Buffalo’s Gabriel Davis celebrates with quarterback Josh Allen after catching a touchdown pass Saturday against the Denver Broncos in Orchard Park, N.Y. Joshua Bessex/Associated Press
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen needed just six plays to lead the Bills 70 yards for an opening-drive touchdown before taking a seat in his preseason debut, and Buffalo routed the Denver Broncos’ backups 42-15 on Saturday.
Allen completed all three of his attempts for 45 yards, capped by a 28-yard touchdown to Gabe Davis in showing he and new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey are on the same page. Backup Case Keenum continued the scoring by overseeing three touchdown drives to close out the first half.
Acquired in a trade with Cleveland this offseason, Keenum bounced back from a sloppy preseason debut by finishing 16 of 18 for 192 yard, with a perfectly placed 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end O.J. Howard. Keenum threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in a 27-24 win over Indianapolis last week.
Zach Moss rounded out the first-half scoring with a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs, while Duke Johnson scored on 2- and 8-yard runs in the second half.
Buffalo extended its preseason winning streak to 10 games. The run is the NFL’s second-longest active streak behind the Baltimore Ravens, who have won a league-record 21 straight going into Sunday’s game against Arizona.
The Broncos took a step back after an encouraging 17-7 preseason-opening win over Dallas, while resting Russell Wilson and many of their starters for a second straight week.
LIONS 27, COLTS 26: Godwin Igwebuike’s 2-yard scoring run gave the Detroit Lions a late lead and the defense stopped a 2-point conversion attempt in the final minute to hold on for a victory at Indianapolis.
Igwebuike’s tiebreaking score came with 4:03 to play. He had seven carries for 32 yards as the Lions earned their first preseason win.
But most of the attention was focused on quarterbacks David Blough and Tim Boyle.
Lions Coach Dan Campbell and Colts Coach Frank Reich did not play most of their starters following two joint practices between the teams earlier this week.
Blough got the starting nod one week after his late turnover cost the Lions a win, and he rebounded nicely. He threw a 5-yard TD pass to tie the score at 13 as time expired in the first half and finished 16 of 22 with 76 yards and one interception while rushing three times for 18 yards.
Boyle took over in the second half and threw a 10-yard scoring pass to Tom Kennedy on Detroit’s first series to make it 20-13.
But Sam Ehlinger connected with a wide-open Dezmon Patmon, who rolled over and stretched the ball across the goal line for a 50-yard score to make it 20-20.
Rookie Jack Coan gave the Colts a chance to win it in the waning minutes when he connected with Samson Nacua on a 26-yard score with 38 seconds left, but Coan’s 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete in the end zone.
CHIEFS 24, COMMANDERS 14: Patrick Mahomes led two long touchdown drives capped by passes to Jody Fortson, and Kansas City won at home.
Mahomes finished 12 of 19 for 162 yards. In two preseason games, Mahomes has played three series and has led three touchdown drives.
NOTES
RAMS: Rookie offensive lineman Logan Bruss is out for the season after tearing ligaments in his right knee during Los Angeles’ second preseason game.
Coach Sean McVay said Bruss tore his ACL and MCL during a 24-20 loss to Houston on Friday night.
The third-round selection out of Wisconsin was the Rams’ highest draft choice last spring, but Bruss was likely to play a backup role. He began training camp in competition for the starting spot at right guard vacated by Austin Corbett’s free-agent departure for Carolina, but veteran Coleman Shelton had essentially secured the job even before Bruss’ injury.
The Rams also waived tight end Kendall Blanton, a Super Bowl starter who made several big postseason receptions during their run to a championship.
PANTHERS: Rookie quarterback Matt Corral has a torn ligament in his left foot and is expected to miss significant time, according to Coach Matt Rhule.
Rhule said Corral tore his Lisfranc ligament in Carolina’s 20-10 preseason loss to the New England Patriots on Friday night after his foot got stepped on.
Rhule would not say if the injury is season-ending, but did say the team is viewing it as a long-term injury. Corral is expected to need surgery to fix the tear.
With Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold battling for the starting spot at quarterback, the Panthers viewed this as a developmental year for Corral, who was a third-round draft pick.
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