After a fast start, Buffalo could not solidify a win against the Raiders.
Buffalo Bills Insider Chris Brown provides the details. Here is his report:
Regular season records: Buffalo (6-6), Oakland (10-2)
In a nutshell:
Buffalo’s game plan was working well. They were running the ball effectively and held the Raiders high-powered passing attack in check to successfully build a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter (24-9). Then the Oakland attack woke up scoring 29 unanswered points in a span of just over 15 minutes of game clock to take a lead they would never relinquish in a 38-24 come from behind victory.
It was the first time LeSean McCoy rushed for over 100 yards in a game in a losing effort for the Bills. Buffalo had been undefeated in the seven previous times McCoy hit the century mark rushing in a Bills uniform. McCoy put forth a valiant effort rolling up 130 yards on 17 carries. He also added seven receptions for 61 yards.
Mike Gillislee averaged 6.1 yards per carry and had a pair of rushing touchdowns, but the run game that was working so well vanished after Gillislee’s second TD at the nine minute mark of the third quarter. They ran for just 20 yards over the final quarter and a half of the game.
Raiders pass rusher Khalil Mack made his presence felt late as he forced a pair of turnovers by Tyrod Taylor. He got a piece of Taylor’s hand as he tried to pass from his own end zone sending the ball skyward before it was intercepted by the Raiders at the Buffalo 16-yard line. Late in the fourth quarter Mack sacked Taylor from behind and forced a fumble that Oakland recovered.
The loss drops Buffalo to 6-6 on the season and 3-5 in the conference. Their playoff hopes mandate that they win each of their final four games to even have a shot of ending their postseason drought.
They host the Pittsburgh Steelers at New Era Field this Sunday for a 1 pm kickoff.
How it went down:
-The Bills came out throwing to the start the game as Tyrod Taylor completed six of seven pass attempts on the opening drive for 75 yards. But Buffalo’s opening possession stalled at the Raiders three-yard line, forcing them to settle for a 27-yard Dan Carpenter field goal for an early 3-0 lead.
-Oakland came back with a field goal drive of their own staging an eight-play 51-yard drive before Sebastian Janikowski struck from 47 yards away to tie the game at three with 4:35 left in the opening quarter.
-Buffalo took the lead a second time with an impressive 11-play, 80-yard possession capped by a one-yard push into the end zone by Mike Gillislee for a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter. Gillislee carried four times for 39 yards on the scoring drive.
-The Raiders cut into Buffalo’s lead when Janikowski put a 41-yard field goal up and through to finish an 11-play 38-yard drive to make it a 10-6 game with 2:56 left in the first half.
-Oakland made the most of the final 30 seconds of the first half getting the second 47-yard field goal of the game from Janikowski to close the Buffalo lead to one at the break (10-9).
-Buffalo came out roaring to start the second half. LeSean McCoy ripped off a 54-yard run on the first play from scrimmage and Tyrod Taylor followed with a read option keeper for a 12-yard touchdown run to push the Bills lead to eight (17-9) just 57 seconds into the third quarter.
-After the Bills defense forced a three-and-out, the offense took advantage of a short field marching 54 yards on 10 plays with Mike Gillislee pounding it in again behind Jerome Felton for his second one-yard touchdown run of the game to push the lead to 24-9 with nine minutes left in the third quarter.
-Oakland provided a quick response as they went 75 yards on nine plays before Derek Carr found Michael Crabtree for a three-yard touchdown to make it an eight-point game (24-16) with five minutes left in the third quarter.
-After a three-and-out by the Bills offense, Oakland was handed a short field at the Buffalo 38-yard line and capitalized. Latavius Murray capped the quick five-play drive with a one-yard plunge to pull the Raiders to within one after the extra point (24-24) with a minute left in the third quarter.
-Again the Buffalo offense couldn’t get anything going as they were sent three-and-out again. The Oakland offense was in full working rhythm at this point and Derek Carr connected on a big 59-yard strike to Amari Cooper to give the Raiders their first lead of the game (30-24) a minute into the fourth quarter.
-A Tyrod Taylor interception coming off a play in which his hand was hit as he threw set the Raiders up at the Bills 16-yard line. Four plays later Latavius Murray scored from three yards out for his second rushing touchdown of the game. The Raiders added a two-point conversion to make it a two touchdown advantage (38-24) with eight minutes left.
Subplots:
-LeSean McCoy went over 100 yards on the ground for the fifth time this season. He finished with 130 on 17 carries.
-Tyrod Taylor was 18-35 passing for 191 yards and an interception. He was sacked four times, including one that led to a fumble lost. Taylor also ran for a 12-yard touchdown.
-With three rushing touchdowns, the Bills now have 23 rushing touchdowns in 2016 and the total is the third-highest in team history – highest total since 1975 (26).
-The Bills set a season-high with 147 total yards in the first quarter.
-LeSean McCoy went over 1,000 total yards from scrimmage on the season in the Raiders game. It’s the seventh consecutive season McCoy has reached 1,000 total yards.
-Corey Graham led the team with 11 tackles and a pass breakup.
-With his 27-yard field goal, Dan Carpenter has scored in his 60th consecutive game and tied Steve Christie for the second-longest streak in team history.
-Charles Clay did not travel with the team and could not get out to the west coast in time for the game due to the birth of his first child, Charli Rose Clay.
-John Miller left the game in the fourth quarter and was placed in the concussion protocol.
Inactives:
QB Cardale Jones, WR Robert Woods, WR Percy Harvin, CB Ronald Darby, TE Logan Thomas, TE Charles Clay, DL Jerel Worthy.
Up next:
The Bills return home to host the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 1 pm kickoff, as they open a three-game homestand.