NBA

Josh Allen wipes away tears after another playoff loss and lays offense after his 4 turnovers

ballervisions 2026年1月18日

DENVER (AP) — Josh Allen knows all about heartbreaking losses in the playoffs. After one Saturday, he stood at the well and wiped away his tears.

This might be the best chance for Allen and the Bills to get to the Super Bowl. He heard that, too, and after he played four of Buffalo’s five games in a 33-30 loss to Denver in the AFC divisional round, he had to answer questions about the deficit again.

“It’s so hard,” Allen said, as she fought back tears. “I felt like I was letting my teammates down.”

In another change, there was no Patrick Mahomes with the Kings in his way, no Lamar Jackson with the Ravens or Joe Burrow with the Bengals. Only Bo Nix and the top-seeded but unproven Denver Broncos. Denver converted all of these turnovers into 16 points, including a 23-yard field goal by Wil Lutz.

Allen watched Lutz’s field goal go over the uprights, then quickly jumped up, headed onto the field and into the locker room. He will watch as the Broncos move on to face either New England or Houston without Nix, who suffered a broken right ankle in overtime and will undergo surgery that will keep him out for the rest of the playoffs.

“I’m not going to win by turning it over five times,” said Allen, who threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles. “You’re shooting yourself in the foot in a way that you don’t deserve to win a football game.”

The Bills, who defeated Jacksonville in the wild card round, became the first NFL team to win a playoff game in six consecutive seasons without taking home the Super Bowl. Allen’s eight playoff wins are more than any QB in the Super Bowl era who never played in a Super Bowl.

In addition, Allen became the second player in the last 20 postseasons with two or more interceptions and two fumbles lost, joining Arizona’s Carson Palmer, who accomplished the feat against the Panthers in the 2015 NFC Championship Game.

The thought may come from Allen and Bills fans that it is no longer inevitable that one day he will lift the Lombardi Trophy. Last season’s MVP, who often seemed to single-handedly win against the Bills, will turn 30 in May.

“I wasn’t talking much other than I loved my teammates,” Allen said. “I’m very sorry and disappointed.”

Bills coach Sean McDermott defended Allen.

“No, he’s not,” McDermott said. “We had opportunities – all of us – and I’m very proud of him. He’s a great person, an amazing leader, an amazing quarterback. Of course, there are games we all want to get back.”

One play that confused McDermott after the game midway through overtime, when Allen’s long pass to Brandin Cooks was beaten by Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian for an interception. McDermott thought Cooks had possessions and was down to contact him.

McDermott called a timeout to get the officials to at least take a longer look at the play. If Cooks had caught the ball, the Bills would have been within field goal range.

“It’s hard for me to understand why it was governed the way it was,” said McDermott. “And if it’s governed that way, then why wasn’t the speed slowed down, just to make sure we have this right. That would make a lot of sense to me. To make sure we’re doing this thing right.

“I say it because I represent Nyathi … I represent us, what happened is not how it should go down.

Referee Carl Cheffers explained to the pool reporter: “The receiver has to complete the catch. He was going down as part of the catch and lost possession when he hit the ground. The linebacker got it at that point. The linebacker completed the catch, so the linebacker was awarded the ball.”

After the pick, the Broncos drove the ball into the Bills’ zone courtesy of a couple of foul calls, one on Taron Johnson and one on Tre’Davious White, who also drew a misconduct penalty. Those flags made the Broncos so close that Lutz’s game kicks became routine.

“It’s going to stick with me for a long time,” Allen said. “Losing in the final is not fun.”

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