ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen shrugged off a three-turnover outing by throwing two touchdown passes 3:11 apart in the third quarter, and rallying the Buffalo Bills to a 34-31 win over the injury-depleted Miami Dolphins in an AFC wild-card matchup on Sunday.
Cole Beasley scored the go-ahead touchdown with a six-yard catch, and Gabe Davis extended the lead to 34-24 with a 23-yard TD reception in a game where Buffalo squandered an early 17-0 lead.
The Bills defense forced six punts and two turnovers, then held on to secure the win when Miami turned the ball over on downs on its final possession.
After watching Brandon Staley get outclassed during a playoff collapse, the Chargers’ leadership must decide whether it can afford to keep him.
Rookie Skylar Thompson’s pass on fourth-and-6 went just off the fingertips of tight end Mike Gesicki with 2:22 remaining.
Buffalo was able to run out the clock when Devin Singletary bulled his way for a 7-yard gain to convert a third-and-seven.
It was a sloppy game played between two division rivals, and the outcome fitting after Miami and Buffalo split their regular-season series in games decided by a combined five points. The Dolphins beat Buffalo 21-19 at Miami in September, with the Bills rallying to beat Miami 32-29 last month.
Allen finished 23 of 39 for 352 yards and three TDs, but also threw two interceptions, which resulted in the Dolphins scoring 10 points. He also lost a fumble while being sacked by Eric Rowe, with Zach Sieler recovering the ball and returning it five yards for a touchdown to put Miami ahead 24-20, just 61 seconds into the third quarter.
“It’s a one-week season, that’s it,” Allen said. “All that matters is surviving and advancing.”
The Chargers will want to quickly forget about their playoff loss to the Jaguars, but the ramifications could be big for the players and Brandon Staley.
As the AFC’s second seed, Buffalo will play the third-seeded Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round.
The Bills-Bengals matchup will be two weeks after their game was canceled when Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field.
Hamlin was with the team in spirit, while live-tweeting during the game from home, where he continues to recover. About an hour before kickoff, a message from Hamlin on Twitter read: “My heart is with my guys as they compete today! Nothing I want more than to be out there with them.”
The 24-year-old Hamlin was released from a Buffalo hospital on Wednesday and visited with his teammates at the Bills facility on Saturday.
MINNEAPOLIS — Daniel Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 78 yards in his first career playoff game for New York as Minnesota suffered its first loss in 12 one-score games this season.
Saquon Barkley rushed for two scores, including the tiebreaker midway through the fourth quarter. The Giants’ defense finished off the franchise’s first playoff win since the Super Bowl 11 years ago by swarming tight end T.J. Hockenson after a 3-yard catch on a pass from Kirk Cousins at midfield on fourth-and-8. The Vikings turned the ball over on downs with 1:44 to go and no timeouts left.
Jones became the first quarterback in NFL history with 300-plus passing yards, two-plus passing touchdowns and 70-plus rushing yards in a postseason game as first-year head coach Brian Daboll’s Giants advanced to play No. 1 seed and NFC East rival Philadelphia in the divisional round next weekend.
“We did what we wanted to do, come out with a win,“ Barkley said. “Celebrate on the way back, watch film, learn from it and get ready for Philly.”
Isaiah Hodgins and Daniel Bellinger had touchdown receptions for New York.
Cousins went 31 for 39 for 273 yards and two scores and a rushing touchdown to cap the game’s opening possession, the too-short throw to Hockenson his one glaring mistake. Justin Jefferson, the NFL’s leading receiver, had only one catch after halftime and finished with 47 yards.
CINCINNATI — Sam Hubbard returned Tyler Huntley’s fumble 98 yards for a tiebreaking touchdown in the fourth quarter, helping Joe Burrow and the Bengals advance to the AFC divisional playoffs.
Facing third-and-goal at the 1 with about 12 minutes left, Huntley tried to go over the top of the line for the go-ahead score. But he was stood up by Germaine Pratt and stripped by fellow linebacker Logan Wilson.
The ball went right to Hubbard at the 2, and the defensive end took off down the field for the longest fumble return for a touchdown in NFL postseason history. It also was the longest go-ahead TD in the fourth in the postseason.
Moments after the play by the Cincinnati native, with the Paycor Stadium crowd of 66,399 still buzzing, Hubbard sucked on oxygen as he sat on the bench on the sideline.
Baltimore drove down to the Cincinnati 17 in the final minute, but Kevin Zeitler was flagged for holding and Huntley threw incomplete to the end zone on the final play.
Playing behind a patchwork offensive line, Burrow passed for 209 yards and a touchdown for the AFC North champions. He also had a one-yard touchdown run a week after the Bengals beat the Ravens 27-16 in the regular-season finale.
Next up for Cincinnati (13-4) is a trip to Buffalo for a rematch of their Week 17 game that was canceled after Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field. With Hamlin watching from home, Buffalo advanced with a 34-31 victory over Miami on Sunday.
Baltimore (10-8) now heads into the offseason with questions about the future of star quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
