Commander Country

Bills vs. Commanders Live Updates: Bills Take A Knee To Seal Blowout Victory

The Washington Commanders host the Buffalo Bills in a sold-out FedEx Field.

Kevin Borba

In this story:

The Washington Commanders look to win their third straight game to start the season as they host the Buffalo Bills.

Today's win for the Commanders would give them their best start since 2005, the last year the franchise won a playoff game.

To win, quarterback Sam Howell will have to pull off another impressive performance. Howell is fresh off a career performance against the Broncos, hitting career highs in yards (299), completion percentage (69 percent), and touchdown passes (2). 

He'll also do something no Washington quarterback has done in over 50 years should the Commanders win.

"If the Commanders beat the Bills on Sunday, Sam Howell will become the second Washington player in the Super Bowl era to win each of his first four starts in the NFL. Billy Kilmer did it in 1971," Washington Post reporter Nicki Jhabvala tweeted.

A big part of today's game for the Commanders is also stopping Josh Allen.

Allen bounced back from his Week 1 flub against the New York Jets, committing zero turnovers with an impressive stat line: completing 31 of 37 passes (83.8 percent) for 274 yards and three touchdowns in a win against the Las Vegas Raiders.

WHAT: Buffalo Bills (1-1) at Washington Commanders (2-0)

WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, 1 p.m. ET

WHERE: FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland (67,617)

TELEVISION: CBS / FuboTV (try it free)

RADIO: WMAL 105.9

TICKETS via SI TICKETS

Betting via SI SportsBook

SPREAD: Bills -6.5 (-110), Commanders +6.5 (-118)

TOTAL: 42.5 (o -118, u -110)

MONEYLINE: Bills -275, Commanders +210

1ST QUARTER:

Washington Commanders kick to start the game, with Joey Slye's kick going for a touchback. The ball starts at Buffaloes 25.

Josh Allen connects with Dalton Kincaid but loses a yard. Running back James Cook gains just one yard on his first attempt. On third and ten, Josh Allen runs up the middle for a gain of 13 yards. Gabe Davis gets stuffed behind the line for a two-yard loss on a rushing attempt. Allen finds Kincaid for a gain of four yards and follows that with a 30-yard completion to Stefon Diggs on third and eight to put the ball at the Washington 30. Allen finds Dawson Knox for a gain of 11 yards. Cook gains one yard on the carry putting the ball at the Washington 18. Allen can't connect with a receiver over the middle on third down, forcing Buffalo to settle for a field goal. 

Tyler Bass makes the 36-yard field goal to give Buffalo a 3-0 lead. 

Bills 3, Commanders 0

End Of Possession 

Bass' kick goes 68 yards and is returned by Antonio Gibson to the Washington 27 for a gain of 28.

Brian Robinson takes the carry seven yards on first and ten. Sam Howell connects with Terry McLaurin for a gain of five and a first down. Robinson rushes for five yards. Howell finds McLaurin again for a 10-yard gain. Howell airs it out to Cole Turner for 21 yards. Ed Oliver sacks Howell for a loss of eight and is sacked by Terrell Bernard the next play for a loss of a yard to make it second and 18. Howell gets picked off Bernard, attempting to connect with Dyami Brown, and the ball is placed at the Buffalo 16.

End Of Possession 

Josh Allen's pass to Stefon Diggs falls incomplete. James Cook takes the carry eight yards to make it third and two. Allen connects with Diggs for a gain of four. Allen throws an incompletion while targetting James Cook, who gets a carry the next play and takes it two yards. On third and eighth Allen looks to find Diggs deep, but the two are unable to connect. 

Buffalo ends up punting, which goes for a touchback. Ball at the Commander 20 to start the next drive.

End Of Possession 

Brian Robinson takes a carry one yard before being wrapped up. Howell tries to connect with Jahan Dotson, but the pass falls incomplete. Terrell Bernard sacks Howell for a loss of 10 on third and nine. 

The sack leads to a Washington punt, which Tress Way launches 57 yards. Bills return man Deonte Harty returns the punt 23 yards, but a holding penalty negates the return putting the ball at the Washington 35.

End Of Possession 

First play of the drive, Josh Allen goes deep and connects with Gabe Davis for a 45-yard touchdown. The Kick by Bass is good to make the score 10-0 Bills.

Bills 10, Commanders 0

Bass kicks it 65 yards for the touchback

End Of Possession 

Washington starting their drive at the 25.

Howell goes deep to Curtis Samuel for a gain of 37 yards to end the first quarter. 

2ND QUARTER:

Samuel gets a rushing attempt that goes nowhere, but the Bills are called for defensive holding. Howell finds McLaurin for a gain of nine yards on first and 10, which Howell follows up with a one-yard scramble to get the first to make it first and goal. Howell's pass to Turner goes for just one yard. Brian Robinson takes the carry but is tackled for a loss of one. Commanders go for it on fourth and two, but Howell's pass to Turner is incomplete, turnover on downs.

End Of Possession 

Bills starting their drive at their two-yard line. 

Damien Harris gets two rushes to open the drive, taking the first for a gain of two and the second for a gain of four making it third and four. Josh Allens completes a pass to Khalil Shakir for a gain of five and a first down. An Illegal shift on Dalton Kincaid negates a three-yard scramble by Allen. James Cook takes the carry-on first and 15 for three yards. Allen takes off and gains 23 yards on a rushing attempt. Cook takes the handoff two yards before being pushed out of bounds. Allen looks to go deep again but misses on the connection with Trent Sherfield. 

On third and eighth, Allen connects with Diggs for a gain of 19, appears that Diggs was injured in the play. Deonte Harty takes a handoff one yard, before being pushed out of bounds. On second and nine, Allen finds Harty over the middle for a gain of seven. Damien Harris gets a carry and takes it seven yards to the Washington 30. 

A sack on Josh Allen by Montez Sweat was negated by a penalty on Dalton Kincaid for tripping, moving Buffalo back 15 yards. On first and 25, Allen finds Diggs for a gain of nine. The next play was blown dead after a false start by the Bills, pushing them back to second and 21. Allen connects with Sherfield for a gain of nine yards. Allen hits Diggs but ends up losing four yards on the play on third and 12.

Two-minute warning.

Tyler Bass drills the field goal from 54 yards out to make it 13-0 Bills. 

Bills 13, Commanders 0

Bass' kick goes for a touchback.

End Of Possession 

Sam Howell finds Terry McLaurin for a gain of four yards on first down. Howell then connects with Cole Turner for a gain of five yards. Sam Howell's pass on third and one that was intended for Antonio Gibson gets picked off by Micah Hyde, who is brought down at the Washington 33.

End Of Possession 

James Cook catches a pass from Josh Allen for a gain of four yards. Cook then takes a carry seven yards. Allen looks for Deonte Harty, but his pass falls incomplete. With 32 seconds left in the half, Allen looks to connect with Gabe Davis on second down, but the pass falls incomplete. 

Bills call their first timeout of the half. 

Allen finds Harty for a gain of eight yards on third and ten and calls a timeout after the play with 22 seconds remaining. 

Tyler Bass makes the 32-yard field goal to extend the Bills' lead to 16-0.

Bass' kick sails into the end zone for a touchback 

Bills 16, Commanders 0

End Of Possession

Brian Robinson takes a carry 10 yards for a first down and to end the half. 

Halftime: Bills 16, Commanders 0

3RD QUARTER:

Tyler Bass' kick gets returned for 17 yards by Antonio Gibson.

Ball at the Washington 21, Brian Robinson takes the carry four yards on first down. Sam Howell's pass to Cole Turner falls incomplete, but the Bills get called for illegal contact on third and sixth. On first and 10 the following play, Howell completes a pass to Terry McLaurin for a gain of a yard. Antonio Gibson takes a carry four yards, and on the next play catches a pass from Howell for 10 yards giving the Commanders a first down.

Howell finds Jahan Dotson for a gain of six. On second and four, Brian Robinson rushes for a gain of 23 yards after being tackled at the Buffalo 30. Gibson takes a carry 13 yards the next play for another first down in Bills territory. Robinson takes the next handoff two yards to the Bills' 17.

Quarterback Sam Howell gets picked off looking for Curtis Samuel by Buffalo defensive back Tre'Davious White who returns it two yards to the Bills one. 

End Of Possession 

On the first play after the interception, Josh Allen connects with Stefon Diggs for a 30-yard gain. Allen then connects with Trent Sherfield for a nine-yard gain. James Cook takes the carry 10 yards to give the Bills a first down, which Allen follows up with an incomplete pass to Gabe Davis. 

The next play, the Bills get called for holding pushing them back 10 yards and making it second and 20. Allen throws an incomplete pass to Diggs and then follows that up with a pass for Gabe Davis that gets picked off by Kendall Fuller at the Washington 18-yard line. 

End Of Possession 

Brian Robinson gets two rushes to open up the drive going for six and 13 yards respectively. Sam Howell then gets sacked for a loss of a yard and then sacked again for a loss of six both of which were by Leonard Floyd. On third and 17, Howell connected with Brian Robinson for a gain of 15, but the play was negated by an ineligible downfield pass making it third and 22. Howell then connected with Antonio Gibson for a loss of one. 

Tress Way punts it 47 yards to the Bills 28-yard line, with Deonte Harty returning it for three yards.

End Of Possession 

James Cook kicks off the drive with a three-yard rush, which Josh Allen followed up with a 20-yard pass to Stefon Diggs. Cook then rushed for another five yards. Latavius Murray takes his first carry of the day four yards to end the quarter.

4TH QUARTER:

Damien Harris takes a carry one yard on third and two, setting up a fourth and one that the Bills went for but didn't get after Allen couldn't connect with Diggs. 

End Of Possession 

Sam Howell hits Antonio Gibson for a completion, but Gibson fumbles the ball away and it's recovered by the Bills' Terrell Bernard at the Washington 30. 

End Of Possession 

Josh Allen completes a pass to James Cook for a 10-yard gain, then Stefon Diggs for a three-yard gain. James Cook then rushes for a gain of five on second and seventh, followed by a first town thanks to an Allen to-Murray connection for six yards on third and two. Deonte Harty takes a carry but is tackled for a loss of three on first and goal. 

Josh Allen takes it himself on the second goal, running 10 yards for the touchdown. Tyler Bass makes the PAT, and the Bills add to their lead.

Bills 23, Commanders 0 

Tyler Bass' kick goes for a touchback.

End Of Possession

Sam Howell completes a pass to John Bates for a gain of five. Sam Howell then looks to connect with Jahan Dotson but is picked off for the fourth time of the day, this time by AJ Espenesa who returned it 32 yards for a touchdown.

The touchdown and the field goal extended the Bills' lead to 30-0.

Bills 30, Commanders 0 

Tyler Bass' kick goes for a touchback.

End Of Possession 

Sam Howell gets another chance and completes a pass to Cole Turner for four yards. In the next two plays, Howell gets sacked for the sixth and seventh time in the game. 

Tress Way was sent out to punt and send it 45 yards which is fair caught.

End Of Possession  

James Cook takes a carry 10 yards, and then Latavius Murray takes one for a gain of two yards. Harris takes a carry for a yard, which Murray follows up with a gain of seven. James Cook gets the next carry, and takes it six yards. Cook then goes four yard, and Murray one yard on first and goal, then Murray for a two-yard touchdown.

The score gives the Bills a 37-0 lead.

Bills 37, Commanders 0

End Of Possession

Sam Howel completes a pass to Terry McLaurin for a gain of 12 yards, then finds John Bates for a gain of seven.

Two Minute Warning 

Howell then connects with Dotson for a gain of 15. After a call was overturned, Howell and Samuel were credited with a 17-yard completion. Sam Howell then was sacked on two consecutive plays, making it third and 19. He's unable to connect with Samuel, setting up a 51-yard field goal for Joey Slye which he makes.

The Commanders are on the board with 46 seconds remaining.

Bills 37, Commanders 3

Slye's kick goes 65 yards for a touchback 

End Of Possession

Josh Allen and the Bills come out and take two knees to end the game.

FINAL: Bills 37, Broncos 3

Published
Kevin Borba
KEVIN BORBA

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