24–16, and it was messy

James Cook took over after halftime. He finished with 24 carries, 154 yards, and a touchdown.

59 of those yards came before the half. 95 came after.

The drive started when C.J. Gardner-Johnson intercepted Justin Herbert at the Buffalo 1 and returned it 41 yards to the Buffalo 42. Ty Johnson caught a pass that would have been a 43-yard touchdown. Dawson Knox was called for offensive holding, so it did not count.

Buffalo stayed on the field. Josh Allen ran it in from the 1 with 7:35 left. Tyler Bass kicked the extra point, and 13–10 became 17–13.

Cook had a 23-yard run, then scored from the 3 with 3:13 left. Bass kicked again. It was 24–13.

Greg Rousseau had eight tackles and two sacks. Buffalo rushed for 176 yards, went 6 of 12 on third down, and was 3 of 4 in the red zone.

The first offensive snap was a mess. Cameron Dicker kicked off. Greg Dortch returned it to the Buffalo 43.

Cook’s first carry went up the middle for 4 yards. Justin Eboigbe forced the fumble, and Daiyan Henley recovered at the Buffalo 47.

Los Angeles needed 10 plays from there. Herbert threw a 1-yard touchdown to Keaton Mitchell, and Dicker’s kick made it 7–0. Dicker’s 31-yard field goal made it 10–0.

Buffalo climbed back. Bass hit a 28-yard field goal, and Allen scored from the 1 just before halftime. It was 10–10 at the break.

Allen was 16 of 26 for 204 yards, with no touchdown passes, two interceptions, four sacks for 30 yards, a 54.0 rating, and a fumble lost. He also ran 8 times for 22 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Both interceptions were throws meant for D.J. Moore. Genesis Smith caught both, one at the Buffalo 44 and one at the Los Angeles 10.

Moore still finished with 6 catches for 67 yards. Ty Johnson had 4 catches for 50. The long touchdown did not count.

Buffalo turned it over five times. Los Angeles scored on two of them.

Cook’s fumble became Mitchell’s touchdown. Smith’s first interception became Dicker’s 31-yard field goal. Smith’s second interception became a missed field goal and no points.

In the third quarter Allen hit Dalton Kincaid for 24 yards. Kincaid fumbled. Tarheeb Still forced it, and Tony Jefferson recovered at the Los Angeles 17.

Los Angeles punted.

Khalil Mack then sacked Allen at the Buffalo 28 for a loss of 6. Los Angeles challenged the down-by-contact call. The play was reversed into a fumble, Mack forced it, and Henley recovered.

Herbert’s next throw was the interception Gardner-Johnson returned 41 yards. No points on that one.

That is three lost fumbles and two interceptions. Buffalo was penalized 10 times for 88 yards. Los Angeles was penalized 7 times for 50.

Mack had that one sack. He did not have all four. Tuli Tuipulotu also sacked Allen for a 13-yard loss in the first quarter.

The yardage was almost the same. Buffalo had 350 yards, 174 passing and 176 rushing. Los Angeles had 348, 217 passing and 131 rushing.

Buffalo had the ball for 28:38. Los Angeles had it for 31:22. Yards per play were 5.6 for Buffalo and 5.4 for Los Angeles.

Herbert was 20 of 34 for 226 yards, with one touchdown, one interception, two sacks for 9 yards, and a 76.3 rating. He ran 4 times for 17 yards.

Omarion Hampton had 15 carries for 56 yards. Los Angeles was 6 of 15 on third down and 1 of 4 in the red zone.

Dicker’s 21-yard field goal in the third made it 13–10. After Buffalo’s two fourth-quarter touchdowns, he kicked a 33-yarder with 1:56 left. The final was 24–16.

Los Angeles reached the Buffalo 1 in the third. A Herbert pass for Oronde Gadsden was intercepted by Gardner-Johnson, and Christian Benford’s defensive holding wiped the play. They kept getting close and leaving with three points, or with nothing.

Buffalo was 3 of 4 in the red zone. Two of those scores were Allen from the 1 and Cook from the 3.

3–0 is real, and it is not clean. Allen threw two interceptions, took four sacks, and lost a fumble on the Mack sack. Cook fumbled the first snap, then ran for 95 of his 154 yards after halftime.

Los Angeles had the ball longer, finished two yards short, had the better passer rating, and scored one touchdown. They lost because they were 1 of 4 in the red zone, and because only two of the five Buffalo turnovers turned into points.

Next is New England at Highmark on Sunday, October 4, at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.