Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - A failed two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter ended up being the difference for the Buffalo Bills, as their hopes of a sixth-straight AFC East title went up in smoke on Sunday in a 13-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Highmark Stadium.
The Bills defense set the tone early, as Philadelphia received the opening kickoff but could not do anything on three-straight passing attempts in the rain, going three-and-out.
Josh Allen and James Cook were both involved in Buffalo's opening offensive drive, paper-cutting the Eagles defense and moving their way down the field. However, the drive resulted in no points after the Bills quarterback was sacked on a third-down play, forcing a punt.
Allen laid the cards on the table on Buffalo's next drive, launching a 51-yard pass to Bradin Cooks to get into Philadelphia territory. However, it was all erased when Allen was credited with a fumble that took an Eagles bounce all the way back into Buffalo territory.
Philadelphia recovered the ball and got starting field position at the Bills' 45-yard line.
The Eagles capitalized on the fumble, as quarterback Jalen Hurts found tight end Dallas Goedert for a 1-yard touchdown pass to give Philadelphia a 7-0 lead.
After forcing another Buffalo punt, the Eagles worked the ball back down the field and put up another three points on the board with a 47-yard field goal from kicker Jake Elliott.
The after another punt from the Bills following a three-and-out, Philadelphia managed to chew away much of the remaining clock in the second quarter before tacking on another field goal from Elliott, this time from 28 yards out to give the Eagles a 13-0 lead heading into halftime.
The second half started with more of the same results for Buffalo, going three-and-out its opening drive.
It took until the end of the third quarter for the Bills to finally get themselves in scoring position, looking to get on the board for the first time all afternoon. However, Buffalo came up short on a fourth-down scramble from Allen, who was wrapped up at the Eagles' 1-yard line.
After a couple of more punts exchanged between the two teams, the Bills finally found some momentum offensively with about 11 minutes left on the clock.
In less than six minutes, the Bills stretched the field in 11 plays, covering 54 yards and finally found their way into the end zone for a touchdown. After some solid runs from Cook and Ty Johnson to set Buffalo up in the red zone, Allen finished the drive with a 2-yard tush push touchdown.
The fourth-quarter score for Allen was a notable one, as it gave him his 300th career touchdown in his career, making him the youngest player in NFL history to reach this milestone, and the first player to achieve this mark before the age of 30.
However, the deficit was only cut to seven points following the touchdown, as Michael Badgley's extra point attempt was blocked by Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter.
After forcing another three-and-out of the Eagles offense, it set the stage for the Bills to come up with one more drive to go for the win.
The final drive featured a pair of key plays to help get the Bills back into the red zone. It started with a fourth-down conversion that saw Buffalo complete a hook-and-ladder between wide receiver Tyrell Shaver and Johnson that saw Buffalo make up 25 yards. Two plays later, Allen connected with Cooks once again on a deep pass, this time for 36 yards to get the Bills to the Philadelphia 10-yard line.
On another fourth down at the Eagles' 1-yard line, Allen, once again, lined up for the tush push and utilized it for a touchdown to put the Bills in position to go for the win with a two-point conversion attempt.
Electing to go for two and the win over an extra point and a tie, the Bills ended up coming up short on the attempt, as an Allen pass intended for Khalil Shakir in the back of the end zone was off target and fell incomplete.
The Bills attempted an onside kick in a last-ditch effort to get the ball back, but could not recover, resulting in an Eagles win in Orchard Park.
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SCORING RECAP
First Quarter:
- 7-0 PHILADELPHIA: Eagles Touchdown (0:38) - Jalen Hurts tosses a short 1-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert. (Jake Elliott's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 7 plays, 45 yards, 4:25
Second Quarter:
- 10-0 PHILADELPHIA: Eagles Field Goal (5:07) - Jake Elliott's 47-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 13 plays, 48 yards, 5:50
- 13-0 PHILADELPHIA: Eagles Field Goal (0:08) - Jake Elliott's 28-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 10 plays, 61 yards, 2:41
Third Quarter:
- No scoring plays
Fourth Quarter:
- 13-6 PHILADELPHIA: Bills Touchdown (5:11) - Josh Allen punches it up the middle for a 2-yard rushing touchdown. (Michael Badgely's extra point attempt is blocked)
Drive info: 11 plays, 54 yards, 5:51
- 13-12 PHILADELPHIA: Bills Touchdown (0:08) - Josh Allen rushes up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown run. (Buffalo's two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful)
Drive info: 13 plays, 83 yards, 3:16
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SKYWORKS EQUIPMENT RENTAL STATS OF THE GAME:
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What's next:
The Bills will close out the regular season portion of their schedule with a home matchup against the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. Kickoff is slated for 4:25 p.m., where you can catch all the play-by-play by action on the official voice of the Bills - WGR Sports Radio 550.