Last week
Bills 33, Raiders 30
Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas · Sun Oct 18 · Raiders 3–3, Bills 5–1
Ladies and gentlemen, the home opener of the Buffalo Bills' Nevada residency.
Three straight losses (AP). Now 3–3, and 1–2 at home (ESPN). The AFC West reads Kansas City 5–0, Denver 4–2, Las Vegas 3–3 (ESPN). The 3–0 start is now on loan to the False Hope wing. Do not touch the glass.
The play for the museum: second-and-goal at the 1
Early in the fourth, down 10, the Raiders had second-and-goal at the Buffalo 1 (AP). Ashton Jeanty lost three yards when Greg Gaines came through the line (AP). On third down, Davison Igbinosun broke up the pass in the end zone (AP). Field goal. Fifteen plays (buffalobills.com). Three points. Kubiak: "We're 2-for-5 in the red zone and that's unacceptable and that starts with me" (raiders.com). It keeps starting with him. Nobody has seen it end.
Bills honor roll: Josh Allen, co-owner of the franchise record
23 of 33. 255 yards. Two touchdowns. No turnovers (ESPN). In the third quarter, about to be sacked, he flipped a 12-yard touchdown to Keon Coleman. That was career No. 258, tying Jim Kelly's Bills record (AP; buffalobills.com). The visiting crowd chanted "M-V-P" inside the Raiders' building (AP). Honorable mention: James Cook, 95 rushing yards, 58 receiving, and the winning touchdown (AP).
Raiders exhibit of the week: Klint Kubiak, "Close. Games. Out."
That was his answer when asked how to end the streak (raiders.com). Then he explained the turning point. The second half opened with three straight incompletions that ran less than 15 seconds off the clock (raiders.com). "To go three-and-out, that's disappointing," Kubiak said (raiders.com). The Raiders have been outscored by 26 points in third quarters this season (raiders.com). The other side had zero turnovers. The Raiders had one interception and forced nothing (AP; raiders.com).
The nepo line: His father won a Super Bowl as a head coach. The son inherited the name and the headset. Sunday he inherited the 1-yard line and handed it back. The name still did not block anybody.
Tom Brady, minority owner, majority mirage: Seven rings, a luxury suite, and a stadium he can't keep Bills fans out of. The Tommy Boys paid for the building. Buffalo used it. The greatest winner in football history now owns a piece of a .500 team that loses at home to visiting tourists. Somewhere a ring is asking to be moved to a better shelf.
Raiders who scored points, ranked by how much it mattered (it didn't)
- Tre Tucker (12, TD catches of 11 and 44 yards, Q4): 5 catches, 97 yards, two touchdowns (AP). The 44-yarder came with 1:32 left, down 10 (AP). Buffalo recovered the onside kick (raiders.com). Tucker, you scored the most beautiful garbage-time touchdown in Nevada. The scoreboard thanks you for your service.
- Matt Gay (12, FGs of 35, 27 and 23; 3 XP): The 23-yarder was the result of a 15-play drive from the 1-yard line (ESPN; buffalobills.com). Gay, you are the most reliable scorer on the roster. That's the indictment.
- Ashton Jeanty (6, 1-yd TD run, Q1): His first rushing touchdown of the season, in Week 6 (raiders.com). In the fourth quarter at the same yard line, he went backward three yards (AP). Jeanty, you found the end zone once and the reverse gear once. Same yard line. Different exhibit.
Opposing-fan note (home game): Announced attendance was 62,618 (Pro-Football-Reference). AP reported Bills fans made up "well more than half the crowd at Allegiant Stadium." LVSportsBiz judged it at least half. No official team-by-team count exists, and this publication won't invent one. Did it matter? Josh Allen said: "It feeds us, and we play better when we feel that energy and feel that juice" (AP). The Raiders own the home-field advantage. Buffalo rented it for the afternoon.
Autopsy
Jeanty's 1-yard run opened the scoring (raiders.com). It was 13–13 at the half. The Raiders tied it on a 27-yard Gay field goal set up by a Bills ejection: C.J. Gardner-Johnson was tossed for spitting, and the penalty moved the ball to the 14 (AP). A gift. Accepted at a discount. The second half opened with three incompletions (raiders.com). Dorian Williams intercepted Cousins throwing into double coverage toward Michael Mayer (raiders.com; buffalobills.com). Allen made it 23–13. Then came the 15-play drive and the 1-yard line, and only three points (AP). Cousins found Tucker to tie it at 23 (AP). Buffalo answered with Cook's 3-yard touchdown with 4:43 left (AP). Then a three-and-out, a Bills field goal, and a late Tucker bomb. Onside kick to Buffalo (raiders.com). Seven penalties, 62 yards (raiders.com). Cousins threw for 313 yards (AP). Most of them were decorative.