Bills escape on late rally to reach 3-0 after blowing 25-point lead against Los Angeles Rams./
Allen hits Kroft for winning score with 15 seconds left
Josh Allen might get the credit for saving the Buffalo Bills from a monumental second-half meltdown. The third-year starter was more upset that he helped put the team in that position to begin with.
Two second-half turnovers led to the Los Angeles Rams rallying from a 25-point deficit, but Allen bailed the Bills out by completing a 3-yard pass to tight end Tyler Kroft with 15 seconds remaining to secure a 35-32 win on Sunday.
“Yeah, probably just got too relaxed and that ’s on me,” said Allen, whose five-touchdown outing (including one rushing ) was clouded by two turnovers that led to Rams TDS.
“I’ve got to be better for our team and our offense,” he added.
“I can’t throw an interception, and I can’t fumble the ball, and then lose my cool like that,” he said, referring to a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that nearly ended Buffalo’s final drive. “But we bounced back. Proud of our guys.”
The game appeared to be a blowout once Allen hit Stefon Diggs for a 4-yard pass to put Buffalo up 28-3 with 8:05 left in the third. It ended up being a nail-biter.
Jared Goff led the Rams to score on four straight drives, and L.A. took the lead on Darell Henderson’s 1-yard run with 4:30 left.
Allen responded by marching the Bills on a 11-play, 75-yard drive. He hit Cole Beasley for 16 yards on third-and-25, and then got help from a pass-interference penalty against Darious Williams on fourth-and-7.
One play later, Allen had time to drop back and wait for Kroft to cut across the middle. Watching as Kroft got a step past linebacker Micah Kiser, Allen lofted a pass, which the tight end reached up and caught before tumbling to the ground for his second TD of the game.
Buffalo has won its first three games in consecutive seasons, the first time the franchise has done that since 1991-92 and the third time overall.
The Rams (2-1) failed to match what would’ve been the third-largest comeback in NFL reg ular-season history. They blamed themselves for digging such a deep hole. But they also were unhappy with the officials for the call against Williams.
“We were just one step away, and unfortunately in this leag ue that ’s not good enough,” safety John Johnson said.