Bills’ playoff visions dim after ‘inexcusable’ loss to Broncos

Eric Williams

NFC West Writer

The Buffalo Bills, a team expected to finally compete for a Super Bowl this season, are now dealing with questions regarding direction and leadership after a last-second loss at home to the Denver Broncos on Monday night.

In the stunning 24-22 defeat, Buffalo turned the ball over four times, including three times by quarterback Josh Allen. It’s the fourth time in his NFL career that Allen has had at least three turnovers in a game. He now leads the league with 14 turnovers on the year, including an NFL-high 11 interceptions.

“It sucks,” a despondent Allen told reporters after the game. “We shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. A lot of bad football. A lot of bad football.”

The Bills started the game with turnovers on their first two possessions. Running back James Cook had the ball stripped by Broncos defensive back Ja’Quan McMillian on a pass out in the flat to open the game, and the Broncos turned that into a Wil Lutz 40-yard field goal.

Buffalo was driving on its second possession, but an Allen pass bounced off the hands of receiver Gabe Davis and into the waiting arms of safety Justin Simmons deep in Denver territory.

Despite the rough start, the Bills managed to fight back and take a 22-21 on an Allen scramble for a 6-yard score with 1:55 remaining in the game. But Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson conjured up some magic in the final minute — helped by Buffalo’s defense.

On third-and-10 from Buffalo’s 45-yard line, the Bills blitzed Wilson, who just got off a pass to Jerry Jeudy. Wilson underthrew his receiver, but Jeudy worked back to the football and Bills cornerback Taron Johnson was called for pass interference.

The Broncos got the ball at Buffalo’s 17-yard line. Wilson then took three straight kneel-downs to drain the clock and Buffalo’s timeouts, setting up a 41-yard attempt by Lutz on a scramble drill as the Broncos were out of timeouts. Denver’s kicker had his struggles throughout the night, including two failed extra-point attempts. And sure enough, Lutz missed again as his 41-yard attempt sailed wide right.

The Bills, however, were called for a head-scratching penalty — 12 men on the field. So Lutz got another opportunity from 36 yards and drilled it for the win.

“We practiced that two or three times this week, the substitution from dime [six defensive backs] to field-goal block, and at the end of the day we didn’t execute it,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. “So it’s inexcusable.”

Allen had perhaps his worst performance of the season, finishing 15-of-27 for 177 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for a 59.3 passer rating. Allen was not sacked and faced little pass rush, with a 23% pressure rate according to Next Gen Stats.

Wilson continued his upward trajectory, completing 24 of 29 passes for 193 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Wilson was sacked four times and finished with a 117.4 passer rating. The Broncos started the year 0-3 but are now 4-5 after a three-game winning streak and are playing their best football of the season.

One of the few highlights of the evening for Buffalo was safety Damar Hamlin making his first tackle of the year. He was active for just the second time since suffering cardiac arrest during a game in January.

The 5-5 Bills have lost four of their past six games and now sit on the outside looking in when it comes to the postseason. The Bills are 2-5 in one-possession games.

And the road ahead doesn’t get any easier for Buffalo. The Bills’ remaining schedule includes:

vs. New York Jets, who beat Buffalo in Week 1
at NFC-leading Philadelphia Eagles
at AFC-leading Kansas City Chiefs
vs. Dallas Cowboys
at Los Angeles Chargers
vs. New England Patriots, who beat Buffalo in Week 7
at AFC East-leading Miami Dolphins

In his postgame comments, McDermott seemed to throw shade toward second-year offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. The Bills reportedly fired Dorsey on Tuesday morning.

“I don’t think everything we’re doing is wrong,” McDermott said. “There’s some good football being played and some good football being coached. That said, it needs to be better. You can’t turn the ball over, and you can’t start by giving the team their starting field position at the minus-40-yard line. That’s not how you win in this league.

“So we’ve got to play better, move the football and score points on a more consistent basis.”

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Although time is ticking, center Mitch Morse believes the Bills can still get things turned around.

“I think now is going to be the real test for this team — not so much on Sundays, but how we stick together on this through the week,” Morse said.

“I think the best teams — when the pressure is at its highest and when everything seems to be crumbling — you come together closer. It’s like breaking a bone. When you heal it, it becomes stronger. So that’s what we’ve got to do. And I’m very confident in this team to do that.”

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.