The Bills aim to avoid a letdown in Las Vegas as the Raiders seek a rebound

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Buffalo will come into its game against Las Vegas trying to maintain momentum. The Bills could learn a lesson on what not to do from the Raiders.

The Raiders came off a three-point loss to rival Kansas City on Oct. 4, a well-played defeat against one of the NFL’s top teams that seemed to justify their 3-0 start. They followed that with easily their worst game in a 45-17 loss at New England on Sunday.

Now the Bills come to Las Vegas after an overtime victory over the Los Angeles Rams, a game that easily could have swung the other way between Super Bowl contenders. Now Buffalo (4-1) will try to avoid a letdown when facing the Raiders (3-2). on Sunday.

Their game at LA felt like a potential championship preview, and the Rams likely would have walked away winners if not for a blocked field goal in overtime. Buffalo instead won with a walk-off kick and stayed in Southern California and trained at UC Irvine.

“Watching the tape, there’s a lot of things that we can be better at both sides of the ball, all three phases of the game,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said. “So to come out here and not really have to stress about going all the way to the East Coast, all the way back to the West Coast for the game on Sunday, get a chance to kind of put our feet down and really just try to hone in on getting better, continue to build our team camaraderie and hanging out with each other, breaking bread.

“But, yeah, we’re here for a business trip.”

The Raiders have been all business this week as they try to bounce back from a potentially discouraging loss. How they play against the Bills could help determine where their season goes from here.

“It’s the same guys when I stand up here and talk in training camp or after a win about how I love the group,” Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “It’s the same opinion after a tough loss, where you say, ‘Hey, it’s a great group of guys.’ They point the thumb, not pointing the finger, and just want to get better, want to learn and get better together. That’s what it’s about, and I think it’s a good response.

“But we got to show it on Sunday.”

Need to know

Buffalo (4-1) at Las Vegas (3-2).

When/where to watch: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT, CBS.

Latest odds: Bills by 4 1/2.

Against the spread: Bills 4-1; Raiders 4-1.

Last week: Bills beat the Rams 37-34 in overtime; Raiders lost to the Patriots 45-17.

Last meeting: Bills won 38-10 on Sept. 17, 2023, in Orchard Park, New York.

Series record: Raiders lead 21-20.

Matchup to watch

Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty vs. Bills defensive front. Just like last season, Jeanty has little room to run after receiving the handoff, and now he’s facing a team that’s the best in getting into the backfield against the run. Jeanty averages .3 yards per rush before contact, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, and Buffalo allows a league-best .4 yards.

Stats and stuff

— After going turnover-free in the first two outings, the Bills have nine giveaways in their past three. Breaking it down, those came on QB Josh Allen’s four interceptions and two lost fumbles, RB James Cook’s two lost fumbles and TE Dalton Kincaid’s lost fumble.

— Allen improved to 50-33 in games in which he commits a turnover, including 2-1 this season. Otherwise, he’s 42-7 when turnover-free.

— Allen is the first QB to open a season scoring a TD rushing in each of his first five games. With one more on Sunday, he would join Justin Fields (Chicago in 2022) as the only other quarterback in the Super Bowl era to have a six-game streak.

— Allen is 40 yards short of becoming the NFL’s fifth QB to reach 5,000. Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson tops the list with 6,666.

— Since Brock Bowers returned to the Raiders’ lineup in Week 3, Las Vegas has used multiple tight ends on 81.3% of its snaps, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Cincinnati is next at 56.8%. The argument also could be made that Bowers is not a true tight end given he has lined up out wide 80.5% of the time.

— The Raiders’ plus-three turnover margin is their highest through five games since 2016 when they had a plus-four.

— Kirk Cousins has a 100.7 passer rating, making him the third Raiders QB to post a 100 rating or better through the first five games of a season. The others were Jeff George in 1997 and Derek Carr in 2016, 2017 and 2020.

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AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo, New York, contributed to this report.

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