Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - It was, arguably, the worst loss of the 2023 season, and one of the worst losses the franchise has had in recent memory.
In the bright lights of prime-time on "Monday Night Football", the Buffalo Bills laid a giant egg in a 24-22 loss to the Denver Broncos, dropping the team's overall record to 5-5 and 2-5 against AFC opponents this season.
While the banged up Buffalo defense performed rather admirably in a losing effort, the offense sputtered throughout the night, and a critical special teams blunder late led to their demise in front of the hometown faithful at Highmark Stadium.
What also didn't do the Bills any favors on Monday night was the turnovers that allowed the Broncos to keep Buffalo's offense off the field. Things didn't start off great with an opening play fumble from running back James Cook, as well as two interceptions thrown by quarterback Josh Allen, and another fumble on an exchange between Allen and Cook later in the game.
What finally did the Bills in on Monday was a killer 12 men on the field penalty on a 41-yard field goal attempt by the Broncos that kicker Wil Lutz ended up missing with 4 seconds remaining on the clock. That allowed the ball to be moved up five yards, and the veteran kicker didn't miss from 36 yards out.
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This is the first time all year the Bills have lost back-to-back games.
On top of that, the Bills ended up firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey on Tuesday, replacing him with quarterbacks coach Joe Brady on an interim basis.
Brady will need to adjust to his new role quickly, as the Bills are on a short week with the New York Jets coming to town on Sunday afternoon for a 4:25 p.m. EST kickoff in Orchard Park.
The Jets are coming off their fifth loss of the season on Sunday night in Las Vegas, falling to the Raiders, also in prime-time.
This will be the second of two meetings between these AFC East rivals on Sunday.
The first meeting ended in a Jets victory on "Monday Night Football" in Week 1, as quarterback Zach Wilson was thrust into the starting role after quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon.
Since then, Wilson and the Jets have had their ups-and-downs, and have looked inconsistent and streaky throughout the season.
Last week was the first time since 2018 that Howard Simon picked the Bills to finish under .500, and for good reason. He had hoped Buffalo's Week 10 showdown with the Broncos would be a bounce back victory for the team, but he was sadly mistaken.
Monday's loss took a toll on Howard this week, as he has pushed the Bills even further away from a playoff spot in this week's edition of "Howard Picks The Bills".
While Howard does have the Bills beating the Jets in Week 11 at Highmark Stadium, he's no where close to optimistic when it comes to the remaining stretch of games to come.
Howard sees the Bills going on a four-game losing skid that would effectively eliminate them from playoffs contention, cementing the team's first sub-.500 season since Allen's rookie season in 2018.
Be sure to follow along on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the latest picks from Howard by using the hashtag #HowardPicksTheBills. You can also track all of Howard's picks throughout the season with Brayton Wilson's picks tracker on X: @BraytonJWilson.
You can listen to, and watch the latest edition of "Howard Picks the Bills" available below: