ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — There was no shortage of marquee names for the first Sunday Night Football game of the season on Channel 2.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen won the Most Valuable Player award last season. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, the 2019 and 2023 MVP, was on the opposite sideline during the Week 1 showdown.
The game was everything fans could’ve wanted — and then some. Down 15 points with less than five minutes to play, the Bills scored two touchdowns and a field goal to stun the Ravens, 41-40. Matt Prater kicked the game-winning 32-yard field goal as time expired.
Not surprisingly, it didn’t take long before points were scored. Allen connected with tight end Dalton Kincaid on a 15-yard touchdown pass to cap a seven-play, 50-yard drive that consumed 3 minutes, 41 seconds. Buffalo quickly led 7-0.
The Ravens countered with a 12-play, 35-yard drive that 7:41 off the clock, ending with a 52-yard field goal by Tyler Loop to make it 7-3.
After the Bills were forced to punt, Baltimore took a 10-7 lead when Derrick Henry rambled 30 yards for a touchdown less than 90 seconds into the second quarter.
The Bills quickly had to punt, and again, the Ravens ran right down the field. Henry ripped off a 49-yard gain — while topping 100 for the game — and two plays later, Jackson scored on an 11-yard run. Buffalo suddenly trailed 17-7 with 9:47 to play before halftime.
Buffalo cut the deficit to 17-10 with 2:50 left before halftime after a 25-yard field goal from Matt Prater, who is seeing action after the team placed Tyler Bass on injured reserve. Bass will miss at least four games.
Loop extended the Baltimore lead to 10 points with a 49-yard field goal. Buffalo responded in the final 31 seconds of the half, going 48 yards in four plays and scoring with a 43-yard field goal by Prater, cutting the lead to 20-13 at halftime.
The Ravens’ offense didn’t slow down in the second half, with Jackson finding Zay Flowers on a 23-yard touchdown pass and DeAndre Hopkins on a 29-yard scoring strike. Baltimore led 34-19 with 1:09 to play in the third.
Buffalo’s third-quarter score came on a 2-yard touchdown run by James Cook. The two-point conversion failed.
The Bills trimmed the lead to 34-25 on a 2-yard touchdown run by Allen, whose 51-yard pitch-and-catch to Cook put the team in position to score. Again, the two-point conversion failed.
Baltimore quickly responded with a dazzling 19-yard run by Jackson, followed by a 46-yard scoring run by Henry. The point-after try failed, but the Ravens led 40-25 with 11:42 to play.
The Bills closed to 40-32 when Allen found Keon Coleman on a 10-yard pass with 3:56 left. Then came a dramatic twist: defensive tackle Ed Oliver forcing Henry to fumble and allowing the Bills to take over at the Baltimore 30. Terrel Bernard recovered it.
A 29-yard strike from Allen to Kincaid set up a first-and-goal from the 1. Allen scored three plays later, but the two-point conversion to tie the score at 40 failed. The Bills still had 1:58 left and three timeouts in an effort to get the ball back.
After a three-and-out, the Bills completed the improbable comeback and sent everyone home happy,