ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — During the first half Sunday night, as the Ravens racked up points on the Bills, new Buffalo receiver Joshua Palmer walked over to teammate Khalil Shakir.
“OK, so when do we normally start to pick it up?” Palmer asked Shakir. “You know, like the Bills I’ve been watching.”
Palmer joined the Bills this offseason as a free agent. His former team, the Los Angeles Chargers, lost in dramatic fashion in a one-and-done playoff appearance last season. Meanwhile, Buffalo went punch-for-punch with the Kansas City Chiefs into the final moments of the AFC title game.
When does that team show up?
“Usually towards the end of the second half,” Shakir told Palmer. “We’ve got 17.”
You know who 17 is. It’s a bird. It’s a plane.
Josh Allen celebrates with Bills kicker Matt Prater after Buffalo stunned the Ravens on Sunday night. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Josh Allen and the Bills scored 18 points in the last 3:56 of this game. He finished with 394 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and 30 rushing yards with two more touchdowns on the ground. The Bills beat the Ravens 41-40 at Highmark Stadium.
ADVERTISEMENT
Maybe Bills fans needed a pep talk from Shakir, because even they began to head for the exits in the fourth quarter when the Ravens widened their gap. And to the defense of Bills Mafia, there were times when the Buffalo defense didn’t appear capable of even getting their hands on the Ravens’ ball carriers — let alone tackle them. It seemed hopeless when Derrick Henry — then Lamar Jackson, then Zay Flowers — was running untouched into the deep third of the Buffalo defense.
But the Bills never let doubt creep in.
“No one on the sideline blinked. Fans leaving the stadium,” Allen said, smirking, during his postgame press conference. “You’ve gotta play 60 minutes.”
The Bills won? It still doesn’t really even make sense.
“Ya’ll could’ve warned me that it was gonna be like that!” Palmer told me after the game.
He’d been waiting for that team to show up. And when it did, he didn’t realize what it would be like be a part of that team.
There were too many huge plays to count, especially when you figure in the incredible display of offense from Jackson and the Ravens. That final drive, however, was nothing short of magic. To get into an easy chip-shot field goal, Allen found Shakir, Palmer and Keon Coleman for big plays. The drive before that, it was rookie tight end Jackson Hawes who had a huge play. Before that, it was running back James Cook who had a huge play.
Joshua Palmer reacts after completing a catch against the Ravens at Highmark Stadium on Sunday. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
There wasn’t one star who stole the show with Allen, which was why Shakir was quick to remind reporters that “Everyone Eats” motto that the Bills lived by in 2024 will apparently extend into 2025.
“It was chaotic,” tackle Dion Dawkins said. “It was the craziest game I’ve ever been a part of. Nope, can’t say that. Thirteen-second game [when the Chiefs won in stunning fashion against the Bills in the playoffs]. This one is number two.”
The Ravens didn’t roll over. Henry had a 46-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Jackson connected with DeAndre Hopkins, who made a one-handed, 29-yard touchdown grab despite double coverage. For the most part, Baltimore was going back and forth with the Bills — until those last three drives, which went punt, fumble and punt. Jackson had 209 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 70 rushing yards and a touchdown. Henry rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Baltimore rushed for 238 yards.
Those defensive stops brought life back into the Bills’ chances — which, by the way, crept back from 99.1% on ESPN’s model.
“If there’s time on the clock, we have a chance,” Coleman said. “We have a great leader, great quarterback, and a great person back there making those plays. … Whether you get him in the first quarter or you get him for one drive, he’s going to figure you out. And when he does, good luck stopping him.”
Just to give a deeper sense of the improbability of it all, let’s look at the comeback in the context of history. The last time the Bills won a game when trailing by 15-plus points in the fourth quarter was in 1967, per FOX Sports Research. And how about this one: Teams with 40-plus points and 235-plus rushing yards in a game were 277-0, including the playoffs. They were. Until Sunday.
Make that 277-1.
“It’s insane. Something special is happening here at One Bills Drive,” Dawkins said. “You can tell. You can feel it, because stuff don’t happen like that — not like that.”
He’s right, historically speaking. Dawkins made clear the Bills are “the right team,” and that the comeback was thanks in large part to his quarterback — but not solely thanks to Allen. But when I asked Dawkins whether Allen might be one of the NFL’s most improved players, historically speaking, he didn’t agree. He feels like Allen has always had it in him.
“It’s almost like seeing Allen Iverson for the first time — skinny — and then watching that develop. ‘Oh he’s too small.’ Boom,” Dawkins said. “Michael Jordan couldn’t get accepted into his [top] college [choice]. … And then boom: best player of all time. That’s what’s going on.”
There is one more conversation between players worth sharing from this game. Because it wasn’t actually Allen who ended the game. It was Matt Prater. For all the talk about how special this team is, Prater wasn’t a member of the team until three days ago. The Bills signed the 41-year-old kicker because Tyler Bass had to go on injured reserve with a hip/groin injury.
Allen recalled Prater pulling him aside before the game.
“‘Hey, I promise you I’m going to give you everything I’ve got tonight,'” the kicker told Allen.
Allen returned the favor.
Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.
What did you think of this story?
recommended
Get more from the National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
