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I was ready to write a short essay on the Buffalo Bills’ season when they lost to the Denver Broncos, forcing them to reach their limit after enduring so many injuries. But, there is always more when it comes to the Bills. Here are a few of my wandering thoughts while the blood is still soft and warm.<\/p>\n
Almost like clockwork, the Bills are headed to the underdogs, having dropped another playoff finish that felt like it came early in the process. That process is something the Bills Mafia has been told to count on, but every year since head coach Sean McDermott arrived in Western New York the team’s season has ended on a sad note. Sometimes you would expect the law of averages to change the course of this regime, but instead they find new ways to bring everyone down.<\/p>\n
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There are many reasons to point to Buffalo’s recent playoff woes, but the reason they will fly home quietly is due to an unacceptable amount of turnovers. Maybe as a fan, you’re upset about Jim Nantz’s effort to discuss the absence of quarterback Josh Allen in the post-season turnaround. Real jerks. Sure, the Bills fought back to take a one-point lead after many of those mistakes, but that required a mountain of work that ate up both precious clock and energy they could have used at the end of regulation.<\/p>\n
Carrying an 0-7 overtime record is also unacceptable. The best way is to find a way to win those games, and to be honest, Buffalo didn’t give Denver their best. Still, you can’t ignore the role of head referee Carl Cheffers and his motley crew that played late in the action.<\/p>\n
The Broncos entered the afternoon with the second most punished team in the NFL. How many times has Denver been flagged for defensive pass interference? Zero. On the contrary, these Bills are repeatedly marked for defensive penalties in cases of disputed possession. Inexplicably, the penalty flags didn’t appear until overtime, and then they seemed to be struggling for the Buffalo players.<\/p>\n
Defensive end Joey Bosa really deserved a foul call for a play where frustration had clearly taken over. So, even if the refs decide to go ahead and let nickel cornerback Taron Johnson play some form of defense (he hit the WR’s left arm), the penalty yards are coming. But the pass interference penalty on cornerback Tre’Davious White? That’s just a bad flag to throw on a guy who played great defense for a big time in the game. Again, that was the best ball off White with the season on the line, not a penalty.<\/p>\n
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But before all that, there are two games that stand out to me where the management just sent it, which should be a big concern for the billions who use the NFL machine. The touchdown late in Denver’s drive was successful, however replays clearly showed the ball hit the ground as he fell, causing both of his fingers to shake. And then there was the game – the one everyone will be talking about for months. Josh Allen launched a deep pass to wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who appeared to be caught and went down \u2014 the ball still in his possession. However, as they did the rest of the game, the officials called it quits and decided to give the ball to Denver. Head coach Sean McDermott tried his best to have the game reviewed, burning time to do so, but for whatever reason the game was not given a full review.<\/p>\n
Those two games leave me speechless, because after all this time it is clear that we still do not understand what it means to be caught in critical moments. However, it shouldn’t have come down to those two games, because Buffalo gave up a lot of opportunities to outscore their opponents. Still, it’s hard to overcome the impact injuries and turnovers have had on the Bills.<\/p>\n
Tre’ White had to leave the field after a hard hit by a Broncos quarterback, which meant linebacker Dane Jackson had to play at least one game. It was then that quarterback Bo Nix decided to challenge Jackson, leading to that (questionable) touchdown play.<\/p>\n
And look, 27 minutes into the second half, the defense played light. But it wasn’t enough, and that’s the problem when general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott built a team that couldn’t support Superman. Of course, the Bills won a lot of games during the regular season as well. Fans are past that part of the process, especially when a team often comes up short after the Wild Card round.<\/p>\n
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For all the amazing things Josh Allen has done, games like Saturday’s loss in Denver will continue to haunt him for years to come. Whatever the plan was with 16 seconds left before halftime, it didn’t work. Allen could just take the sack, and regroup in the locker room. One thing that wasn’t happening was giving the ball back to the Broncos, and certainly not for a gain. Allen called Buffalo three points, and those three points ended up being the most important at the end of the game.<\/p>\n
But as he has shown many times before, Allen opened it late in regulation to give the Bills a chance to win they may not have had the business they wanted after so many turnovers. Buffalo’s two best players are Allen and Cook, and between them they gave the Broncos five more touchdowns. That’s not a winning ball, even if Allen often breaks the mold.<\/p>\n
Will this be for offensive coordinator Joe Brady? If so, why didn’t he find a way to fully integrate tight end Dalton Kincaid as a pass catcher? Are we to believe that his overtime plan wasn’t enough for Buffalo to win? What about head coach Sean McDermott, is he safe because of things beyond his control between debilitating injuries and mental changes?<\/p>\n
There’s a lot to discuss and we’ll do just that in the coming days as we have more time to review what went down on Saturday. Will this loss put them in the spotlight in 2026? It feels like that should have happened now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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