'We're Staying the Night!' Icy Bills Escape Bears with Win - But Can't Escape Chicago

The AFC East crown is now the properly of the Buffalo Bills’ grasp as they headed to the Windy City to face the Chicago Bears ... and captured a slightly-sloppy 35-13 win.

But while they "escaped'' with a victory ... they won't be "escaping'' Chicago.

A blizzard has closed the Buffalo airport, so coach Sean McDermott had to break the bad news to his guys: They won't be going home for Christmas ... just yet.

“Now we’ve got to stay here tonight,” McDermott said. “Come back in the locker room and your first words are, ‘We’re staying the night.’ ...It’s hard to be away from your family when you work so hard and have so much time away from them. 

But I told the guys, 'If I’m not with my family and they’re not with theirs, there’s no family I’d rather be with than them.”

The Bills can celebrate in the warmth of their Chicago hotel, as for the third consecutive season, they are No. 1 in the AFC East ... and in the driver's seat of being the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

How did it all unfold in Chicago? Follow along ...

After a two-game skid in November, Buffalo has rattled off five straight wins, including a 32-29 win on Dec. 17 against the Miami Dolphins.

Chicago has found itself on the losing end of seven straight. Out of the seven losses, four have been by five points or less.

Despite Chicago’s struggles this season, Justin Fields has established himself as one of the better young quarterbacks in the game.

Here are the inactive players for both teams ...

Buffalo Bills

CB Xavier Rhodes

LB Baylon Spector

C Mitch Morse

TE Tommy Sweeney

S Dean Marlowe

DE Boogie Basham

OL Justin Murray

Chicago Bears

WR Chase Claypool

WR Equanimeous St. Brown

OL Teven Jenkins

DL Angelo Blackson

QB Tim Boyle

OL Cody Whitehair

TE Trevon Wesco

Stay with Bills Central throughout the day for live updates, highlights and drive-by-drive coverage.

First Quarter:

The Bears get the ball to start the game and start the drive at their 36-yard line after the kickoff.

Justin Fields keeps it and runs for seven yards. He hands it off to David Montgomery on second down and he gains three yards for a first down. 

Montgomery gets another carry and he runs for five yards and moves Chicago into Bills territory. Fields drops back to pass and finds Byron Pringle for a 19-yard completion and another first down. 

 Montgomery gets another handoff and he runs for 28 yards all the way down to Buffalo's one-yard line. 

Montgomery runs it in for a touchdown, but a holding call against Larry Borom negates the score and moves Chicago back to the 11-yard line. Fields completes the pass to Montgomery for six yards. On second and goal, Fields keeps it but only gets back to the line of scrimmage. On third and goal from the six, Fields finds Dante Pettis in the end zone for a touchdown. 

Cairo Santos' extra point is good with 9:41 left in the first quarter.

Bears 7, Bills 0

Change of possession.

Nyheim Hines returns the kickoff to Buffalo's 28-yard line. 

Josh Allen finds Dawson Knox who makes a leaping catch for a 24-yard gain to Chicago's 47-yard line. Knox is slow to get up after taking a hit to the midsection and landing on his back.

Allen's pass to Stefon Diggs is incomplete. An ineligible player downfield makes it first and 15. Allen scrambles and his pass to Hines is incomplete. Allen's pass is completed to Cole Beasley for 10 yards. On third and six, Allen keeps it and scrambles for 12 yards to Chicago's 31-yard line. 

James Cook gets the carry and runs for eight yards. A holding call against Quintin Morris negates the play and makes it first and 20. Cook gets another handoff and he runs for 24 yards to Chicago's 19-yard line. Allen drops back to pass and finds Gabe Davis in the endzone for a touchdown. 

Tyler Bass' extra point is no good with 6:22 left in the first quarter.

Bears 7, Bills 6

Change of possession.

Velus Jones Jr. has a big return to Chicago's 43-yard line. 

Fields finds Cole Kmet for a five-yard gain. Fields hands it to Montgomery and he gains three yards. On third and two, gains 10 yards to Buffalo's 40-yard line. 

Fields pass intended for Kmet on first down is dropped. Khalil gets the handoff and is stopped at the line of scrimmage. On third and 10, Fields pass is complete to Jones for seven yards. Chicago opts to go for it. On fourth and three, Fields pass to Pettis is tipped and they turn it over on downs.

Change of possession.

Allen completes the pass to Reggie Gilliam for 13 yards. 

Devin Singletary gets the carry and only gains two yards. Singletary gets another handoff and this time he gets 15 yards to Chicago's 37-yard line. 

Allen hands it off to Singletary again and he gains three yards on the final play of the first quarter. 

End of the quarter.

Second Quarter:

Allen finds Davis over the middle of the field for a 15-yard gain. 

Allen breaks a sack and gains a couple, but a holding call on Rodger Saffold moves Buffalo back 10 yards. Allen completes the pass on 1st and 20 to Knox for just a yard. On second and 19, Allen's pass is intercepted by Kyler Gordon in the end zone and he returns it to Chicago's 35-yard line.

Change of possession.

Fields rolls right and his pass is complete to Kmet for seven yards. Herbert gets the handoff and runs for six yards. 

Fields pass intended for Pettis is incomplete. Fields pass is completed to Herbert on second down but he loses two yards. On third and 12, Fields has to recover a bad snap then gets sacked after losing five yards. 

Chicago downs the punt at Buffalo's two-yard line.

Change of possession.

Allen bobbles the snap and falls on it at the one-yard line. Singletary gets the carry and gains three yards. On third and eight, Allen is sacked but doesn't lose any yardage. 

Pettis fields the punt at the 50-yard line and returns it to Buffalo's 38-yard line. 

Change of possession.

Montgomery only gains a yard on first down. Montgomery gets another handoff and runs for three yards. On third and six, Montgomery gains three yards. Chicago goes for it again, and on fourth and three, Fields pass is completed to Montgomery for seven yards. 

Fields keeps it on first down but only gets two yards before going out of bounds. Fields keeps it again and loses two yards. On third and 10, Fields pass is tipped and Pettis is tackled after losing five yards, but offsides on Buffalo make it third and five. On third and five, Fields pass to Herbert is incomplete.  

Santos comes out to kick a 37-yard field goal and it's good with 3:21 left in the first half.

Bears 10, Bills 6

Change of possession.

Hines returns the kickoff to Buffalo's 33-yard line. 

Allen keeps it and runs for 15 yards. Ryan Bates is hurt for Buffalo. 

Allen's pass is complete to Cook for nine yards to Chicago's 42-yard line. On second and one, Cook gets the handoff and runs for six yards on the final play before the two-minute warning. 

Cook gets another handoff on the draw and runs for 16 yards to Chicago's 20-yard line. 

Allen's pass intended for Knox on first down is incomplete. On second and 10, Allen's pass to Davis is complete along the sideline for seven yards. After further review, the pass is ruled incomplete. Allen looks for Davis on third and 10, but that pass is also incomplete. 

Bass attempts a 38-yard field goal and it's no good with 51 seconds left in the first half.

Change of possession.

Fields gets sacked by Ed Oliver for a loss of seven yards. Buffalo calls its first timeout of the game with 44 seconds left. Montgomery gets the handoff on second and 16 and gains five yards. That's the final play of the first half.

Halftime.

Third Quarter:

Buffalo gets the ball to start the second half. Hines returns the kickoff to Buffalo's 35-yard line, but a holding call moves them back to the 14-yard line. 

Allen finds Diggs for his first catch of the game for 15 yards. 

Isaiah McKenzie gets the ball on a reverse and gains six yards. Hines gets the handoff and gains two yards. On third and two, Allen completes a short pass to Singletary and he gets 10 yards before running out of bounds. 

Allen looks for Singletary again but the pass is too high and falls incomplete. Singletary gets the handoff and runs for nine yards. Allen's pass is complete to Singletary and he gains nine yards. On third and one, Allen keeps it and runs it for 10 yards before getting pushed out of bounds.

Singletary gets the handoff and he takes it to the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown. 

Buffalo goes for the two-point conversion. Allen's pass to Khalil Shakir is complete and the conversion is good with 10:51 left in the third quarter. 

Bills 14, Bears 10

Change of possession. 

Jones returns the kickoff to Chicago's 25-yard line. 

Montgomery gets the toss and loses seven yards after getting tackled by Shaq Lawson. On second and 17, Fields pass is completed to Montgomery for 11 yards. Fields and Montgomery connect again, this time for three yards. Defensive holding on Tre'Davious White extends the drive and gives Chicago a first down. 

Fields rolls to his left and has to throw it away. Montgomery gets the handoff and gains five yards before getting hit and fumbling after getting his by Dan Jackson. Tim Settle recovers it for Buffalo at the Bears' 35-yard line. 

Change of possession. 

Allen rolls to his right and throws it across his body before nearly being intercepted. Cook gets the carry and gains eight yards. On third and two, Cook gets another carry and he runs it in for a 27-yard touchdown. 

Buffalo goes for two and it's complete to Davis, but an illegal shift negates it. 

Bass comes out to kick the extra point and it's good. 

Bills 21, Bears 10

Change of possession.

Bass' kickoff goes through the end zone for a touchback. Montgomery gets the handoff and only gains a yard. Fields pass is completed to Kmet for four yards. On third and five, Fields pass to Pettis goes through his hands and falls incomplete. 

Hines fields the punt at Buffalo's 30-yard line and only gains three yards on the return.

Change of possession. 

Cook gets the handoff and gains seven yards. Allen scrambles for a first down, but a holding call on Spencer Brown negates the play. On second and 13, Singletary runs for six yards. On third and seven, Allen's pass to Knox is over his head and incomplete. 

Sam Martin's punt is downed at Chicago's 11-yard line with 4:23 left in the third quarter.

Change of possession.

Herbert is stopped for a loss of one yard. Herbert gets another handoff and gains three yards. On third and eight, Fields pass is batted down. 

Hines muffs the punt then recovers it and returns it eight yards to Buffalo's 38-yard line. 

Change of possession.

Singletary gets the handoff and runs for two yards. Allen finds Diggs for an 11-yard gain and a first down at Chicago's 49-yard line. 

Allen finds Shakir for a five-yard gain before he runs out of bounds. Allen's pass is complete to Davis for 12 yards then he fumbles and it's recovered by Chicago at the 33-yard line. 

Change of possession.

Fields goes deep and finds Jones down the field and he makes a sliding grab at Buffalo's 23-yard line for a gain of 44 yards. That's the final play of the third quarter.

End of the quarter.

Fourth Quarter:

Herbert gains three yards on first down. Montgomery gets the carry and runs for four yards. On third and two, Montgomery is stopped for no gain. The Bears go for it, and Fields' pass is complete to Ryan Griffin for four yards and a first down at Buffalo's 12-yard line. The play is being challenged by Buffalo. After review call is overturned and Griffin is ruled short of a first down. 

Change of possession.

Cook runs for three yards on first down. On second and seven, Allen gets intercepted by Nicholas Morrow at Buffalo's 23-yard line and he returns it five yards to the 18-yard line.

Change of possession.

Fields' pass is complete to Herbert and loses two yards. Montgomery gets a carry on second down and only gets to the line of scrimmage. Fields keeps it and runs for three yards before going out of bounds. 

Santos' 35-yard field goal is good with 10:19 left to play.

Bills 21, Bears 13

Change of possession.

Hines muffs the kickoff near the goalline and he returns it to Buffalo's 16-yard line. 

Cook only runs for a yard on first down. Allen goes deep for McKenzie and it's incomplete. On third and nine, Allen scrambles and he throws it away.

Martin's punt goes out of bounds at Chicago's 20-yard line.

Change of possession.

Montgomery runs for four yards on first down. Herbert gets the handoff and loses two yards. Before third and eight, Chicago is flagged for too many men on the field. Buffalo calls its first timeout with 8:06 left to play. On third and 13, Fields gets scrambles and gets sacked near the line of scrimmage by Matt Milano.

Hines returns the punt 16 yards to Chicago's 40-yard line. An illegal block in the back against Buffalo moves them to their 44-yard line.

Change of possession.

Singletary runs for seven yards on first down. Singletary gets another handoff and runs for 26 yards to Chicago's 22-yard line. 

Allen hands it off to Singletary again and he only gains a yard. Chicago calls its first timeout with 5:53 left to play. Allen keeps it on second down and only gets a yard. On third and eight, Allen's pass is complete to Hines and he makes a defender miss before gaining 10 yards and a first down at Chicago's 11-yard line. The Bears call their second timeout with 5:20 left to play

Singletary runs for five yards on first down. He gets another carry and gets three more yards. On third and three, Allen keeps it and runs into the end zone for a touchdown. 

The extra point from Bass is good with 3:45 left to play. 

Bills 28, Bears 13

Change of possession.

Jones drops the kickoff before recovering it and running it back to Chicago's 25-yard line. Fields pass is completed to Pettis for five yards. Fields drops back to pass again and gets sacked by A.J. Epenesa for a loss of 11 yards. Fields' pass is complete to Montgomery for only a yard. On fourth and 14, Fields is under pressure and his pass is incomplete.

Change of possession.

Cook only gets to the line of scrimmage on first down and the game has reached the two-minute warning. Cook gets another handoff and gains four yards. Chicago calls its final timeout with 1:54 left to play. On third and seven, Cook runs for four yards. Buffalo calls its second timeout with 1:08 left. The Bills go for it and Allen finds Knox in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown.

Bass' extra point is good with 1:02 to play.

Bills 35, Bears 13

Change of possession.

Bass' kickoff goes for a touchback. 

Nathan Peterman is in the game. He finds Pringle for a 15-yard gain. 

Peterman's pass is complete to Kmet gets three yards. Peterman finds Kmet again for seven yards to midfield. Peterman spike the ball to stop the clock with seven seconds left. 

Peterman scrambles then throws it into the end zone and he's intercepted by Jaquan Johnson on the final play of the game. 

The Bills have clinched the AFC East. 

Final: Bills 35, Bears 13

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