Bills flirt with disaster, Josh Allen helps pull out a huge comeback over Chargers

Josh Allen saved the Buffalo Bills from a long week. And maybe a long offseason.

The Bills found themselves in an unexpected predicament on Saturday night. They were expected to roll over the Los Angeles Chargers, who were coming off an embarrassing loss to the Las Vegas Raiders that led to the firing of head coach Brandon Staley. And Easton Stick was filling in for the injured Justin Herbert at quarterback. Instead, the Chargers led late in the fourth quarter.

The Bills had scratched and clawed to get back into the playoff hunt in recent weeks but were in danger of flushing it all away against the Chargers. But Allen came through with a go-ahead drive, making the one enormous play the Bills needed. Retreating from the rush on third-and-4, Allen threw off his back foot to Khalil Shakir. Shakir was touched down but still had a 15-yard gain to make a field goal almost automatic and took plenty of time off the clock.

Tyler Bass' field goal with 28 seconds left gave the Bills a 24-22 win that was a lot closer than anyone figured. There will be time to sort out whether it was just a letdown spot for the Bills or a sign that Buffalo might not be as good as some think, but the win is all that really matters. It keeps alive Buffalo's momentum for a playoff spot and a chance to win the AFC East.

It was not a pretty night for the Bills. Head coach Sean McDermott had to be feeling his seat getting hotter with every Chargers score. But Buffalo won. What a miserable plane ride home it would have been if it would have been an upset.

Chargers take early lead

It didn't take long into the game to realize the Bills were flat.

The Chargers forced a punt to start the game, then Stick came out and looked sharp. He hit some nice throws. The Chargers got a field goal on their first drive.

Then the Bills decided to make it worse. Punt returner Deonte Harty fumbled before he hit the ground, and the Chargers recovered at Buffalo's 27-yard line. Stick ran in for a 1-yard touchdown. The Bills trailed 10-0 to a Chargers team that lost 63-21 last week and fired their coach afterward.

Then Allen brought the Bills back to life. He scrambled and rolled right, and Gabriel Davis reacted, breaking off his short route to run deep. Allen hit him for a 57-yard touchdown and Buffalo was suddenly back in the game, trailing 10-7.

That woke the Bills up. Allen scored on a touchdown run with 38 seconds left in the half to take a 14-10 lead into halftime. Allen has a passing touchdown and rushing touchdown in 11 games this season, which is an NFL record, according to the Peacock broadcast. He finished the game 15-of-21 for 237 yards and one touchdown passing to go with two rushing TDs. The Chargers had to feel deflated to play as well as they did for the start of the first half, yet they still trailed.

But just when everyone thought the Bills were safe, Allen made a reckless throw.

Bills can't put Chargers away

Early in the second half, Allen tried a throw that few people can even dream of. He is one of those people, so it's understandable why he'd try. Allen was rolling right and saw Stefon Diggs running deep from right to left. Allen's throw came up short and Chargers safety Alohi Gilman picked it off.

That gave Los Angeles some momentum. The Chargers got a field goal to cut the lead to 14-13.

The Bills were clearly better than the Chargers but unable to put them away. The Bills scored on Allen's second rushing touchdown of the game, but the Chargers got a field goal and forced a punt from deep in Bills territory with less than 10 minutes left. The Chargers had a short drive and got another field goal. They trailed 21-19 and the game was far from over, even though the Bills were huge favorites.

Then the Bills had disaster strike. Gilman stripped running back James Cook. The Chargers recovered the fumble at the Bills' 32-yard line. The Chargers couldn't move the ball, and a sack made it hard on kicker Cameron Dicker, but Dicker hit a 53-yard attempt. The Chargers led 22-21 with 5:26 to go thanks largely to three Buffalo turnovers.

The Bills, who would have taken a huge hit to their playoff hopes with a loss, needed a clutch drive and got it. They picked up a few first downs and Allen hit Shakir for a big first down to the Chargers' 13-yard line ahead of the two-minute warning. The Bills were content to keep it on the ground, grinding down the clock and making the Chargers use timeouts before setting up a field-goal attempt. Bass hit it, but the Chargers still had 28 seconds left to get into field-goal range. Ed Oliver got a sack on the Chargers' first play of the ensuing drive and that cost the Chargers a shot to quickly move downfield. A lateral play as time ran out was unsuccessful and the Bills escaped with the victory.

The Bills came through when it mattered. The win wasn't pretty, but a loss would have been unspeakably ugly.