Josh Allen corralled again in Bills’ loss to Pats

The Raiders did their part to keep Allen in the pocket in this one. He managed just one rushing yard on five carries, but did plenty of damage through the air to put the Bills in position to pull out their fifth win of the season. Allen threw his first touchdown of the day to Khalil Shakir in the second quarter on a nine-yard screen pass, and flipped an impressive shovel pass to Keon Coleman in the third quarter for his second touchdown pass of the day. Allen and the Bills have scored 30-plus points in four of their first six games this season, with Allen totaling four touchdowns in his last two games. The Bills punted just twice in this one, and Allen led his team on three straight scoring drives to start the game. While there’s plenty to figure out on defense, Allen and the offense are clicking on all cylinders even with DJ Moore (shoulder) sidelined. The Bills now head into their Week 7 bye week and will return in Week 8 to play host to the Ravens.

The two teams mustered only 20 combined points in the first half as they felt each other out. There were only two punts after the break between the two sides, who combined for seven touchdowns on nine combined possessions including five straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. Allen and the Bills took the ball first in the extra frame and quickly found themselves deep in enemy territory following a 57-yard, catch-and-run pass to Khalil Shakir. A James Cook fumble on the next play appeared to shatter Allen’s chances of earning his first career win in overtime, but a blocked 48-yard field goal attempt from Harrison Mevis gave the ball back to the Bills with a chance to win. Two Josh Allen scrambles set up a game-winning, 45-yard field goal for Tyler Bass. Allen ended with the second most yards on the ground of his career as the Bills moved to 4-1 with the wild win. Allen remains the top overall quarterback in fantasy circles ahead of a Week 6 meeting with the Raiders on the road.

Allen certainly wasn’t good in this one, but he wasn’t alone. The Bills turned the ball over five times, committed 10 penalties, and allowed four sacks and somehow won this game. His first interception was on a truly bad read over the middle of the field. The second was on a deep pass into coverage when Allen thought he had drawn an offside. The pass managed to hit the safety in the back and then land in his stomach when he rolled over after hitting the ground. Allen would also fumble on a sack later in the game. The Chargers did a good job of taking Allen’s scrambles away, and this entire Bills team was in disarray, so nobody was consistently open down the field. That being said, Allen’s two rushing touchdowns give him 85 for his career, which means he’s now tied with former Bill Marshawn Lynch for 17th on the NFL’s all-time list. The Bills and Allen will look to get things straightened out against the Patriots next week, and Allen will clearly be in your lineups.

Was it ever a doubt that Super Josh would make an appearance in the franchise’s first game in their new stadium? To the utter dismay of James Cook fantasy managers, Allen accounted for three touchdowns from inside the five against the Lions, two with his legs and one with his arm, extending his NFL-record for games with multiple rushing touchdowns and multiple passing touchdowns to 10 in the process. The unquestioned overall QB1 in fantasy circles continues to prove the doubters wrong as the Bills surge to 2-0 atop the AFC ahead of a home meeting with the Chargers in Week 3. Allen remains a top-tier fantasy asset until pigs fly.

Some had suggested you might want to bench Josh Allen against the Texans defense this week. Instead, Allen absolutely decimated last year’s top defense with a game-winning stick throw to the post for Josh Palmer to take a late five-point lead. He did his typical witchcraft out of structure, the best of which was probably a floater in his own end zone with a man in his face that landed directly on Dalton Kincaid’s hands. He also owned the ground game in the red zone. It was the first Bills win in Houston since the JP Losman Era. Allen, as always, will be in the QB1 overall discussion against the Lions in Week 2.

Buscaglia called Moore, who was acquired from the Bears this spring, the “crown jewel of the offseason” for the Bills front office. “Moore’s contributions to the offense within training camp were immediate and obvious,” Buscaglia said. “Allen routinely pushed the ball downfield to Moore, making a concerted effort all summer to build on-field chemistry with the Bills’ new No. 1 receiver. ... The days of ‘everybody eats’ seem to be in the rearview mirror.” It’s a bullish report — one that could mean Moore is among the best values in redraft leagues this season even after being among the NFL’s most inefficient wideouts in 2025. Moore should be in all 12-team lineups for Week 1 against the Texans.

After a good week of joint practices against the Browns, the Bills are expected to sit most of their starters while giving their depth players a chance to show what they have. Veteran QB Kyle Allen will draw the start on Saturday, with backup Shane Buechele also expected to see work. The Bills’ decision to sit their starters should come as good news for Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson, who are still battling for the QB1 job, with Sanders in line to start with the first-team offense.

Taken by Buffalo with the 125th pick in the 2026 draft, Bell — a hyper-productive wideout at UConn — joins DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Josh Palmer, and Keon Coleman in an underwhelming receivers room. Bell, Helman said, enters the NFL with a multifaceted skill set that is highly valued among most NFL front offices. “This is probably the most reckless thing I’ll say on this show,” Helman said. “This is Ja’Marr Chase lite. He’s a freak athlete, he’s explosive, but he’s very powerful and strong. And watching him, I was just like, obviously, he’s not Ja’Marr Chase ... but he does all that type of stuff. He can take it to the house. He can just body people out of the way. He can high point the ball. If I was trying to get Ja’Marr Chase’s skillset on late day two or even into day three, I’m all the way in on this guy.” Helman wasn’t alone in his praise of Bell, who last season was second among all college wideouts in yards per route run. Ryan Fowler of NBC Sports Philadelphia said in March that Bell, 23, was close to a Round One prospect. The Bills took him late on the third day of the draft.

Allen underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his foot, but two months post-op, the Bills’ QB1 appears to be in good shape. The Bills went out and traded for WR DJ Moore this offseason to give Allen a much-needed weapon in the passing game, and with Allen trending in the right direction, he should have plenty of time to build with Moore before training camp ramps up earlier this summer. Allen has finished as the QB1 in fantasy points per game in four of his last six seasons and projects as a high-end QB1 again this upcoming season.

Per ESPN’s Field Yates, the move creates $40 million in cap space. As is the case with most elite quarterbacks, Allen’s contract being restructured has become an annual affair for Buffalo. This is essentially free cap space for the Bills. With the deadline to get cap compliant coming later today, Buffalo now has plenty of wiggle room to sign free agents or extend other players. Allen is under contract through the 2030 season.