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Alaina Getzenberg, ESPN
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The feeling in the locker room after the Buffalo Bills‘ overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 26 was one of frustration, and a search for answers.
The Eagles had scored 17 fourth-quarter points to force overtime, and the Bills were left with yet another close loss, 37-34. The Miami Dolphins were 8-3 and pulling away in the AFC East. For the 6-6 Bills, it was turning into a season of what could have been.
While the Bills were putting up yards, finishing games wasn’t happening consistently. All six of the team’s losses had come in one-score games, and in three of those the Bills defense allowed the opponent to put together a game-winning or tying drive with less than two minutes remaining.
“Seems like this year, every game comes down to the last two minutes. Offense has the ball. We have the ball and this is the results,” safety Micah Hyde said after the loss. “We could have nine, 10 wins right now, but that’s in fantasy land, and in real life, we understand what our record is.”
Sean McDermott and the Bills coaching staff spent time over the subsequent bye week studying and researching tendencies of defenses in two-minute drills. McDermott, who dropped to 1-6 in overtime games in his career — tied for the worst mark in league history among coaches with seven OT games or more — looked at his own play-calling over the years in those situations and what successful teams were doing. Emphasis was placed on the two-minute drill, including practicing it more full speed at the beginning and end of practices. Big plays started coming from a host of places on both sides of the ball.
The conversations and adjustments helped lead to a five-game winning streak that came with an AFC East title and No. 2 seed in the conference. A 2-6 record in one-score games transformed to a 6-6 record. In three of the five games during the winning streak, the Bills’ opponent has received the ball with less than two minutes remaining and a chance to win or tie. The defense has stopped them and secured the win on each occasion.
“Early on in the year, things would’ve went wrong in two minute [drills], we would’ve started pointing a finger, looking around,” defensive tackle Ed Oliver told ESPN. “Trying not to lose instead of going out there trying to make a play to win … So, now, things go wrong in two minutes, it’s like, it’s alright, man. We just have that trust and that bond in each other that we know well, something can go wrong in two minutes, but as long as they don’t score, we alright.”
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This postseason, which starts as the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town Sunday (1 p.m. EST, CBS), gives the Bills a chance to exorcize more of their late-game demons. The one that lingers in Bills fans’ nightmares is the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round of the 2021 playoffs, when they allowed Patrick Mahomes to tie the game on a drive that started with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter. If both teams win this weekend, Kansas City would head to Orchard Park to face the Bills for Mahomes’ first career road playoff game.
But first, Buffalo must contend with a Pittsburgh team that has the most wins in one-score games (9-2) in the NFL this season. The Steelers have also allowed the fewest points per game in the fourth quarter (3.5), and are tied for the best turnover margin (plus-six).
Buffalo will need plays like those they’ve seen during the five-game winning streak from a variety of players to kick off the postseason.
“We need to finish the game,” wide receiver Stefon Diggs said on the mindset in close games. “It’s more so translating to finish more than, when it’s that sense of urgency that everybody has, like, oh, we gotta score. Nobody’s really panicked. We’re gonna go score, right, don’t worry about it, … at this point, the most important thing is finishing, because we can score points, we can play at a high level.”
A closer look at five big plays over the past five games that helped the Bills shed their reputation for struggling in big moments down the stretch:
Week 14 @ Kansas City Chiefs
Game tied 17-17, third-and-6 from the Buffalo 35-yard line (5:41 remaining)
The biggest offensive play of the drive came on a 25-yard pass from Allen to wide receiver Deonte Harty on a deep over towards the right sideline. The Bills would finish the over five-minute drive with a 39-yard field goal by kicker Tyler Bass that helped lead to a 20-17 win after a defensive stop on the following drive..
Of the play, Harty told ESPN, “It’s just always about just being ready. You never know when your number’s gonna get called, so it’s all about being where your feet at and just preparing yourself all week, so that way, when you do get in those moments, you are able to go out there and make a play.”
Chargers lead 22-21, third-and-4 from the Chargers 28-yard line (2:34 remaining)
Allen scrambled to his right, backpedaled and found wide receiver Khalil Shakir near the right sideline in the shadow of the end zone, without a defender nearby. After initially being called a touchdown, the play was reviewed as a completion at the 15-yard line. The Bills settled for a 29-yard field goal from Bass three plays later, but the Chargers were forced to use the team’s final timeout, and 23 seconds remained when they got the ball back.
“Just the mindset for that play alone, it was move the chains,” Shakir said. “Keep the offense on the field, so we keep draining that clock, and honestly it not being a touchdown kind of helped us out a little bit, right, with just taking that time off the clock and T. Bass coming in and putting a nail in the coffin.”
Bills lead 24-22, first-and-10 from the Chargers 30-yard line (0:23 remaining)
On the first play of the ensuing Chargers drive, Oliver got around right guard Jamaree Salyer and brought quarterback Easton Stick down for a nine-yard sack. The takedown gave Oliver 8.5 sacks on the season, triggering a $500,000 contract incentive.
“It was just to close out the game. [Salyer] couldn’t keep up. I knew he couldn’t keep up,” Oliver told ESPN. “I had been saving that move to pull it out, I guess right then, but I knew he couldn’t stop that speed through the B [gap] so, I just hit speed through the B. Sack him. … Boom. Money time. … definitely a game-changing play, to hit the incentive off that play, off of such a valuable time and an important time of the season … that made it that much more special.”
Week 18 @ Miami Dolphins
Dolphins lead 14-7, fourth-and-14 from the Dolphins 38-yard line (14:02 remaining)
Jake Bailey’s 58-yard punt forced Harty to move several yards back to retrieve the ball, but instead of letting it bounce into the end zone, he decided to field it at the 5-yard line. After Harty got past an initial group of would-be tacklers, he was off to the end zone on a 95-yard punt return score that completely altered the complexion of the game.
Harty said that he knew he was going to score the touchdown once he saw defensive tackle Poona Ford taking Bailey out of the play.
“I really didn’t do nothing, like it was really those other 10 guys that kind of did all the work,” Harty said.
“Deonte has had two of the biggest plays of the year,” interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady said. “He caught the big, deep over against Kansas City on the third down and this punt return [vs. the Dolphins].
Bills lead 21-14, second-and-10 from the Bills 40-yard line (1:17 remaining)
With pressure coming from the Bills defensive line, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw a pass in the direction of wide receiver Chase Claypool that was picked off by safety Taylor Rapp as he rolled to the ground. Rapp injured his calf on the play and has yet to practice this week.
“Coach McDermott getting a good call in, good coverage in and just being able to get a good read on Tua,” said Rapp, who injured his calf on the play and has yet to practice this week. “And just play my technique and obviously capitalize on the overthrow.”
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