The NFL finds itself at Josh Allen's fingertips

He and the Bills win at Detroit and keep rolling toward the postseason.

Josh Allen

They say that Josh Allen is playing sandlot football these days, which is romantic and nostalgic and altogether untrue. Allen is actually in the basement, out of the sunlight, operating a PlayStation in which he controls his 10 friends and his 11 antagonists, none of whom can influence him.

On Sunday, Allen brought the Buffalo Bills and several thousand of the Bills Mafia into Detroit and took everyone prisoner. For the eighth consecutive game, the Bills scored more than 30 points. For the second time in eight days, they scored 40 and so did their opponent, which hasn’t happened on consecutive weeks since the 1966 New York Giants, who lost 72-41 to Washington and 49-40 to Cleveland on the way to a 1-12-1 finish.

The Bills scored three touchdowns on their first three possessions and didn’t punt until midway through the third quarter. The 48-42 victory swung on two lapses by the Lions: A fumble by Amon-Ra St. Brown, forced by Christian Benford and captured by Matt Milano, and a feverish decision by Lions coach Dan Campbell to kick onside, 10 points down with 12 minutes left. Mack Hollins ran that kick back to the Detroit five for a tap-in touchdown pass from Allen to rookie Ray Davis. The Lions scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and still couldn’t get on the same lap.

When it ended, both defensive units reported to the burn unit. Detroit’s Jared Goff threw 59 passes, none of which was intercepted, and ran up 494 yards. Allen ran for two touchdowns, passed for two others. There were 58 first downs, 1,080 total yards, and Detroit was 3-for-3 on fourth down and 6-for-13 on third down. The Bills replied by averaging a staggering 8.2 yards per play.

In his past three outings, Allen is 58 for 88 for 852 yards, with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. More important for MVP voters is the way Allen has lifted all the boats around him, in a year when the departures of Stefon Diggs and Kermit Davis were supposed to deprive him. Ty Johnson was a sixth-round pick of the Lions five years ago and eventually landed in Buffalo. On Sunday, Allen found him five times for 114 yards.

Allen has thrown only five interceptions and, even though he’s the main weapon on the goal line, he is no longer running over safeties just for amusement. When he does break from the pocket, he keeps scanning the field, and his ability to find teammates and deliver from original angles is very Lamar Jackson-like. At one point Sunday, Allen had third-and-goal on the Lions’ ten yard line, ducked a defender and then pushed the ball into the end zone with both hands, into the grasp of Dalton Kincaid. As soon as Allen released it, he began running triumphantly to the bench. It was more like a Wes Unseld outlet pass than anything else, and it was rendered invisible by a holding penalty, but it illustrated Allen’s comfort level. Everyone else is struggling to play this game. Allen is just messing with it.

Will this pay off in an MVP award? It is hoped the voters don’t forget about Jackson, the incumbent, who keeps playing near-perfect games for the Ravens. Saquon Barkley also has made a difference in Philadelphia, although he wasn’t needed on Sunday. But it certainly seems like Allen’s time. He’s 28, and he spent the bye week getting engaged to actor Hailee Steinfeld, also 28, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 13 for True Grit. Allen’s supporting actors, like running back James Cook and defensive linemen Ed Oliver and Greg Rousseau, have their lines down pat.

Buffalo still is unlikely to get the top seed in the AFC playoffs, but its win over Kansas City last month might defuse the fear of playing in Arrowhead Stadium. Plus, the Bills lost a playoff game to the Chiefs at home in 2023, so the locale isn’t such a big deal. Playing in Detroit certainly wasn’t a problem.

The Lions, meanwhile, got some defensive players back but then lost Alim McNeill, the most solid defensive lineman. Both of their lines were bullied on Sunday. David Montgomery missed time with a knee problem. There were 13 defensive players on injured reserve coming in. Minnesota can tie Detroit for the NFC North lead if it beats Chicago Monday night, and the Eagles have tied the Lions’ 12-2 record. The Lions have tiebreakers on both, for now, but they must play the Vikings in the 17th game. They reached deep into the bag to beat the Bears and Packers at home. They haven’t gone anywhere, and, remember, the Chiefs seemed like the walking dead two weeks before last year’s playoff, but fatalistic Lions fans, which is to say all of them, might be getting the feeling that Santa Claus is returning to correct his order.

Bills fans did gasp a bit when Tyler Bass bollixed a 24-yard field goal attempt. So did their moms and dads, who will forget their own names before they forget Scott Norwood’s. When the playoffs start, the ghosts always come out. Fortunately for Buffalo, Josh Allen will see them before anyone else does, and probably throw them a touchdown.

Otherwise:

Philadelphia 27, Pittsburgh 13

— The Eagles (12-2) insist on playing on their opponents’ level. In the event you play Pittsburgh, that’s good news. Suitably focused, Philadelphia had 26 first downs to Pittsburgh’s 10, outgained the Steelers, 401-163 and snapped the ball 77 times to Pittsburgh’s 41.

— The lead was 20-13 when Russell Wilson missed a handoff to Najee Harris, and Darius Slay recovered it for the Eagles. Jalen Hurts took the Eagles on a 74-yard drive that ended with his 14th rushing touchdown of the year. It was a showcase for Hurts, since Barkley was relatively quiet with 65 yards. Hurts was 25-for-32 for 290 yards and threw 23 times to A.J. Brown and Davonta Smith, who weren’t pleased with the Eagles’ passing game last week. Brown and Smith caught 19 of those and each scorched a touchdown.

– T.J. Watt injured his ankle late in the game and is in “wait and see’ mood for Saturday’s enormous game at Baltimore. The Steelers (10-4) lead Baltimore by a game in the AFC North. They were still missing George Pickens on the outside, and they had no running play over eight yards. Wilson was 14-for-22.

Green Bay 30, Seattle 13

— The onrushing Packers (10-4) got started about 15 minutes before the homesteading Seahawks did, and that was the difference. Josh Jacobs either ran or caught for 62 yards on the Packers’ opening 63-yard TD drive, and had a 21-yard catch and 19-yard run on the next drive, which also ended with a touchdown. Nothing much changed after that, with Jordan Love going 20-for-27 for 229 yards and two TDs to Romeo Doubs.

— The Packers also knocked Geno Smith out of the game with a leg injury, and then sacked Sam Howell four times on 14 attempts. They had seven sacks in all, two by Kingsley Engabare, and 12 quarterback hits.

— The Seahawks (8-6) are tied for the NFC West lead with the Rams, whom they play in the season finale, but fell out of the playoff grid as it shapes up today. They gained 208 net yards and never sacked Love.

Houston 20, Miami 12

— Leading by an uneasy 13–6 early in the third quarter, Houston coach DeMeco Ryans ordered a gadget play on fourth-and-two. Dare Ogunbowale took it 35 yards to the Miami four, and C.J. Stroud hit Niko Collins with a four-yard touchdown. That 70-yard drive was Houston’s most impressive by far, as the Texans fell short of 200 net yards despite Miami’s four turnovers.

— The Dolphins were down 20-12 when they got the ball with 1:44 left. Tua Tagovailoa, looking for Tyreek Hill, threw it to Houston’s Derek Stingley instead, Stingley’s second pick of the day and fourth in four games. Tagovailoa connected on 29 of 40 passes for 196 yards and threw three interceptions, and the Dolphins’ longest run of the day was seven yards.

— Stroud had no completion longer than 15 yards but went 18 for 26 with no interceptions, although he did lose a fumble. Houston (9-5) has clinched the AFC South, which takes the pressure off upcoming games against Kansas City and Baltimore. The Dolphins (6-8) are two games out of the last wild-card spot with three games left.

Kansas City 21, Cleveland 7

— The worst word Chiefs’ fans can hear in the same sentence with “Patrick Mahomes” is “ankle.” He left this game when Cleveland’s Dalvin Tomlinson rolled up against that embattled ankle late in Kansas City’s most decisive win of the year. Mahomes left in favor of Carson Wentz. X-rays were negative, but the Chiefs’ next game is Saturday, against Houston, and then the Chiefs play Pittsburgh on Christmas Day.

— Otherwise the Chiefs had little problem with Cleveland (3-11), which turned the ball over six times and did not snap the ball once in the red zone. Sixty-two of Cleveland’s 266 net yards came on a 64-yard TD run by Jerome Ford. Again, the Chiefs had trouble generating big plays, with nothing more than 23 yards, and they had only one TD drive over 34 yards.

— George Karlaftis continued his strong play at defensive end with two of Kansas City’s five sacks. The Chiefs also moved guard Joe Thuney to fill a big hole at left tackle and played Mike Caliendo at guard, and Mahomes was not sacked once. Caliendo, from Western Michigan, was not drafted in 2022 but has been with the Chiefs the past three years. He’s also a future doctor after carding a 3.9 GPA in biomedical studies.

Washington 20, New Orleans 19

— Noah Iginoghene and Mike Sanristil of the Commanders got the NFL officials off a very big hook at the end of this one. The refs mistakenly stopped the clock after the Saints’ Spencer Rattler completed a pass to Foster Moreau, well in-bounds, at the Washington one-yard-line. Rattler spiked the ball at 0:04, then hit Moreau with a touchdown pass. But the Saints opted to go for a 2-pointer and the win, and the two Commanders’ defensive backs thwarted the pass to Juwan Johnson. The game would have ended if the officials hadn’t intervened, and the NFL admitted its mistake afterward.

— As they did last week, the Commanders (9-5) held the ball for more than 40 minutes and Jayden Daniels hoofed it for 66 yards in 11 carries, although he was sacked eight times. He hit Terry McLaurin twice for touchdowns early as Washington built a 17-0 lead.

— Jake Haener quickly proved he wasn’t the answer at quarterback, but the Saints scrambled back with Spencer Rattler at the helm. When Greg Joseph missed a 54-yard field goal for Washington, the Saints (5-9) got the ball on their own 44 with 1:55 left, and Rattler moved them in position for what would have been a bogus victory. The Saints got two sacks from Chase Young, a former defensive Rookie of the Year for Washington.

Tampa Bay 40, L.A. Chargers 17

— The Buccaneers are 8-6 and are the only team to beat both Detroit and Philadelphia. They are also 4-0, and improving, since their bye, and have held their past five opponents under 100 yards rushing. Here they scored the last 30 points of the game. Baker Mayfield was 22 for 27 and threw four touchdowns, including two to Mike Evans, who had his 14th career game of 150 or more receiving yards.

== The Chargers fell to 8-6 and are now the seventh seed in the projected AFC playoffs. They were 0-for-6 in third down conversions and were outrushed 223 to 32, with one first down on the ground. They also had the ball for only 23:12, and their defense, which hadn’t given up 21 points in a game through Week 10, has now given up 27 or more in three of its past five games.

— Rookie Bucky Irving kept up his surge by gaining 117 yards in 15 carries for the Bucs, who did not punt in the game. They led, 23-17, when Janel Dean intercepted Justin Herbert in the third quarter, and the Chargers’ Teair Tart later committed a roughing the passer penalty. Mayfield then connected with Evans on a 35-yard touchdown and a 30-17 lead.

L.A. Rams 12, San Francisco 6

— When you can win games 44-42, as the Rams did on Dec. 8, and then win this way without scoring or giving up a touchdown, you might be onto something. The Rams’ energetic young defense held San Francisco to 192 net yards and, aside from Brock Purdy’s 33-yard pass to George Little, gave up nothing over 18 yards. The offense didn’t get a first down in its first four possessions but wound up possessing the ball for 35:04. In the second half the Rams (8-6) had it for 19:29, the 49ers for 10:31.

— The 49ers trailed 9-6 in the fourth quarter but Purdy led them from their own 28 yard line to the Rams’ 33. There, Purdy tried to find Jauan Jennings in the corner of the end zone, but the Rams’ Darius Williams intercepted. The 49ers didn’t get it back until 0:20 remained, as Matthew Stafford found Colby Parkinson for 14 yards on a third-and-4, and Joshua Karty’s fourth field goal made it 12-6.

— Kobie Turner was a raging inferno in the middle of the line, reminiscent of Aaron Donald, and had two sacks. Purdy was 14 for 31 with a 45.4 passer rating. Kyren Williams carried the ball 29 times for the second time in five days and gained 108 yards for L.A. The 49ers (6-8) again were missing Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams on offense, but welcomed back Dre Greenlaw on defense. But when Greenlaw needed to come out, De’Vondre Campbell refused to replace him. Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers’ coach, indicated Friday that Campbell’s career in San Francisco was over.

Denver 31, Indianapolis 13

— In Denver, both offenses played as if they were indeed Mile High. Rookie Bo Nix had one of his poorest games, with three interceptions, and the Broncos came up short of 200 net yards. Indianapolis (6-8) turned it over five times, with two interceptions and a 17-for-38 day by Anthony Richardson, who had a 23-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

— But the Colts, trying to chase down a wild-card spot, needed it more and did more to lose it. They let Marvin Mims return a punt 61 yards to set up Nix’s go-ahead TD pass to Nate Adkins. Then the Colts tried a gadget play that featured a backward pass by Adonai Mitchell, and Nick Bonitto intercepted it and ran 50 yards for the score that made it 24-13.

— Worst of all, Jonathan Taylor streaked 41 yards for the score that should have put Indianapolis ahead 20-7….except that he let go of the ball before he crossed the goal line, and it went out of bounds for a touchback. Later, the Broncos had a 35-yard touchdown drive after an interception by Patrick Surtain.

Baltimore 35, N.Y. Giants 14

— For the third time this season Lamar Jackson’s passer rating exceeded 150, as he hit 21 of 25 passes for five TDs, two to Rashod Bateman, and no interceptions. The Ravens converted nine of 11 third downs. Jackson’s biggest drive was an 80-yarder at the end of the first half that led to a 20-yard score to Bateman with 36 seconds left, and gave the Ravens a 21-7 lead, which was suitably discouraging for a team that has now tied the storied franchise’s record for consecutive losses (nine).

— Tommy DeVito started for the Giants, Tim Boyle finished up, and they combined to convert 2 of 12 third downs. Most of the offense depends on rookie receiver Malik Nabers, who caught 10 passes for 82 yards.

— The Ravens (9-5) were able to romp despite committing 12 penalties for 122 yards. They play host to Pittsburgh Saturday in a game that probably will decide the AFC North, then have a Christmas Day trip to Houston.

Arizona 30, New England 17

— In a league full of strong, young tight ends, Trey McBride is making his way. The Colorado State alum has been Kyler Murray’s favorite target all year, and caught nine passes for 87 yards Sunday. McBride has 40 catches in his past four games.

— The Cardinals (7-7) had a 23-3 lead early in the fourth quarter and had two sacks and seven tackles for loss. Kyzir White and Budda Baker were involved in 22 tackles, and New England (3-11) came up empty on all six third-down opportunities. The Patriots were down 16-3 when they got a third-and-one on Arizona’s four-yard-line, but Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson were stopped on consecutive plays.

— Dependable James Conner had his fifth 100-yard rushing game and scored two touchdowns. New England rookie Drake Maye completed 19 of 23 for 202 yards, but couldn’t keep the Pats’ offense on the field.

Dallas 30, Carolina 14

— The Cowboys (6-8) won their third in their past four with smothering defense. Micah Parsons had two of their six sacks, and the Panthers (3–11) gained only 235 net yards, 83 of those coming on a TD pass from Bryce Young to undrafted Holy Cross rookie Jalen Coker. Dallas delivered 10 hits on Young, who went 19 for 28 for 218 yards.

Cincinnati 37, Tennessee 27

The Titans (3-11) pulled Will Levis after three of his first 12 passes were caught by Bengals. He also lost a fumble when the Titans led 14-7. Mason Rudolph relieved him in the third quarter when Tennessee was down 31-14 and went 21 for 26, but by then the Bengals had cranked up their offense. Refunds to the paying customers in Nashville would have been appropriate considering 26 penalties and the first 10-turnover game in the NFL in seven years. Joe Burrow now has six consecutive games of three or more touchdown passes for Cincinnati (6-8).

N.Y. Jets 32, Jacksonville 25

— Among the wonders that 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers wrought Sunday was a 45-yard rushing day, which led the Jets (4–10). He also threw nine times to Davante Adams for 198 yards, who scored his 100th and 101st rushing touchdowns. Breece Hall scored the game-winning TD with 0:46 left after Rodgers hit Adams for 41 yards. For Jacksonville (3-11), Brian Thomas Jr. expanded on his outstanding rookie season, catching 10 balls for 105 yards and scoring on both a run and a pass.