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Buffalo Bills take season record to 9-5 with late win over Los Angeles Chargers; Tyler Bass kicks field goal with 28 seconds remaining as Cameron Dicker’s trio of field goals in final quarter come in vain for Chargers; Los Angeles now up to 10 defeats for the campaign
Tyler Bass kicked a 29-yard field goal with 28 seconds left as the Buffalo Bills avoided an upset by beating the Los Angeles Chargers 24-22 on Saturday night.
Story of the Game
Josh Allen rushed for two touchdowns and passed for one as Buffalo (9-6) bolstered their AFC playoff hopes with a third straight victory. Gabe Davis had four receptions for 130 yards and one touchdown for the Bills.
Cameron Dicker kicked a career-best five field goals but the Chargers (5-10) lost for the sixth time in seven games, with this now their fourth campaign of 10 or more losses in the past nine seasons.
The contest was the first for the Chargers since coach Brandon Staley was fired one day after an embarrassing 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on December 14, with veteran assistant Giff Smith serving as interim coach.
Dicker was busy with three field goals in a span of 7:10 in the fourth quarter to put Los Angeles ahead.
He kicked a 47-yard field goal with 12:36 left and a 45-yarder with 7:19 remaining to bring the Chargers within two and then he smacked a 53-yarder to provide Los Angeles with a 22-21 lead with 5:26 left.
The Bills started slow and were behind by 10 before finally getting on the board on Allen’s 57-yard long throw to Davis with 9:02 left in the second quarter.
Buffalo moved ahead at 14-10 on Allen’s two-yard run with 38 seconds left in the first half.
The Chargers cut the margin to one when Dicker booted a 40-yard field goal with 7:22 left in the third quarter, only for the Bills to increase their lead to 21-13 when Allen scored with 1:28 remaining in the third quarter.
Chargers’ Easton Stick completed 23 of 33 passes for 215 yards while making his second straight start in place of Justin Herbert, who underwent season-ending finger surgery earlier this month.
Los Angeles star receiver Keenan Allen (heel) also missed his second consecutive contest.
Stats leaders:
Buffalo Bills
- Passing: Josh Allen, 15/21, 237 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
- Rushing: James Cook, 20 carries, 70 yards
- Receiving: Gabe Davis, four catches, 130 yards, 1 TD
Los Angeles Chargers
- Passing: Easton Stick, 23/33, 125 yards
- Rushing: Austin Ekeler, 15 carries, 65 yards
- Receiving: Joshua Palmer, five catches, 47 yards
Scoring summary
What next?
The 2023 NFL season continues live on Sky Sports with a bonus bumper slate of games over the Christmas holidays!
A full Christmas Eve slate sees the Cleveland Browns (9-5) continue their playoff charge at the Houston Texans (8-6) in the 6pm slot, before the Dallas Cowboys (10-4) are on the road against the Miami Dolphins (10-4) and the New England Patriots (3-11) meet the Denver Broncos (7-7) in Sunday Night Football in the early hours of Christmas Day.
The Las Vegas Raiders (6-8) and Kansas City Chiefs (9-5) kick off a Christmas Day triple-header from 6pm, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles (10-4) against the New York Giants (5-9) and the Baltimore Ravens (11-3) against the San Francisco 49ers (11-3) in a potential Super Bowl preview from 1.15am in the early hours of Boxing Day.
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