Josh Allen overwhelms as Buccaneers fall to Bills in Week 11

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers once again fought valiantly, but they dropped their second AFC East game of the year and third game in their last four when they lost to the Buffalo Bills 44-32 on Sunday.

The Bucs were able to have a day on offense, putting up 32 points and averaging over five yards per carry, but the defense was overwhelmed by Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who was responsible for three touchdowns through the air and three on the ground en route to the Bills' win.

Here's how the game went down in Buffalo:

Bills go up in first quarter

Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson (26) runs for a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of the game | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers got to Buffalo's 39 to start the game but couldn't convert a 3rd & 8, so they punted back to the Bills. The Bills had it inside the five, and Josh Allen flung a pass in a panic when he was about to be sacked and threw a pick to Jacob Parrish, putting the Bucs in prime position to score. Unfortunately, the Bucs couldn't score from that close, so they kicked a field goal to move to 3-0.

The Bills made Tampa Bay pay, marching down the field after a 60-yard return from Mecole Hardman to go up 7-3 off a two-yard Josh Allen rushing touchdown. At the end of the first quarter, the Buccaneers were near the Bills' 30-yard line, threatening to reach the red zone.

Bucs get going in second quarter, but Bills hang on

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) runs out of bounds against Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard (8) and cornerback Christian Benford (47) | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers scored to kick off the second quarter, with Baker Mayfield matching Josh Allen band for band with a four-yard run into the end zone himself. That put them up 10-7, but the Bills responded immediately when Josh Allen launched a 43-yard bomb to wideout Tyrell Shavers for a touchdown, putting Buffalo up 14-10.

The Buccaneers responded in a big way, getting the explosive play they needed to go up. Running back Sean Tucker exploded out of the backfield and rumbled for a 43-yard touchdown, putting the Bucs up 17-14 with the minutes dwindling in the first half.

The Bucs showed up in crunch time, picking off Josh Allen on fourth down for the second time on the day, this time from linebacker SirVocea Dennis. That gave the team a good chance to do some damage before the half, but they stalled out on 3rd & 5 at midfield and punted back to the Bills with 1:17 left to go.

The Bills made them pay right before the half, with the Buccaneers giving up yet another explosive play on a 52-yard screen pass touchdown to Ty Johnson. With that, Buffalo went up 21-17, but the Bucs made one more drive as time expired and kicked a field goal to make it 21-20 at the half.

Buccaneers and Bills trade blows in third quarter

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker (44) runs for a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The Bills couldn't do anything with their opening possession, and the Bucs couldn't on the return salvo, so they punted it back — the Bills muffed the punt, though, so the Bucs got the ball back and had a chance to take the lead. They did, scoring on a Sean Tucker run, but they failed a two-point conversion to make it 26-21 Bucs.

The Bills had good field position off of a kickoff (again) but couldn't get in the end zone, so they kicked a field goal to narrow the Bucs' lead 26-24.

Baker Mayfield threw a disastrous interception on the next drive, which put the Bills in position to do a lot of damage inside their own 30. They immediately scored on a 25-yard pass play to James Cook, putting the Bills up 31-26. When the third quarter expired, the Bucs had the ball and were driving down the field.

Bills seal win over Buccaneers in fourth quarter

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) scrambles against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of the game | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The Bucs hit paydirt on a Sean Tucker wheel route reception for a score, but they failed their two-point conversion, so they went up 32-31 as the fourth quarter started. The Bills immediately responded, though, marching down the field and scoring on a Josh Allen rushing touchdown before failing a two-point conversion of their own to go up 37-32.

The Bucs couldn't score on their ensuing possession and decided to punt on 4th & 2 instead of going for it, giving it back to a Bills team that had been firing all day on offense. The result was predictable, as the Bills drove all the way down the field, chewed up the clock and scored another rushing touchdown from Josh Allen to go up 44-32.

The Buccaneers had another possession, but Baker Mayfield fumbled in the pocket and the ball went back to the Bills. The Bucs would get one more possession with 38 seconds left, but they kneeled out the game and let the Bills walk out with the win.

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