Bills drop overtime thriller to Eagles, fall to 6-6 on sesaon

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (WROC) — Jalen Hurts ran in a 12-yard touchdown in overtime to give the Eagles a 37-34 overtime victory which dropped the Bills to 6-6 on the season. There were three lead changes in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Despite the Bills coming up short on the scoreboard, Josh Allen had a standout day. He threw for 339 yards, threw two touchdowns, ran for 81 yards, and had another two touchdowns on the ground. He did, however, throw an interception which led to a Philadelphia touchdown.

“I’m extremely confident in our guys and the men that we have in the locker room,” said Allen after the loss.

Gabe Davis bounced back from last week’s zero-catch performance with six grabs for 105 yards and a touchdown. However, in overtime Allen and Diggs were not on the same page, likely taking the game-winning touchdown off the board.

The game might not have even gotten to overtime if Sean McDermott had managed the end of the game differently. Jake Elliot kicked a 59-yard field goal with 20 seconds to go in the game to tie things up at 31. The Bills had just one timeout and elected to knee and go to overtime. They could have had all of their timeouts, but they used one on defense on third and seventeen and they used another to attempt to ice the kicker.

The Bills were also plagued by penalties, committing eleven for 80 yards. They had six in the first quarter alone, the most by a team in the first quarter this season.

Things were looking good for the Bills early on as they led 17-7 at the half, with both teams scoring their touchdowns after blunders by the opposing team.

Midway through the first quarter, James Cook dropped a would-be touchdown, which was followed up by two penalties that pushed the Bills out of field goal range.

The Eagles responded with a ten-play, 73-yard drive that was capped off by a Hurts “Tush Push” touchdown to make it 7-0.

After the Bills settled for a field goal on the ensuing drive, the defense forced an interception by the Eagles. Leonard Floyd tipped a pass by Hurts which was picked off by Terrel Bernard. It took the Bills just four plays to cash in as Allen ran in for a nine-yard touchdown to give the Bills a 10-7 lead.

Late in the first half, the Bills forced another turnover as Hurts and Kenneth Gainwell had a botched handoff which was recovered by Greg Rousseau.

The Bills were able to cash in once again as Allen threw a pass into a tight window to Stefon Diggs for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 17-7 at the half.

After a Bills missed field goal on their first drive of the third quarter, the Eagles quickly took advantage. DeAndre Swift busted off a 36-yard run to kickstart a six-play, 62-yard drive that concluded with an AJ Brown three-yard touchdown.

With the Bills up just 17-14, the Bills efficiently moved down the field and it was Allen once again rushing in a score as Allen escaped the pocked on third and eleven and found the end zone from 16 yards away.

However, the Eagles quickly turned the game around. Hurts found DeVonta Smith for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 24-21.

The Bills turned it over just two plays later as Allen was picked off by Jalen Bradberry to give the Eagles the ball at Buffalo’s 24-yard line.

On third and 15, Hurts connected with Olamide Zaccheus in the back of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 28-24 lead.

The Bills used a run-heavy approach to retake the lead. The Bills ran on seven of their first nine plays of the drive to get to Philadelphia’s seven-yard line. Those runs set up a play-action pass from Allen to an open Gabe Davis for the touchdown and a 31-28 lead.

However, the Eagles still had just under two minutes remaining. Despite the Eagles committing two false start penalties to move them back once they got into Bills territory, Jake Elliot kicked a 59-yard field goal to tie the game at 31 and send it to overtime.

The Bills got the ball first in overtime and drove into Philadelphia territory. Davis would have been open for a game-winning touchdown, but he turned the wrong way on what appeared to be an option route and the pass fell incomplete. The Bills settled for a 40-yard field goal and took a 34-31 lead.

But that gave the Eagles a chance to kick a field goal and tie the game or score a touchdown to win it. They did the latter, as Hurts ran in a 12-yard touchdown to give Philadelphia a 37-34 win.

The Bills fall to 6-6 with the loss and will have their bye before heading to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs.