Buffalo Bills slog through second half, but defeat neutered Green Bay Packers on SNF

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Vince Lombardi must have been looking down from the heavens with a mixture of pride and disappointment Sunday night watching his beloved Green Bay Packers.

The calendar says its 2022, but it might as well have been 1966 the way the Packers ran the ball Lombardi-style against the Buffalo Bills, piling up more than 200 yards and turning future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers into a game manager.

Here’s the difference. Lombardi’s Packers of the 1960s wouldn’t have lost the way they did as Green Bay never really seemed capable of pulling the upset as Buffalo earned a 27-17 victory at raucous Highmark Stadium.

Green Bay’s wide receiver corps was already undermanned playing without Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, and then Christian Watson went out in the first quarter, leaving Rodgers ill-equipped to throw against the Buffalo defense.

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So the Packers did the only thing they could: They pounded running backs Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon at the Bills all night, but in the process, they ran an awful lot of clock and once they were down 24-7 at halftime, there was no coming back.

In the first NBC "Sunday Night Football" game in Orchard Park in front of fans since 2007 - you remember that one, the 56-10 loss to the New England Patriots - the Bills showed the nation once again why everyone considers them the Super Bowl favorite.

However, this was certainly the least impressive of Buffalo’s six victories this season, and it certainly wasn’t a vintage Josh Allen performance as the Packers’ No. 1-ranked pass defense certainly gave him a few problems. He threw two absolutely horrible fourth-quarter interceptions, including one to Green Bay’s top cornerback Jaire Alexander, that looked like throws he used to make in 2018.

But in the end, even though he went just 13 of 25 for 205 yards, Allen made the biggest plays of the night and the Bills did just enough to beat a wounded opponent.

After a three-and-out on offense to open the game, the Bills defense bent a little on Green Bay’s initial possession, but then held up on a fourth down at the Buffalo 39 as Ed Oliver pressured Rodgers into an incompletion.

And from there, it was pretty much all Buffalo the rest of the night.

On the ensuing possession, Allen threw for just one yard, but it was the one that counted as he found Dawson Knox alone for a one-yard TD flip after Devin Singletary broke three runs for 36 yards and Allen had a 20-yard scramble on third-and-14 to set it up.

Not long thereafter it was 14-0 as Stefon Diggs capped a quick four-play possession by burning Rasul Douglas with a double move and reeling in Allen’s perfectly placed 26-yard touchdown pass.

The Packers had quite a response here, a 12-play, 80-yard drive which surely harkened back to the Paul Hornung-Jim Taylor days. The Packers ran the ball 10 times and the Bills were powerless to stop them. And when Rodgers needed to make a play, he threw a gorgeous pass to Romeo Doubs who made a remarkable catch in the back right corner of the end zone with Taron Johnson all over him for a 19-yard TD.

Allen likely nodded his head out of respect, and then promptly answered with his own 80-yard march, one that proved disastrous for the Packers as they lost two of their best defensive players, linebackers Quay Walker and Devondre Campbell.

Walker was ejected after he threw a punch on the Buffalo sideline after a James Cook run, the target being Zach Davidson, a Bills practice squad tight end. Later, after Isaiah McKenzie scored on a six-yard jet sweep, Campbell, Green Bay’s leading tackler this season, left with a knee injury.

Before the half ended, the Buffalo defense forced a punt and Allen unleashed a 53-yard howitzer to Diggs which set up Tyler Bass’ 42-yard field goal to close the half at 24-7. Diggs was hurt on the play and had to be checked for concussion symptoms, but he was able to return in the second half.

The teams traded third-quarter field goals and with Buffalo up 27-10, it seemed like things were well in hand. But then Allen played giveaway on back-to-back possessions, and after the second, Rodgers drove the Packers 95 yards, hitting Samori Toure for a 37-yard touchdown to cut the Green Bay deficit to 27-17 with 6:32 left.

Here, the Buffalo offense regained some of its mojo after four straight possessions without a touchdown and chewed some clock by producing three first downs, but they couldn’t put the game away as a poor Allen incompletion gave Rodgers one last possession, but it ended with Mason Crosby missing a 55-yard field goal with 38 seconds remaining.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills defeat Green Bay Packers, despite sloppy second half