Bills Outlast Buccaneers 31–28 Behind James Cook’s Fourth-Quarter Finish

ORCHARD PARK, NY - On a crisp, sunny afternoon at Highmark Stadium, the Buffalo Bills rode a monster day from James Cook III and a relentless passing connection between Josh Allen and Dalton Kincaid to escape with a 31-28 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The victory lifts Buffalo to 6-3-1 on the season, while Tampa Bay slips to 3-7 after its furious second-half rally fell just short.

Cold start, hot first quarter

The temperature may have been low, but the offenses wasted no time heating things up. Buffalo opened the scoring when Allen capped the Bills' opening march with a quick-strike, 5-yard touchdown to Kincaid in the flat, a staple concept that's become second nature between quarterback and tight end.

"Any time we can get Dalton matched up underneath, we like our chances," Allen said afterward, noting how often the Bucs were forced to squeeze inside to respect Cook. "He just kept winning his route, so I kept feeding him."

Tampa Bay answered immediately. Baker Mayfield hit Emeka Egbuka on a deep shot down the right sideline, and the rookie wideout outran the secondary for a 75-yard touchdown that silenced the home crowd and knotted the score at 7-7.

Moments later, the Buccaneers defense delivered a gut punch: a strip on a Bills ball-carrier that was scooped and taken back 20 yards for a defensive score and a sudden 14-7 Tampa Bay lead. Buffalo's early mistake turned the first quarter into a wild exchange of momentum.

The Bills steadied themselves right before the break. Working in hurry-up, Allen carved through soft zone coverage and found Joshua Palmer on a 7-yard touchdown with no time left in the first, sending the game to the second quarter tied 14-14.

"We knew it was going to be a heavyweight fight," Palmer said. "They hit us with a big play and a defensive touchdown, but nobody on our sideline panicked."

Cook and Bass give Buffalo control before halftime

Buffalo's ground game took over in the second quarter. Cook ripped off chunk gains on inside zone and off-tackle calls, forcing Tampa Bay to walk a safety down into the box. With the Bucs on their heels, the Bills leaned on their young back near the goal line; Cook punched in a 1-yard touchdown to push Buffalo ahead 21-14.

"James ran angry today," head coach Sean McDermott said. "You could feel it from the first series. When he's getting north and south like that, it changes everything we do offensively."

Buffalo's defense responded in kind, tightening up against both Mayfield's play-action designs and Bucky Irving's rushing attempts. The Bucs were forced into long-yardage downs, and Mayfield's checkdowns kept drives alive but couldn't crack the red zone again before halftime.

After a late stop, Allen moved the offense into field-goal range, and Tyler Bass drilled a 38-yard kick in the final seconds of the half for a 24-14 Bills advantage at the break.

Buccaneers punch back in the third

Tampa Bay refused to fold. Coming out of halftime, Mayfield orchestrated back-to-back long touchdown marches that completely flipped the script in the third quarter.

First, he found Mike Evans on a 10-yard scoring strike, threading the ball between two defenders on a slant in the red zone. Later in the quarter, Cade Otton shook free in the back of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown, Mayfield's third scoring toss of the afternoon. Suddenly, the Buccaneers had turned a 10-point deficit into a 28-24 lead, and the noise in Orchard Park shifted from confident to anxious.

"Guys believed we could come back," Mayfield said. "We hit a couple of shot plays, got Evans and Otton rolling, and for a stretch there we had them on their heels."

Buffalo's offense stalled in response, hurt by penalties and negative runs on early downs. Twice in the quarter the Bills were forced to punt, and Tampa Bay's front began winning more consistently at the line of scrimmage.

James Cook III slams the door

Early in the fourth, with the Bills trailing by four, McDermott and offensive coordinator Joe Brady made a point of re-centering the attack around Cook and the short passing game. Buffalo shifted to heavier personnel, mixing split-zone runs with easy play-action throws to Kincaid and Khalil Shakir.

On the defining drive of the game, Cook touched the ball repeatedly-slashing through arm tackles, bouncing runs outside, and catching swings and screens to keep the sticks moving. The Bills churned out a clock-chewing march that ended when Cook powered in over left guard for a 2-yard touchdown to restore Buffalo's lead at 31-28 with just under six minutes to play.

"I wanted that drive," Cook admitted. "The line was moving people, and Coach kept saying, 'We're going to ride you to finish this.' That's the kind of trust you dream about as a back."

The defense handled the rest. Mayfield had two final possessions to engineer another comeback, but the Bills' pass rush finally began to affect the pocket. On one key third down, Greg Rousseau flushed Mayfield into an off-balance throw that fell incomplete; on the next drive, tight coverage downfield forced the quarterback into a short completion well shy of the sticks on fourth down.

"We talked on the sideline about closing time," safety Jordan Poyer said. "Offense gave us the lead-our job was to slam it shut. That's exactly what we did."

A wild final drive comes down to one yard

With 2:48 left and the Bills leading 31-28, Tampa Bay took over at their own 41 needing a touchdown to win. Baker Mayfield delivered exactly the kind of poised, high-pressure drive the Buccaneers hoped for, starting with a quick strike to Cade Otton on 3rd-and-6 to move the chains and calm the sideline.

From there, Mayfield went into full command mode - hitting Chris Godwin Jr. for six yards, firing a dart to Ko Kieft for nine, then finding Godwin again for seven more. The Bills' pass rush couldn't get home, and Mayfield kept the drive alive with a perfectly timed checkdown to Bucky Irving on 3rd-and-7 that gained 14 and pushed the Bucs deep into scoring territory.

Buffalo's defense tightened, but the Bucs continued marching. Mayfield hit Mike Evans for three, then Payne Durham for seven more. Every completion felt heavier than the last - the stadium silent except for the tension building snap after snap.

With just seconds remaining, Tampa Bay faced 3rd-and-4 at the Buffalo 14. Mayfield took the snap, scanned, and delivered a strike to Cade Otton, who caught it in stride and turned upfield toward the goal line.

For a moment, it looked like Tampa Bay had the go-ahead touchdown.

Instead, Taron Johnson saved Buffalo's season - knifing downhill and delivering a perfect, form-tackle stop at the 1-yard line, driving Otton to the turf just short of the goal line as time expired.

"We knew they were going to try to hit the flat or the hook," Johnson said afterward. "Once he turned upfield, I just threw my body at the spot. Had to make that play."

The Bills sideline exploded. The Buccaneers offense collapsed in disbelief. And the home crowd finally exhaled after holding its breath for an entire drive.

"That's as good a defensive play as you'll see all year," Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. "Taron won us the game right there."

Mayfield, who played one of his cleanest games of the season, gave credit where it was due: "Otton fought like hell to get in. Their guy made a great tackle. Sometimes football comes down to one yard."

Buffalo held on, 31-28, improving to 6-3-1 in a game that quite literally came down to the final inch.

Box score standouts

Cook was the centerpiece of Buffalo's attack, carrying 24 times for 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns while adding 25 receiving yards on three catches.

Allen delivered an efficient afternoon through the air, completing 28 of 36 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He consistently leaned on Kincaid, who turned in a massive 12-catch, 119-yard day with a first-quarter touchdown and several chain-moving grabs over the middle. Shakir chipped in six receptions for 69 yards, and Palmer's four-catch, 53-yard line included the buzzer-beating touchdown at the end of the first quarter.

"Dalton was uncoverable at times," McDermott said. "Between his route running and James's work on the ground, we had the balance we're always chasing."

For Tampa Bay, Mayfield authored a gritty performance, throwing three touchdown passes and keeping his team in it deep into the fourth quarter while pushing the ball vertically. Egbuka's 75-yard strike in the first quarter set the tone, and Evans and Otton provided the red-zone finishes that nearly stole a road upset.

Still, Buffalo's defense delivered in key moments, forcing the Buccaneers to settle into longer, late-down situations and keeping them off the board entirely in the fourth quarter.

Up Next

The Bills, now 6-3-1, hit the road in Week 12 for a high-scoring showdown with the Houston Texans, a matchup that already has early playoff implications after Houston's wild 45-42 win in its own Week 11 contest.

Tampa Bay, sitting at 3-7, will try to reset its season with another difficult road trip, traveling west to face the Los Angeles Rams in Week 12.