Game Recap

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Bills 24, Bucs 18 | Game recap, highlights and stats to know

Oct 27, 2023 at 12:54 AM

Patrick Warren

Contributing Correspondent

Josh Allen remains unbeaten on Thursday Night Football, as the quarterback led the Buffalo Bills to a 24-18 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Allen completed 78 percent of his passes on his way to 324 passing yards and two touchdowns. He threw an interception after his pass was tipped shortly after the release.

In addition to his work in the air, Allen tallied 41 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on seven carries. Allen was quick to use his feet when he had to, sliding when necessary to avoid contact.

Rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid was the only active tight end on the game day roster as Dawson Knox and Quintin Morris both recover from injuries. Kincaid finished with five receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown, the first of his career.

Late in the second quarter, Allen took the snap at the Tampa Bay 22-yard line and rolled right, finding Kincaid who sped past his defender to the end zone. Holding on to the ball that will likely have a place on Kincaid's mantle, the 24-year-old outstretched his arms before leaping into the stands to celebrate his first score as a pro.

In the three games before Thursday night, the Bills offense scored a combined 10 points in the first halves. Thursday, they scored 17. A week after missing two field goal attempts, Tyler Bass drilled a 37-yarder to put Buffalo in the lead after their first drive. Buffalo never trailed after that score.

The Bills defense and special teams units were effective in containing Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers offense in the first half. After making their way into Buffalo territory in their second drive of the game, defensive end Shaq Lawson tipped Chase McLauglin's field goal attempt to keep the Bucs off the scoreboard.

After not finding the end zone in the first quarter, the Bills offense got hot in the second quarter. In the red zone, Allen had a big hole open up from the Tampa Bay 13-yard line and the QB decided to keep it himself for a TD run. It marked his fifth rushing TD of the year.

As Mayfield began to heat up for the Bucs, he found receiver Chris Godwin for a big gain to set up a 57-yard field goal, which McLaughlin was able to knock through the posts for Tampa Bay's first points of the game to make it 10-3.

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After Allen's interception, Mayfield took just two plays before throwing a touchdown pass to Godwin, who made an impressive catch to tie the game before Kincaid's touchdown gave Buffalo the lead back at halftime.

Allen went right back to Kincaid to begin the third quarter, finding him for an 18-yard gain on the offenses' first play. Allen led an efficient 9-play drive that ended in a quick pass to Gabe Davis for a touchdown that would be their last of the day.

Six consecutive punts followed, with each team struggling to put together scoring drives. Bills punter Sam Martin landed three of his four punts inside the 10-yard line, with two of them downed within the 5-yard line.

His final punt bounced up and Cam Lewis made a nice play in an attempt to down the ball, but it rolled into the end zone for a touchback.

Tampa Bay threatened Buffalo's lead late in the game after a long drive ended in a touchdown catch from Mike Evans and a successful two-point conversion. After Buffalo was forced to punt, Mayfield drove the Bucs to their own 45-yard line, where they attempted a Hail Mary.

As a cluster of Bills defenders and Bucs receivers leapt for the ball, it fell onto the blue turf of the Bills end zone and the game was over.

The Bills improve to 5-3 on the season, and will travel to Cincinnati next Sunday where they will face the Bengals at 8:20 p.m.

Key Stats and Facts to Know:

With his 3 total touchdowns in Thursday's win, Josh Allen is now tied with quarterback Dan Marino for the second-most touchdowns in a player's first six seasons with 199. Only Patrick Mahomes (204) has more.
Allen's rushing touchdown was the 43^rd of his career, tied with Steve Young for the second-most by an NFL quarterback. Cam Newton leads all quarterbacks with 75.
Allen is now 6-0 on Thursday games in his career. Mayfield was previously undefeated on Thursday Night Football before the Buccaneers' loss tonight.
Dalton Kincaid was a major part of the Bills' passing game, racking up 65 yards. Kincaid has caught 30-of-34 targets this season, the highest catch rate among any rookie and the sixth-highest overall in the NFL.
Ed Oliver's second quarter sack tied his personal season-high, which he set in 2019. The Bills defensive tackle accounted for two total tackles after missing last week with a toe injury.
Including his pass to Kincaid, Allen has thrown 18 passing TDs on scrambles outside the tackle box to the right side of the formation since 2020, most in the NFL in that span.
Gabe Davis' nine receptions were good for a career high for the fourth-year receiver. His previous high was six, which he had done three times.

SCORING PLAYS:

8:04 1Q | BUF 3 TB 0 | Tyler Bass 37-yard field goal is GOOD

11:03 2Q | BUF 10 TB 0 | Josh Allen up the middle for 13 yards, TOUCHDOWN

7:40 2Q | BUF 10 TB 3 | Chase McLaughlin 57-yard field goal is GOOD

6:46 2Q | BUF 10 TB 10 | Baker Mayfield pass short middle to Chris Godwin for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN

2:40 2Q | BUF 17 TB 10 | Josh Allen pass short right to Dalton Kincaid for 22-yards, TOUCHDOWN

10:40 3Q | BUF 24 TB 10 | Josh Allen pass short left to Gabe Davis for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN

2:44 4Q | BUF 24 TB 17 | Baker Mayfield pass deep left to Mike Evans for 24 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Baker Mayfield pass to Cade Otten is complete, two-point conversion is GOOD