-3 lead at halftime.
Leonard Fournette opened the scoring with a 47-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The Bills have allowed four rushes and three rushing touchdowns of at least 40 yards this season, both the most in the NFL, per ESPN Stats & Information.
Tampa had 18 first downs and 303 yards of offense at the break, but was largely stymied in the second half as the Bills rallied.
The Bills had alternated wins and losses the previous eight weeks, last winning consecutive games against Houston and Kansas City in October. Buffalo hadn’t lost two in a row since dropping games against Tennessee and Kansas City in Weeks 5 and 6 last season.
In the second half, the Bills held the Bucs to 110 yards, including just 44 on the ground. But the turnaround went for naught.
Stars of the game:
• Josh Allen: 36 of 54 for 308 yards, two TDs, INT; 109 rushing yards, TD on 12 carries.
• Tom Brady: 31 of 46 for 363 yards, two TD; 16 rushing yards, TD on seven carries.
• Leonard Fournette: 113 rushing yards, TD on 19 carries.
No first-half handoffs: Bills running backs did not receive a carry in the first half. Buffalo is the first team without a handoff in the first half since at least 2000, per ESPN Stats & Information.
Matt Breida became the team’s first running back with a carry on a fake punt early in the third quarter. He was tackled for a three-yard loss.
Later in the quarter, Devin Singletary ran for 29 yards on his first carry.
Allen rushing, passing TDs: Allen scored on an 18-yard touchdown run to cut the Bills’ deficit to 24-10 in the third quarter. He is the fifth quarterback in NFL history with at least four rushing touchdowns in four consecutive seasons, joining Cam Newton (eight seasons, 2011-18), Jack Kemp (four, 1963-66), Otto Graham (four, 1952-55) and Daunte Culpepper (four, 200-03).
Allen’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Dawson Knox in the fourth quarter marked the quarterback’s 20th career game with a rushing and passing touchdown, the second-most by an NFL QB in his first four seasons, behind Cam Newton (24).
Gabriel Davis caught a four-yard touchdown pass, his fourth of the season, in the fourth quarter.
Knox extends record: Knox's eighth touchdown catch of the season extended his franchise record for touchdown catches by a Bills tight end.
Sanders injured: Bills receiver Emmanuel Sanders was declared out with a knee injury at halftime. It is unclear when he was hurt.
Sanders had one catch for 25 yards. He was the team’s second-leading receiver at halftime.
Feliciano a backup: Jon Feliciano (calf) was activated from injured reserve but did not reclaim a starting role. The starting offensive line, from left: Dion Dawkins, Ike Boettger, Mitch Morse, Daryl Williams, Spencer Brown.
Inactives: The Bills’ healthy scratches included two second-round draft picks (guard Cody Ford and defensive end Boogie Basham) and a third-round pick (running back Zack Moss).
Other inactives included Damar Hamlin, Tommy Sweeney (hip), Vernon Butler and Star Lotulelei (toe).
Next up: Bills vs Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 19
