Bills 33, Raiders 30: Buffalo answers a fourth-quarter tie and reaches 5-1

The Bills had to rebuild their lead after Las Vegas erased it. Buffalo beat the Raiders 33-30 Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, answering a fourth-quarter tie with James Cook's touchdown run and another Tyler Bass field goal. The Bills enter their Week 7 bye at 5-1. Las Vegas is 3-3.

Buffalo led 23-13 after three quarters. The Raiders scored the next 10 points, first on Matt Gay's 23-yard field goal and then on Kirk Cousins' 11-yard touchdown pass to Tre Tucker. Gay's extra point made it 23-23. The lead Buffalo had built after halftime was gone.

The response after Las Vegas caught them

Cook's three-yard touchdown finished a seven-play, 66-yard drive. With Bass' extra point, the Bills were back ahead by seven. Bass later made a 38-yard field goal to move the lead to 33-23. That kick became the difference in the final margin after Tucker caught a 44-yard touchdown from Cousins and Gay added the extra point.

The sequence is more revealing than the three-point margin alone. Buffalo did not need a last-play score to win, but it did need a complete scoring response after Las Vegas drew even. The Bills produced a touchdown drive and then another field goal instead of leaving the result at the mercy of a single possession.

Josh Allen's touchdown passes went to Khalil Shakir from nine yards in the second quarter and Keon Coleman from 12 in the third. Coleman’s score, followed by the extra point, completed Buffalo's 10-0 third quarter. The teams had reached halftime tied 13-13.

Four Bass field goals, then a week off

Bass made four field goals, from 44, 28, 47 and 38 yards, according to the official scoring summary. Those kicks accounted for 12 of Buffalo's 33 points, before his three extra points are counted. The last field goal was valuable insurance even though the Raiders made the finish close again.

A 5-1 record gives Buffalo a strong start to take into the break. The final also leaves a defensive concern visible: Las Vegas scored 17 fourth-quarter points after being held scoreless in the third. Winning does not erase that swing, and a narrow win does not erase the offense's response either.

The official Bills schedule lists the bye next, followed by a November 1 home game against Baltimore at 1 p.m. Eastern. Buffalo gets that preparation time with a win already secured, rather than an early-season lead wasted in Las Vegas.