Bills pull away late against Saints behind Josh Allen’s 3 TDs

Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes, ran for a touchdown and the Buffalo Bills held off the New Orleans Saints 31-19 on Sunday afternoon in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Allen completed 16 of 22 passes for 209 yards and the Bills (4-0) overcame their first turnover of the season as well as 11 penalties after committing just 14 through three games.

Spencer Rattler passed for 126 yards and a touchdown for the Saints (0-4), who rushed for a season-best 189 yards.

After being shut out in the second quarter, the Bills received the second-half kickoff and drove 80 yards, and Allen ran 5 yards for a touchdown that increased their lead to 21-10.

Rattler threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave, leaving Buffalo with a 21-16 lead at the end of the third quarter.

New Orleans got the ball back at midfield after the Bills turned the ball over on downs. The Saints reached the Buffalo 17 before stalling and Blake Grupe kicked a 35-yard field goal to trim the lead to 21-19 with 8:53 remaining.

Allen ran 27 yards for a first down before throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Kincaid to expand the lead to 28-19 with 7:07 left. Matt Prater kicked a 35-yard field goal to complete the scoring.

The Bills received the opening kickoff and drove 79 yards, the last 43 of which came when Khalil Shakir caught a short pass from Allen and turned it into a touchdown.

The Saints answered with an 18-yard touchdown run by Kendre Miller before James Cook, who finished with 117 rushing yards, ran 1 yard for a touchdown that gave Buffalo a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Bills committed their first turnover of the season when rookie Jonas Sanker made New Orleans' first interception of the season, grabbing an Allen pass at the Buffalo 49.

Grupe made a 54-yard field goal that left the Bills with a 14-10 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media