Josh Allen is used to playoff pain, but perhaps nothing hurts this much.<\/p>\n
The pain was evident as the reigning league MVP tearfully answered questions following the Buffalo Bills’ latest postseason loss – a 33-30 loss to the Denver Broncos. In overtime. Again.<\/p>\n
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The difference this time? Allen was more than a hero, fighting bravely to save his team – while undermining them almost as much.<\/p>\n
“It’s tough. I feel like I let my teammates down tonight,” Allen said in tears in his postgame news conference.<\/p>\n
“Missed chances in every game. It’s been a long season. I hate the way it ended, and it will stay with me for a long time.”<\/p>\n
Undoubtedly.<\/p>\n
1<\/span> \/ 4<\/span><\/p>\n Week 1: Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa (18) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. The play was originally an incomplete pass, but the call was overturned. Despite TeSlaa’s effort, the Packers won the game 27-13.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 1<\/span> \/ 4<\/span><\/p>\n Week 1: Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa (18) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. The play was originally an incomplete pass, but the call was overturned. Despite TeSlaa’s effort, the Packers won the game 27-13.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n 2<\/span> \/ 4<\/span><\/p>\n Week 1: New England Patriots’ Robert Spillane (14) and Christian Elliss (53) tackle Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer (87) in the second half at Gillette Stadium. The Raiders won the game, 20-13.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n 3<\/span> \/ 4<\/span><\/p>\n Week 1: New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) fumbles the ball when he is brought down by Washington Commanders safety Will Harris (3) during the first quarter at Northwest Stadium. It was a tough Giants game for Wilson (17 of 37 passing for 168 yards) as the Commanders won the game, 21-6.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n 4<\/span> \/ 4<\/span><\/p>\n Week 1: Fireworks go off before the NFL Kickoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles opened the season with a 24-20 victory over their longtime NFC East rivals.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n Allen racked up 349 yards of offense and threw three TD passes. He also turned the ball over four times \u2013 two fumbles in the bracket at halftime and gave the Broncos six bonus points in a flawless game.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n But it was an upset in sudden death \u2014 Denver’s first overtime offense \u2014 that put the Bills away. And maybe receiver Branin Cooks just got hurt because of a slightly dropped ball that flipped the field. Maybe Cooks even caught it … but Denver cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian ended up with it. Still, Allen has to shoulder some of the blame for the game-winning field goal.<\/p>\n “I’m not going to win five times,” Allen said, noting the team’s total (running back James Cook’s second-quarter touchdown led to a Denver TD).<\/p>\n “You’re shooting yourself in the foot like that, you don’t deserve to win football games.”<\/p>\n But does Allen fit him this<\/em>?<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n He has atoned for his mistakes – one when he carelessly ran the ball into the open while (exaggerating) trying to get the Bills into field goal range at the end of the first half, another on the radio. But Allen brought the Bills back from a 20-10 halftime deficit. He almost did more than that, but he missed wide open tight end Dawson Knox on his final layup \u2014 a perfect pass that almost put the Bills back in the AFC championship game.<\/p>\n Instead, the Buffalo is headed home for the misery of what will be a figuratively long, cold winter.<\/p>\n “Thank you for him,” said Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins, fighting back tears. “He didn’t abandon us.”<\/p>\n Said Buffalo coach Sean McDermott: “There’s (Allen). We’ve had opportunities, all of us. And I’m proud of him. He’s an amazing person, an amazing leader, an amazing quarterback.”<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The loss to Denver made Allen 0-3 in overtime playoff games (and 0-7 overall). If you don’t remember the loss to the Houston Texans six years ago in its first postseason game, you will remember the 42-36 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022, when Buffalo couldn’t protect the lead after kicking a field goal with 13 seconds left in regulation.<\/p>\n That’s not even counting the AFC championship game loss at Arrowhead. Or the Chiefs’ three-point loss in the divisional round at Buffalo two years ago, when Bills kicker Tyler Bass missed a 44-yard field goal with two minutes left that might have sent that game to OT.<\/p>\n Things have reached a point where Allen’s legacy is starting to hang in the balance. He has won eight playoff games. Good. They’re also the most by a quarterback who hasn’t played in a Super Bowl.<\/p>\nBest photos of the 2025 NFL season<\/h2>\n
Best photos of the 2025 NFL season<\/h2>
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Best photos of the 2025 NFL season<\/h2>
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Best photos of the 2025 NFL season<\/h2>
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Best photos of the 2025 NFL season<\/h2>