Josh Allen reminds NFL why he’s among elite in rallying the Bills to beat the Bengals

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills are a flawed team with an elite quarterback. And that should be enough to include them in the late-season Super Bowl-contending conversation.

For all their injuries on defense, middling group of receivers, and draft picks who have yet to pan out, the Bills are a greater sum of their mismatched and recycled parts because of Josh Allen.

Anything seems possible with Allen behind center, as the saying has gone in Buffalo since beginning his assault on re-writing the Bills record book in 2020. And the eighth-year starter and reigning NFL MVP once again put that on display in Buffalo’s 39-34 win over Cincinnati on Sunday.

At 9-4, the Bills improved their position in the AFC playoff race, and maintained their slim hopes of catching the AFC East-leading Patriots (11-2), who they travel to play this weekend.

Against the Bengals, Allen squeezed in a season’s worth of highlight-reel plays into a four-quarter outing in which the Bills overcame a 10-point deficit in the final eight minutes.

Two of Allen’s three touchdown passes came on fourth down, starting with his nine-second scramble before threading an 11-yard throw to Khalil Shakir, who was surrounded by three defenders.

Allen’s 40-yard touchdown run broke his own team record for longest by a quarterback. And who else but Allen to seal the victory with a 17-yard scamper to convert third-and-15 and allow the Bills to run out the clock.

“It’s actually really lit,” cornerback Christian Benford said of watching Allen from the sideline.

“The plays that he makes is really like some Madden stuff that you would do playing against your little brother,” he added, referring to the popular NFL video game. “But he creates those plays in real life.”

Benford did his part in providing the spark by scoring the go-ahead points with a 63-yard interception return with 5:25 left.

But he wouldn’t have been in that position had Allen not kept the score close in an outing the defense had difficulty getting off the field, and Buffalo’s running backs were squandering scoring chances.

Ty Johnson had an open path to the end zone before slipping and falling on the snowy field in the first quarter. Then there was James Cook losing a fumble in the end zone on first-and-goal from the 2 in the third quarter.

Allen improved to 7-0 this season and 45-7 overall when accounting for three or more touchdowns. And with 34 combined TDs (22 passing, 12 rushing) this season, he’s second among NFL quarterbacks, behind the Rams’ Matthew Stafford (35).

Meantime, the Bills became the NFL’s third team — joining St. Louis in 1987 and Miami in 2001 — to win twice in a single season by scoring 21 or more points in the fourth quarter when trailing by at least 10. Allen also rallied Buffalo from a 15-point deficit in a season-opening win over Baltimore.

This time, Allen credited the fans for staying until the frantic finish, and watched as they sang along to what’s become Buffalo’s victory song, “Mr. Brightside.”

Allen took it all in, and opened his post-game news conference with a smile and a wink.

“Never a doubt,” Allen said.

What’s working

Scoring. Allen’s presence is apparent in how the Bills improved to 33-26, and 4-4 this season, when allowing 20 or more points since 2019. From 2011 to 2018, the Bills were 12-67 in those outings.

What needs help

Third-down defense. The Bengals went 10 of 12 in converting 83.3% of their third-down attempts. It’s the highest percentage allowed by Buffalo since at least 1991, and the highest in the NFL since the Bills converted 9 of 10 in a 2022 season-opening win over the Rams.

Stock up

Coach Sean McDermott. Aware of his team’s deficiencies on defense, McDermott took an aggressive approach on offense with Buffalo converting three of four fourth-down attempts. He also got more aggressive on defense, with Benford’s pick-6 coming on a blitz.

Stock down

Cook. Though the fourth-year running back topped 100 yards from scrimmage for a 10th time this season, Cook has lost six fumbles.

Injuries

S Cole Bishop experienced cramping in the second half. … Buffalo’s pass rush was depleted with Joey Bosa (hamstring) missing his first game, and with Michael Hoecht (Achilles tendon) on IR.

Key number

38-7 — Allen’s career record when not committing a turnover. He’s 6-0 this year.

Next steps

Buffalo’s last realistic bid to win a sixth straight AFC East title hinges on its trip to New England, with the Patriots having already defeated the Bills in Week 5.

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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report.

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