Bills top Chargers 27-17 for 8th win of season, maintain one-game lead in AFC East

ORCHARD PARK, NY (WKBW) — The Buffalo Bills are back in the win column following the bye week, topping the Los Angeles Chargers 27-17 on Sunday. With the win the Bills improve to 8-3 on the season and still hold a one game lead in the AFC East standings after Miami's win over the NY Jets.

Game recap

After the Bills defense forced a three-and-out, the offense capitalized on their first drive of the game. Following a pass interference call that set them up deep in Chargers territory, Josh Allen found tight end Dawson Knox wide open in the end zone to take a 7-0 lead. Knox became the 12th player to catch a touchdown pass this season, adding onto a franchise record. The Chargers responded after Keenan Allen scored in his fifth straight game making it 7-6, following the missed extra point, at the end of the first quarter.

The Bills got back on the board in the 2nd quarter with a trick play. Allen passed it to Cole Beasley who then threw it 20 yards downfield to a wide open Gabriel Davis in the end zone to put the Bills up 14-6. Beasley became the second wide receiver to throw a TD pass this season after Isaiah McKenzie threw one in their week 10 game against Arizona. The Bills added a 45-yard field goal to go up 17-6 at the half.

The Bills, who got the ball to start the second half, took advantage after Allen ran it in for the touchdown [his 6th rushing touchdown on the season] to put the Bills up 24-6. The Chargers had a response though after Joshua Kelly leaped over the pile on fourth and goal and a successful two-point conversion to cut the lead to 24-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

The Bills defense came up with a huge stop to start the 4th quarter after the Chargers, going for it on 4th down inside the Bills 30-yard line, were stopped short and turned it over on downs. The Bills offense had their own issues though with three turnovers on seven plays. But just when the Chargers could tie the game at 24-24, Tre'Davious White came up with a big interception that later led to a 43-yard field goal from Tyler Bass to make it a 27-17 game.

By the numbers

Allen finished the day completing 18-of-24 passes for 157 yards, an interception, and two total touchdowns [one passing, one receiving]. He now sits at 3,028 passing yards and is 61 yards short of matching last season's total with five games still on the schedule. Davis, who's expected to get even more targets with John Brown on injured reserve, led the receiving game with 79 yards on three catches. Devin Singletary nearly matched his season-high on the ground with 82 yards on 11 carries.

A.J. Klein had a good game for the Bills defense, recording a team-high ten tackles [three for a loss] and 1.5 sacks.

Up next

The Bills will play San Francisco on Monday, December 7th at 8:15 p.m. The game is supposed to take place at Levi Stadium but due to new COVID-19 restrictions in Santa Clara County, may need to be played at a new site.