Eagles hang on to beat Bills 13-12 when Josh Allen misses an open Khalil Shakir on 2-point try
Josh Allen sailed a 2-point conversion attempt wide of open receiver Khalil Shakir in the back of the end zone with 5 seconds remaining, and the Philadelphia Eagles hung on for a 13-12 win over the Buffalo Bills
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen sailed a 2-point conversion attempt wide of open receiver Khalil Shakir in the back of the end zone with 5 seconds remaining, and the Philadelphia Eagles hung on for a 13-12 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Dallas Goedert caught a 1-yard touchdown pass, Jake Elliott hit field goals of 28 and 47 yards, and the Super Bowl champion Eagles barely avoided squandering a 13-0 fourth-quarter lead. Linebacker Jalyx Hunt had two of Philadelphia's four sacks and a team-leading three quarterback hits.
Defensive tackle Jalen Carter made a major contribution in his return after missing three games with a injuries to both shoulders. Carter got his hand up to block Michael Badgley's extra-point attempt after Allen's 2-yard touchdown run with 5:11 left.
Allen scored on a tush push on fourth-and-goal to pull the Bills within one point with 5 seconds remaining. The Bills thought they had a touchdown one play earlier, but Dawson Knox was ruled short of the goal line after a replay review.
Rather than playing for overtime, coach Sean McDermott opted to go for 2. Allen dropped back in the pocket and had a defender in his face when he let loose a pass that was about a foot wide of Shakir. The Bills then tried an onside kick that Goedert recovered.
The NFC East champion Eagles (11-5) are assured of at least the conference’s third seed entering the playoffs.
Buffalo (11-5), which clinched a playoff berth last week, dropped to the No. 7 seed in the AFC. New England clinched its first AFC East title since 2019 with the Bills' loss.
A matchup between Super Bowl contenders and two of the NFL’s top running backs turned into a defensive struggle played in a persistent drizzle.
The Bills were scoreless through three quarters before Allen — who's already led three fourth-quarter rallies this season — tried to mount another incredible comeback.
Allen went 16 of 25 for 172 yards in the second half and finished 23 of 35 for 262 yards. With his two rushing scores, the 29-year-old Allen increased his career total to 301 (passing, rushing, receiving) and became the first player to reach 300 before turning 30.
Hurts threw a 1-yard TD pass to Goedert with 35 seconds left in the first quarter. That was set up when Allen lost a fumble, with Jihaad Campbell recovering at Buffalo’s 45.
Goedert’s touchdown was his team-leading 11th of the season and set the single-season team record for tight ends -- one more than Pete Retzlaff had in 1965.
Hurts finished 13 of 27 for 110 yards, while Saquon Barkley was limited to 68 yards rushing on 19 carries.
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Before the fourth quarter, the Bills' best scoring chance ended when Allen was stopped just short of the goal line while attempting to convert a fourth-and-goal from the 3 late in the third.
Allen had difficulty finding open receivers.
That was particularly evident in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter with Buffalo facing third-and-8 at Philadelphia’s 27. Allen rolled to his left trying to buy time, then reversed his field to escape pressure before Hunt brought him down for a 19-yard loss. Allen slammed the ball to the turf several times before getting up.
The Eagles' offense, meantime, evaporated in the second half. Not including its game-closing kneel-down, Philadelphia combined for one first down and 17 yards of offense on five second-half possessions — all ending with punts.
Injuries
Eagles: LB Nakobe Dean (hamstring) did not play.
Bills: LB Terrel Bernard did not return after hurting his calf in the first half. ... Defensive tackles DaQuan Jones (calf) and Jordan Phillips (ankle) and safety Jordan Poyer (hamstring) did not play. TE Dalton Kincaid missed his fourth of seven games with a nagging knee injury.
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