Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - In the hours after another loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs, this time the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium, a number of moments from the defeat continue to replay in Josh Allen's head.
"You keep going back and thinking about what you could have done differently, plays even throughout the game. It's something that's so little, but dropping the snap on that 2nd-and-6, turning it to a 3rd-and-9, where I probably catch the ball and I dart it to 'Coop' [Amari Cooper] and it's 3rd-and-1 instead of 3rd-and-9. Things that, again, it's not going to be in the stat sheet, but as a competitor, I think of those things of like, 'Man, if I could have done this differently,'" said Allen on Monday while meeting with the media during his end-of-season press conference. "Anytime you lose, you're going to have those thoughts in your head. It's just understanding you're not promised opportunities like that all the time. You're not promised to get into the playoffs each and every year."
The loss stings a bit extra for Allen, who has now lost all four playoff matchups with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs dating back to the 2020 season.
"We're constantly knocking at the door, and when you're playing a team like the Chiefs, who have done it so well for so long, you've gotta not just knock, you've gotta kick the door down. We didn't do that," Allen said.
Related
On the Bills' final drive of the game, trailing 32-29 and needing, at least, a field goal to tie, Buffalo faced a 4th-and-5 near midfield when the Chiefs were able to get to Allen as he drifted to his right. Before taking a sack, Allen threw up a pass that was catchable for Dalton Kincaid in first down territory. However, a pass that ended up hitting the second-year tight end in the hands fell incomplete, forcing a turnover on downs.
Despite needing a defensive stop to have any chance at getting the ball back with little time on the clock, the offense never stepped back on the field in the final 1:54 of the game.
Although Kincaid took the incompletion hard when addressing the media following the loss in the locker room, Allen took his own responsibility for the play that all but ended Buffalo's hopes of a win and a spot in Super Bowl LIX.
"I've gotta be better for him. I didn't feel like I put him in enough good situations this year, ball placement-wise," Allen admitted. "Even the one last night across the middle, I left it behind him, allowed 32 [Nick Bolton] to make a play on it. Again, he can sit there and think about that play over-and-over, but I've got to be better for him. That's what it comes down to, and getting him more involved."
Allen remains fully confident in the former first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and feels that Kincaid will be even better in his third season with the Bills come training camp in late July.
"I know he's been battling throughout the entire year, bumps and bruises, and probably games that he shouldn't have played he was in. But he's a tough sucker, and I got nothing but love for him, how he's approached this year," Allen said of Kincaid. "He's going to be so much better next year. Let his body heal up, and I'm going to be better for him. I can promise you that."
Now it's on to the offseason for Allen and the Bills, where the group can get healthier and reflect on the year that was, but also focus in on where the team has to be better in 2025 to get back to the AFC Championship Game.
For Allen, this 2024 team was one of the more special units he's ever been around.
"From Pop Warner through high school, through college and the NFL, guys truly cared about each other," Allen said. "Everyone understood their role and their assignment. We had a huge internal belief when we all got here for camp, and we worked extremely hard to get to where we got."
The additional support and trust that Allen garnered throughout the season from his teammates has been the extremely important to him.
"The only thing I care about is those 52 other guys in this locker room, as well as the 15 or 20 or so practice squad guys, what they think of me, and how I can be the best teammate, the best leader that I can be," he said.
"I think it's just the trust and the faith that we have in one another, how hard we work. It's hard to win in this league. It's hard to win Super Bowls in this league. We understand that, and again, when you're playing a team that's now been to three in-a-row, you've got to go out there and you've got to beat them, you've got to take it from them. And we didn't do that."
While Allen is disappointed this group couldn't get the job done Sunday and earn their trip to the Super Bowl, he's still very proud of how far the team did come in a year that many considered the Bills to be "re-tooling".
Looking ahead to 2025, Allen is pleasantly surprised to have offensive coordinator Joe Brady set to return to the Bills after going through the league coaching cycle and not landing a head coaching job elsewhere. The Bills quarterback is hoping the offense can build off what was put in place this past season, while tweaking other elements to enhance the production of the group.
"I thought this year statistically, if you look at it, it's whatever you can say about it. But the end goal is to score one more point than our opponent, and we didn't get that done. So throughout the entire offseason, it's going to be focusing on what can we do to make that a reality?" Allen said.
Another key piece to the offense in 2024 with a career-year in Buffalo was third-year running back James Cook. The 25-year-old finished the season with 1,009 yards on the ground, while averaging 63.1 yards per-game and also tying for the league-lead in rushing scores with 16.
"He was playing like a man possessed, really, the entire year. The way that he ran the ball, he ran angry," Allen said of his running back. "That play that he made last night on fourth down, which again, was an unbelievable play for him, reaching out like that on fourth down, given the moment. It was a special play made by a special player. And every year that he's been in the league, he's gotten better. Looking forward to continuing that next year."
Meanwhile, Allen talked about a couple of close connections he made with a pair of newcomers in the receiving room this past season. Mack Hollins joined the Bills as a free agent in the offseason, while Amari Cooper was a midseason acquisition from the Cleveland Browns.
"Mack's juice and energy throughout the entire locker room, it's infectious. The way that he carries himself, he's a competitor. And then with 'Coop', obviously coming in about halfway, I've got nothing but love and respect for Amari Cooper," Allen said of both wideouts. "I will never, in my life, say a bad thing about him. For him to come into this situation and understand the role that he was brought here to do, he is a true football player, a true teammate. I'm just honored to share the field with him, as well as Mack."
While both players are set to be unrestricted free agents this offseason, Allen has nothing but love and respect for both guys, no matter what their futures hold.
And while Allen doesn't know what more is in store for this roster in Buffalo this offseason, he feels it'll be important to ensure that any new addition will understand the vibe and the feel that's in place in the Bills this locker room, while having the core guys replicating that.
"And whoever comes into this building [will understand] what it is to be a member of this locker room, to come in here and be themselves each and every day, to be the best version of version of themselves. That's all we can do is just go out there and play hard for each other," Allen said.
As for his offseason plans, Allen plans to get away for a bit and let his body heal after another grueling season under center for the Bills.
"Got bumps and bruises from last night, took a few shots. And just trying to make sure that my body's in as good as conditioner as it can be, given maybe a week or two, and then just kind of getting back to work," he said.