Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - I should be writing about a huge Buffalo Bills victory in Philadelphia over the Eagles that put them back in a playoff spot in the AFC. I should be thrilled to be writing about the old Josh Allen being back, and how the offense can, once again, show up for work and put 30-plus points on the board.
We should be enjoying the Bills bye week right now, but we are not. Instead, we are talking about another game the Bills blew.
Instead of seeing a 9-3 record next to the Bills in the standings, we see 6-6.
According to the New York Times, the Bills' playoff chances dropped to 15% after the loss in Philadelphia.
After another inexplicable defeat, we also have to talk about whether or not it is time to move on from head coach Sean McDermott. His late game defense brought back memories of what they did (or didn't do) in the infamous "13 seconds" playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
McDermott also committed the egregious error of not giving Allen a chance to win the game in regulation.
This game was filled with mistakes from McDermott and his team, which led to an early Christmas gift from the Bills to the Eagles in the form of a win.
Allen was feeling it, and he looked even better than he did in the win over the New York Jets. Interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady has apparently found the key to unlocking vintage Allen, but it may be too late to save the Bills' season.
Allen and the offense scored 34 points, their highest total since Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins when they put up a season-high 48 points. Allen had 339 yards passing with two touchdowns, and he ran nine times for 81 yards and two more scores.
The Bills had 505 yards of offense, converted 59% of their third down chances (13-for-22), scored four touchdowns in five red zone trips (80%), ran 27 more plays than the Eagles, had a 13-minute edge in time of possession and had fewer giveaways.
And they lost!
Related
Now let's get to the mistakes:
Second drive woes
During Buffalo's second offensive drive of the game, James Cook dropped a pass that likely would've found him strolling into the end zone.
Later on the same drive, the Bills were called for back-to-back false start penalties on Spencer Brown and Mitch Morse. That took them out of field goal range and led to a punt.
That was, at the very least, three points the Bills left on the field.
Missed chances for points
With the Bills leading 10-7 in the second quarter, Bills kicker Tyler Bass had a 34-yard field goal attempt blocked by the Eagles.
Then with the Bills leading 17-7 in the third quarter, Bass missed on a 48-yard field goal attempt.
It all adds up to, at least, six points missed out on, or as many as 13 that the Bills did not get when you add in the second drive that resulted in a punt.
Costly penalties
There were a number of undisciplined penalties on Sunday that cost the Bills, but among them was a defensive stop on a 3rd-and-10 from the Eagles' 39-yard line that was wiped out by a Rasul Douglas defensive holding call.
Instead of forcing a punt, it extended the drive for Philadelphia, allowing for the Eagles to score a touchdown.
That is seven points the home team shouldn't have had.
Soft defensive coverage
On, what turned out to be, the game-tying field goal drive for Philadelphia late in the fourth quarter, the Bills defense played way too soft. It was just like the 13 seconds debacle. (Why do the football gods hate us so much?)
The Bills didn't want to give up a touchdown and lose, so they let the Eagles easily make the underneath throws. Jalen Hurts went 5-of-6 for 41 yards, and the Eagles managed to kick a 59-yard field goal to force overtime.
The defense was given a lead twice and couldn't close out the game. They gave up the field goal drive at the end of regulation, and then the game-winning touchdown drive in overtime.
Terrible coaching decisions
As bad as all of that is, the icing on this disgusting cake came from McDermott, who wasted two of his three timeouts on the Eagles' final drive in regulation.
Both timeouts were called when the clock was stopped anyway. After a false start penalty, the Eagles were facing a 3rd-and-17 from the Bills' 41-yard line with 30 seconds left.
Of course, McDermott calls his usual defensive timeout to see what the opponent is showing in their formation.
Then he opted to use a second timeout to "ice the kicker" with 25 seconds left. Jake Elliott was wet, but he wasn't iced.
By doing so, McDermott had just one timeout left, which basically negated any chance for Allen and the offense to try and go down field for a potential game-winning field goal.
How do you not save all of your timeouts and give your quarterback, who is playing lights out by the way, a chance to win the game?!
I'd say all of that was unbelievable, but you know and I know that, sadly, it is all believable since we've experienced days like this before.
If the Bills would have won, they would have moved into the seventh and final playoff spot in the AFC. The loss now drops them back down into 10th.
Maybe it's a good thing the bye week is here. We can attempt to spend the week not thinking about, what has turned out to be, a miserable Bills season.
