LAS VEGAS — Not even a banged-up left shoulder can deter Josh Allen.
Shaking off a second-quarter stinger, Allen threw two touchdowns and rushed for another to lead the Buffalo Bills to a 30-23 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
Carving up the Raiders secondary, Allen meshed well with offseason acquisition Stefon Diggs, who finished with six receptions for 115 yards. Allen completed at least one pass to nine different targets.
“Our guys have been busting their tails in practice and my job is to just give them an opportunity to make a play,” Allen said.
Buffalo, which is averaging a league third-best 30.75 points per game, has opened 4-0 for the first time in 12 years.
The Bills were 3-1 last season, when they made the playoffs.
Las Vegas (2-2) lost its second straight game and first inside the shiny new $2 billion Allegiant Stadium. Two turnovers and seven penalties were costly for the Raiders.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr finished 32 for 44 for 311 yards and two touchdowns. Carr, who has yet to throw an interception this season, surpassed Ken Stabler and set a franchise record with 151 career touchdown passes.
But it was Allen’s brilliance in the first half, when he finished 15 of 20 with two touchdowns, that set the tone. His 26-yard strike to Gabriel Davis on the opening drive was his 13th TD of the season, surpassing Ryan Fitzpatrick (12) for the most total touchdowns by a Bills player in the first four games of the schedule. Allen also found Cole Beasley for an 11-yard reception to push Buffalo’s lead to 14-3.
The Bills survived a scare when Allen was taken to the locker room late in the first half with the shoulder injury. Allen said he fell “funky” on his non-throwing arm after sprawling in the air and shoveling an 8-yard left-handed pass to Diggs. He was back on the bench moments later, knelt on the final play of the half, and returned in the second half to pick up where he left off.
“You watch Buffalo’s offense, they do a lot,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “The quarterback can complete passes left-handed. The guy’s a beast standing back there. They got a pretty good attack.”
With its lead cut to one, 17-16, Buffalo’s defense came to life by stopping the Raiders on four consecutive possessions. Las Vegas gave the ball back to the Bills by way of punt, fumble, downs and another fumble before scoring on its final possession.
“We were talking all week we’ve got to find ways to make plays,” Buffalo safety Jordan Poyer said. “The first half, we couldn’t get off the field on third down. Second half we found some ways to get some stops and take the football away. And I think that changed the game dramatically.”
Browns beat Cowboys
ARLINGTON, Texas — Baker Mayfield threw for two touchdowns, one of which was set up when Myles Garrett had a strip sack for the third straight game, and Cleveland held on for a 49-38 victory over Dallas to improve to 3-1 for the first time since 2001.
Jarvis Landry had his first career touchdown pass in the receiver’s 100th career game, a 37-yard toss to Odell Beckham Jr. in Beckham’s first multi-TD game with the Browns.
Beckham finished with his first three-score game in nearly five years, capped by a 50-yard run on a reverse after the Cowboys had cut a 41-14 deficit to three points with less than four minutes remaining. He had five catches for 81 yards and two scores.
The Browns ran for 307 yards and three touchdowns despite losing lead back Nick Chubb to a knee injury in the first quarter.
Dak Prescott had his first 500-yard game, finishing with 502 yards passing, and became the first NFL player to throw for at least 450 yards in three consecutive games.
BUCCANEERS 38, CHARGERS 31
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady threw for 369 yards and five touchdowns, all to different receivers, helping the Tampa Bay rally from a 17-point deficit. Brady shrugged off throwing an early interception returned for a touchdown and the Bucs (3-1) won their third straight to stay in first place in the NFC South.
Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate and rookie Ke’Shawn Vaughn caught scoring passes from Brady, who threw four of them after falling behind 24-7 in the second quarter.
Rookie Justin Herbert completed 20 of 25 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns for the Chargers (1-3).
COLTS 19, BEARS 11
CHICAGO — Philip Rivers threw a touchdown pass on Indianapolis’ first possession and the Colts shut down Nick Foles and Chicago. After Rivers connected with Mo Alie-Cox on a 13-yard score, the NFL’s top-ranked defense took over.
The Colts (3-1) kept the Bears (3-1) out of the end zone until Allen Robinson caught a 16-yard pass with 1:35 remaining. Indianapolis recovered the onside kick and came away with its third straight win, its best streak since beating Kansas City, Houston and Denver last October.
RAMS 17, GIANTS 9
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jared Goff hit Cooper Kupp for a 55-yard touchdown with 6:56 to play, and Los Angeles beat New York in a game marred by a postgame fight between Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Giants receiver Golden Tate.
Ramsey and Tate scuffled at midfield after the final whistle after a game filled with trash-talking between the two Nashville-area natives. Ramsey has two young children with Tate’s sister, and Tate was publicly upset last year when the couple went through a nasty public breakup.
Darious Williams made a redemptive, diving interception at the Los Angeles 7 with 52 seconds to play as the Rams (3-1) barely stayed unbeaten at new SoFi Stadium and kept first-year Giants coach Joe Judge winless.
RAVENS 31, WASHINGTON 17
LANDOVER, Md. — Lamar Jackson ran for a 50-yard touchdown and threw for two scores in a bounce-back performance by the reigning NFL MVP and Baltimore. Coming off a humbling loss to Kansas City on Monday night, the Ravens (3-1) built a 21-10 halftime lead before opening the third quarter with a drive that ended with Mark Andrews’ second touchdown catch.
After throwing three interceptions last week, Washington’s Dwayne Haskins Jr. went 32 for 45 for a career-high 314 yards. He was sacked three times, twice by Matthew Judon.
Jackson’s numbers weren’t as big, but he managed the Baltimore offense as required while completing 14 of 21 passes for 193 yards. His 50-yard TD dash in the second quarter was the longest of his career.
SAINTS 35, LIONS 29
DETROIT — Drew Brees threw two touchdown passes to Tre’Quan Smith 2:19 apart in the second quarter, helping short-handed New Orleans overcome a 14-point deficit and beat Detroit.
New Orleans (2-2) started the game without six injured starters after a short night of rest. The Saints had a player test falsely positive for the coronavirus Saturday, according to a person familiar with the situation, leading to another round of tests for players and staff overnight in the Motor City.
Early in the game at fan-free Ford Field, the Lions (1-3) looked as though they might take advantage of facing a tired team without three starters on both sides of the ball as they led 14-0 4:37 after kickoff.
BENGALS 33, JAGUARS 25
CINCINNATI — Joe Mixon ran for 151 yards and two TDs and caught Joe Burrow’s pass for another score as Cincinnati rolled up 505 yards.
The Bengals (1-2-1) worked around their recent offensive line problems and Mixon broke through with his first big game of the season, which opened up the field for Burrow to hit some big passes. The Heisman Trophy-winning rookie was sharp again, throwing for 300 yards and the touchdown to Mixon.
SEAHAWKS 31, DOLPHINS 23
MIAMI — Russell Wilson threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns as Seattle beat Miami. The Seahawks (4-0) have scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games for the first time since 2015.
Seattle forced Miami to settle for five field goals before the Dolphins finally reached the end zone in the final minutes.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was 29 for 45 and 315 yards but threw two interceptions for Miami (1-3). He also rushed for a touchdown and was the leading rusher for Miami with six carries for 47 yards.
VIKINGS 31, TEXANS 23
HOUSTON — Dalvin Cook ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns and Minnesota withstood a late rally from winless Houston.
The Texans cut the lead to 8 when Deshaun Watson connected with Kenny Stills on a 24-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-10 with about six minutes remaining.
PANTHERS 31, CARDINALS 21
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Teddy Bridgewater threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score. The Panthers (2-2) scored touchdowns on their first four trips inside the Cardinals’ 20-yard line to build a 28-7 lead.
Bridgewater scored his first rushing touchdown since Dec. 20, 2015 on an 18-yard scramble, sidestepping several tacklers to reach the end zone and give Carolina a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. It was his first TD rushing since tearing an ACL and suffering a dislocated left kneecap during a training camp practice with the Vikings.
