Bills Central

'It's On Me': Josh Allen Takes Blame for Error-Prone Bills OT Loss to Vikings

Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills and the Minnesota Vikings are two of the best teams in the NFL. So who would reign supreme on Sunday?

Nathaniel Marrero

Some of the best teams in the NFL would square off when the Buffalo Bills hosted the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. ... and it was a 33-30 OT thriller in which QB Josh Allen made enough mistakes to create a somber take from him in his postgame media visit.

"It's on me,'' Allen said. "Can't have that.''

How it all broke down ...

That storyline, however, is on the back burner due to the questions surrounding both teams. ... as we go to overtime due to a Josh Allen wrong-way goal-line fumble ...

The Vikings are 7-1, but after coming from behind to beat the Washington Commanders 20-17 on Nov. 6, it’s fair to wonder if they’re legit contenders. The Vikings have only beaten one team whose record is above .500, and each of their wins has come in one-score games.

The Philadelphia Eagles handed Minnesota its only loss on Sept. 19, 24-7.

A win over the 6-2 Bills under normal circumstances would give the Vikings the validation they’re seeking, but a series of injuries has left Buffalo reeling.

Josh Allen is nursing an elbow injury and is active but wasn’t on the field for warm-ups. Allen suffered a sprained UCL ligament in the Bills’ 20-17 loss to the New York Jets on Nov. 6.

If Allen doesn't play, Case Keenum would be in line to start for the Bills. 

Buffalo will be without Jordan Poyer, Gregory Rosseau and other key defensive players.

Here are the rest of the inactive players for both teams.

Bills:

DE Gregory Rousseau

S Jordan Poyer

CB Kaiir Elam

CB Tre'Davious White

TE Tommy Sweeney

OL Justin Murray

LB Baylon Spector

Vikings:

CB Cameron Dantzler

DT Dalvin Tomlinson

OLB Luiji Vilain

G/C Chris Reed

OLB Benton Whitley

OT Vederian Lowe

DL Esezi Otomewo

Stay tuned for live updates of the game. 

First Quarter:

The Vikings won the toss and deferred. Buffalo will get the ball to start the game. They'll begin the drive at the 24-yard line.

Allen throws a screen to Stefon Diggs and he loses four yards. Allen throws another quick pass to Khalil Shakir and gets six yards. Buffalo calls a timeout before getting a delay of game penalty. On third and eight, Allen's pass is tipped and falls incomplete. 

Sam Martin's punt is run back to Minnesota's 26-yard line.

Change of possession.

Kirk Cousins' first pass of the game is batted down. Before second and 10, Minnesota takes a timeout. Cousins hands it off to Dalvin Cook and he loses a yard. On third and 11, Cousins connects with Justin Jefferson for a huge play, getting 46 yards and putting them at Buffalo's 25-yard line.

Cook gets another handoff and only gains a yard. On second and nine, Cousins rolls right and completes a pass to T.J. Hockenson for six yards. On third and three, Cousins finds Jefferson in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown.

Greg Joseph's extra point is good with 10:13 left in the first quarter.

Vikings 7, Bills 0

Change of possession.

Duke Johnson has a big return and runs it back to Minnesota's 47-yard line. 

After play-action, Allen completes a pass to Diggs for seven yards. Minnesota is flagged for a horsecollar tackle which adds 15 yards to the play. 

Devin Singletary gets his first carry of the game and he breaks a run for 21 yards to Minnesota's four-yard line. 

On first and goal, Singletary gets another carry and is stopped at the line of scrimmage. Singletary gets another handoff and he runs in it from five yards out for a touchdown. 

Tyler Bass' extra point is good.

Bills 7, Vikings 7

Change of possession.

Bass' kickoff is a touchback.

Cousins stumbles and Cook has to fall on the ball after losing five yards. On second and 15, Cousins' pass to Jefferson only gains four yards. On third and 11, Cousins checks down to Cook and he's stopped a yard short of a first down.

Ryan Wright's punt is caught by Nyheim Hines and he runs it eight yards to Buffalo's 29-yard line.

Change of possession.

Gabriel Davis gets his first catch for 20 yards on the pass from Allen.

James Cook loses a yard on the carry. Singletary runs for five yards on second down. On third and six, Allen completes a pass to Isaiah McKenzie for eight yards and a first down.

On first down, Allen finds Diggs after the play-action for 17 yards and he goes out of bounds at Minnesota's 19-yard line.

Singletary loses a yard on first down. On second down, Allen's pass falls incomplete after it hits Davis' hands. On third and 11, Allen scrambles 12 yards for a first down.

Cook gets the toss on first and goal and runs for eight yards to the Vikings' one-yard line. Singletary gets the handoff and runs it in for his second touchdown of the game.

Bass' extra point is good with 1:04 left in the quarter.

Bills 14, Vikings 7

Change of possession. 

Minnesota begins the drive from its 25-yard line after the touchback.

Cook runs for 11 yards on first down.

On first and 10, Cousins goes deep and is intercepted by Christian Benford and he runs it back to Minnesota's 27-yard line.

Change of possession.

Allen throws a swing pass to Hines and he gains 10 yards. That's the final play of the quarter.

End of the quarter.

Second Quarter:

On second and one from Minnesota's 17-yard line, Cook barely gets back to the line of scrimmage. Johnson gets the carry on third and one and runs for two yards.

On first down, Singletary gets tripped up and loses two yards. On second and 12, Allen's pass intended for Diggs is tipped and finds the hands of multiple Vikings before falling incomplete. On third down, Allen overthrows Singletary. 

Bass comes out to kick a 33-yard field goal and it's good.

Bills 17, Vikings 7

Change of possession.

Kene Wangwu takes the kickoff and runs it back to Minnesota's 45-yard line. 

Cousins fakes the handoff and completes a pass to Hockenson for two yards. On second and eight, Cousins scrambles out of bounds for a yard. On third down, Cousins finds his favorite target Jefferson for 15 yards and a first down.

Alexander Mattison gets his first carry of the game and gains nine yards. Mattison gets another handoff and runs for six yards. 

Cousins' pass on first down is tipped and falls incomplete. Cousins looks to complete a pass to Hockenson and it's knocked down. On third and 10, Cousins completes a pass to K.J. Osborn who's wide out and gets tackled at Buffalo's one-yard line.

On first and goal, Cousins hands it off to Mattison and he loses six yards. Cousins' pass is intended for Hockenson in the end zone. Hockenson is flagged for offensive interference and Minnesota moves back 10 more yards. Cousins throws a screen to Mattison and he gains nine yards. On third and goal, Cousins' pass to Hockenson is batted away and falls incomplete. 

Joseph's 27-yard field goal is good with 7:13 left in the first half.

Bills 17, Vikings 10

Change of possession.

Johnson doesn't find much success on this return, as he's tackled at Buffalo's nine-yard line. 

Singletary runs for two yards on first down. Allen throws a quick pass to Davis and gets six yards. On third and one, Allen rolls right and completes a six-yard pass to McKenzie for a first down. 

Allen tosses it to McKenzie on a reverse and he runs for 18 yards. 

Allen completes the pass to Dawson Knox for 15 yards and Buffalo moves into Minnesota territory. 

Allen keeps it and runs for nine yards before sliding. On second and one, Singletary fumbles and Minnesota recovers it. Cameryn Bynum runs it back to Buffalo's 38-yard line before being tackled by Allen. The play is under further review. 

After further review, the call stands.

Change of possession.

Cousins completes a pass to Adam Thielen for five yards. Cousins throws a short pass to Osborn and only gets four yards. Before third and one, the game reaches the two-minute warning. Cousins goes deep to Jefferson on third and one is incomplete after he doesn't get both feet in bounds. On fourth and one, Cousins' pass is knocked away and falls incomplete.

Change of possession.

Allen keeps it on first down and runs for 26 yards to Minnesota's 46-yard line. 

Allen finds his favorite target, Diggs, for 14 yards. 

Allen completes a pass to Davis for 15 yards to Minnesota's 17-yard line. Buffalo calls a timeout with 39 seconds left in the half. 

Allen completes a quick pass to Diggs and he goes out of bounds at Minnesota's 11-yard line. On second and four, Allen completes a pass to Davis for a touchdown. 

Bass' extra point is good.

Bills 24, Vikings 10

Change of possession.

Bass' kick goes through the end zone for a touchback. 

Cousins' pass intended for Osborn is incomplete. Cousins throws a screen to Cook and he only gains two yards. Minnesota calls its second timeout of the game with 14 seconds left in the half. On third and eight, Cousins' pass intended for Thielen is incomplete. 

Wright's punt is returned for nine yards to Buffalo's 36-yard line by Hines on the final play of the first half.

Halftime.

Third Quarter:

Minnesota starts the drive at its 22-yard line after the return.

Cook runs for three yards on first down. On second and seven, Cousins completes a 19-yard pass to Jefferson.

Cook gets the carry and gains four yards. Cousins looks for Cook through the air and the pass is incomplete. On third and six, Cousins checks it down to Cook and he runs for 14 yards to Buffalo's 37-yard line. 

On first down, Cousins is hit as he throws and gets intercepted by Dane Jackson. Jackson runs it back to Buffalo's 42-yard line.

Change of possession.

Singletary runs for nine yards on first down, but a holding penalty on Spencer Brown moves Buffalo back 10 yards. On first and 20, Allen completes a pass to Diggs for 18 yards to midfield. Singletary gets the carry on second and two and only gains a yard. On third and one, Allen is sacked by Za'Darius Smith and Danielle Hunter.

Martin's punt is caught by Jalen Reagor at Minnesota's 20-yard line and he only gets three yards.

Change of possession.

Cook loses six yards on the carry. Cousins completes a pass to Hockenson for three yards on second down. On third and 13, Cousins connects with Hockenson again, this time for 17 yards and a first down. 

Cousins and Hockenson connect one again and gain six yards. On second and four, Cousins completes another pass to Hockenson but loses a yard. On third and five, Cousins' pass to Cook is incomplete but Minnesota called a timeout before the play so they'll do it again. Now, there's an officials timeout for a medical issue and Hockenson leaves the field. 

On third and five, Cousins completes a 17-yard pass to Osborn, but offensive holding negates the big play. On third and 15, Cousins' is hit as he throws and his pass to Osborn is incomplete.

 Hines catches the punt at Buffalo's 10-yard line and returns it for 12 yards with 6:12 left in the third quarter.

Change of possession.

Singletary barely gets back to the line of scrimmage on first down. Singletary gains four yards. Singletary is down and gets attended to by the trainers. On third and five, Smith is flagged for a neutral zone infraction to give Buffalo a first down. 

Allen completes a pass to Diggs for 11 yards before going out of bounds. 

Allen finds Knox for a 22-yard gain to Minnesota's 30-yard line. 

Cook gets the toss from Allen and gains eight yards. On second and three, Allen's pass to Shakir gets tipped and falls incomplete. Johnson gets the handoff on third and two and is stuffed at the line of scrimmage. 

After a false start moves Buffalo back five yards, Bass attempts a 45-yard field goal and it's good with 1:51 left in the third quarter.

Bills 27, Vikings 10

Change of Possession.

Nwangwu's return only goes to Minnesota's 19-yard line. 

Cook breaks a huge run and takes it 81-yards for a touchdown.

Joseph's extra point is good.

Bills 27, Vikings 17

Change of possession.

Johnson returns the kick to Buffalo's 26-yard line. 

Allen connects with Diggs on first down for five yards. Allen looks for Diggs again but the pass is over his head. On third and five, Allen scrambles for seven yards but a holding call negates the first down. On third and 15, Allen's rolls right and makes a one-handed catch for a 33-yard gain to Minnesota's 46-yard line. That's the final play of the third quarter.

End of the quarter.

Fourth Quarter:

Singletary is tripped up at the line of scrimmage. Allen gets sacked by Hunter on second down for a six-yard loss. On third and 16, Allen rolls right and completes the pass for 23 yards and a first down at Minnesota's 37-yard line.

Allen throws it at Cook's feet after the screen is blown up by Minnesota. Cook runs for seven yards on second down. On third and three, Allen connects with Diggs for another big gain, this time for 16 yards which putts Buffalo at Minnesota's 15-yard line.

Allen completes a pass to McKenzie who turns it into an eight-yard gain. Allen's pass to Knox is thrown into the ground. On third and two, Allen's pass intended for McKenzie is incomplete. 

Buffalo goes for it on fourth down and Allen's pass is intercepted by Patrick Peterson. Peterson runs it back to Minnesota's 35-yard line with 10:27 left in the game. Allen is down on the field after attempting to tackle Peterson.

Change of possession.

Cook only gains a yard on first down. Cousins' pass for Jefferson is incomplete. On third and nine, Cousins completes the pass to Thielen for seven yards. Before fourth and one, Minnesota calls a timeout with 9:02 left in the game. Osborn gets the handoff on a reverse and barely gets the first down. 

Cousins' pass to Cook is incomplete. Cousins' completes the pass to Osborn on a screen and he gains six yards to midfield. Cam Lewis is down on the field for Buffalo. On third and three, Cook gets the handoff and loses two yards. 

Minnesota goes for it again and Cousins completes a pass to Hockenson for 12 yards and a first down. 

Cousins looks for Jefferson on first down and the pass is incomplete. Cousins rolls to his right and connects with Thielen for 22 yards and he's tackled at Buffalo's 17-yard line. 

Cousins keeps it on first down and runs for 15 yards to Buffalo's three-yard line. 

On first and goal, Cousins' pass to Jefferson is incomplete. C.J. Ham gets the handoff on second and goal and he runs it in for a touchdown.

Joseph's extra point is no good after it hits the upright with 4:34 left in the game.

Bills 27, Vikings 23

Change of possession.

Johnson runs the kick back to the 28-yard line. 

Allen is in the game for Buffalo. He throws a swing pass to Singletary and loses a yard. Diggs gets flagged for a false start to make it second and 15. Allen's pass intended for Diggs on second down is incomplete. Allen looks for Diggs again on third down and the pass is broken up by Harrison Smith.

Reagor calls for a fair catch at Minnesota's 24-yard line with 3:26 left in the game.

Change of possession. 

Cousins makes multiple defenders miss and completes a pass to Osborn for six yards on first down. Cousins completes the pass to Thielen for six yards and a first down.

Boogie Basham sacks Cousins for a three-yard loss. Cousins' pass to Hockenson is incomplete after he's hit. On third and 13, Cousins is sacked by Von Miller for an 11-yard loss. The game has reached the two-minute warning. On fourth and 18, Cousins goes deep and Jefferson makes a one-handed catch with multiple defenders around him for 33 yards.

Cousins completes a pass to Thielen and an unnecessary roughness penalty moves Minnesota to Buffalo's 17-yard line.

Cousins finds Jefferson for a 14-yard gain down to Buffalo's three-yard line. Buffalo takes a timeout with 1:09 left in the game. 

Cousins gets tripped as he drops back and loses four yards. On second and goal from the seven-yard line, Cousins' pass to Jefferson is high and incomplete. On third and goal, Cousins' pass to Jefferson is complete for a touchdown. The play is under further review. After review, the call is overturned Jefferson is ruled down at the one-yard line. Buffalo takes its final timeout with 57 seconds left in the game.

On fourth and goal from the one-yard line, Cousins is under pressure and his pass to Cook is dropped. Buffalo is flagged for being offsides and they'll replay the down. 

Cousins tries to sneak it in on fourth and goal and he's stopped short of the goal line. The play is under further review. After further review, the call stands.

Change of possession.

After a fumbled snap by Allen, Minnesota recovers the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. The play is under further review. After further review, the call stands.

Joseph's extra point is good with 41 seconds left in the game.

Vikings 30, Bills 27

Change of possession.

Buffalo starts the drive at its 21-yard line. 

Allen completes a pass to Knox for 13 yards and he gets out of bounds with 29 seconds left.

Allen completes another pass to Knox for eight yards and he gets out of bounds with 24 seconds left. A Minnesota player is down and the Vikings have to take their final timeout. Allen completes a 20-yard pass to Davis and he's out of bounds with 18 seconds left.

Allen completes another pass to McKenzie for 15 yards and he goes out of bounds at Minnesota's 25-yard line. 

Allen goes deep to Davis and it's incomplete but Minnesota is called for pass interference.

Bass comes out to kick a 29-yard field goal and it's good with two seconds left.

Bills 30, Vikings 30

Change of possession.

After the touchback, Cousins takes a knee and the game is heading to overtime.

End of the quarter.

Overtime:

Minnesota wins the toss and will get the ball to start overtime.

Dalvin Cook runs for a run down then gains nine yards. 

Cousins connects with Jefferson and they reach Buffalo's 43-yard line. 

After a false start, Cousins goes deep to Jefferson and it's incomplete but a pass interference call on Buffalo moves Minnesota to the 36-yard line. 

Cook runs for 10 yards to the 26-yard line. 

Cousins' pass to Osborn is incomplete and Cook is stopped for no gain on second down. Before third and 10, Minnesota calls a timeout. Cousins threads the needle between two defenders and Jefferson catches the pass at Buffalo's two-yard line. 

On first and goal, Cook loses three yards. Cousins is sacked by Ed Oliver for a loss of 10 yards. On third and goal from the 15-yard line, Cousins' pass intended for Thielen is incomplete. 

Joseph comes out to kick a 33-yard field goal and it's good.

Vikings 33, Bills 30

Change of possession.

Johnson returns the kickoff to Buffalo's 26-yard line. 

Allen finds no one open, makes multiple defenders miss and scrambles for 19 yards. 

Allen keeps it again and runs for 20 yards to Minnesota's 34-yard line. 

Allen completes a pass to Diggs for six yards. The game reaches the two-minute warning.

Allen throws a screen to Diggs for seven yards and a first down at Minnesota's 20-yard line. 

Allen's pass intended for Knox is broken up in the end zone for an incomplete pass. Allen goes to the end zone again and he's intercepted by Peterson for the second time and that ends the game.

Final: Vikings 33, Bills 30

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Nathaniel Marrero
NATHANIEL MARRERO

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