Bills playoff visions dim after inexcusable loss to Broncos
The , a team expected to finally compete for a Super Bowl this season, are now dealing with questions regarding direction and leadership after a last-second lo s at home to the on Monday night.In the stunning , Buffalo turned the ball over four times, including three times by quarterback . It's the fourth time in his career that Allen has had at least three turnovers in a game. He now leads the league with 14 turnovers on the year, including
Vince Young Jersey an NFL-high 11 interceptions."It sucks," a despondent Allen told reporters after the game. "We shouldn't have been in that position in the first place. A lot of bad football. A lot of bad football."ADVERTISEMENT The Bills started the game with turnovers on their first two po se sions. Running back had the ball stripped by Broncos defensive back on a pa s out in the flat to open the game, and the Broncos turned that into a 40-yard field goal.Buffalo was driving on its second po se sion, but an Allen pa s bounced off the hands of receiver and into the waiting arms of safety deep in Denver territory.Despite the rough start, the Bills managed to fight back and take a 22-21 on an Allen scramble for a 6-yard score with 1:55 remaining in the game. But Broncos quarterback conjured up some magic in the final minute helped by Buffalo's defense.On third-and-10 from Buffalo's 45-yard line, the Bills blitzed Wilson, who just got off a pa s to . Wilson underthrew his receiver, but Jeudy worked back to the football and Bills cornerback was called for pa s interference.The Broncos got the ball at Buffalo's 17-yard line. Wilson then took three straight kneel-downs to drain the clock and Buffalo's timeouts, setting up a 41-yard attempt by Lutz on a scramble drill as the Broncos were out of timeouts. Denver's kicker had his struggles throughout the
Derrick Henry Jersey night, including two failed extra-point attempts. And sure enough, Lutz mi sed again as his 41-yard attempt sailed wide right.The Bills, however, were called for a head-scratching penalty 12 men on the field. So Lutz got another opportunity from 36 yards and drilled it for the win."We practiced that two or three times this week, the substitution from dime six defensive backs to field-goal block, and at the end of the day we didn't execute it," Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. "So it's inexcusable."Allen had perhaps his worst performance of the season, finishing 15-of-27 for 177 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for a 59.3 pa ser rating. Allen was not sacked and faced little pa s rush, with a 23% pre sure rate according to Next Gen Stats.Wilson continued his upward trajectory, completing 24 of 29 pa ses for 193 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Wilson was sacked four times and finished with a 117.4 pa ser rating. The Broncos started the year 0-3 but are now 4-5 after
Anthony Firkser Jersey a three-game winning streak and are playing their best football of the season.One of the few highlights of the evening for Buffalo was safety making his first tackle of the year. He was active for just the second time since suffering cardiac arrest during a game in January.The 5-5 Bills have lost four of their past six games and now sit on the outside looking in when it comes to the postseason. The Bills are 2-5 in one-po se sion games.And the road ahead doesn't get any easier for Buffalo. The Bills' remaining schedule includes:vs., who beat Buffalo in Week 1at NFC-leadingat AFC-leadingvs.atvs., who beat Buffalo in Week 7at AFC East-leadingIn his postgame comments, McDermott seemed to throw shade toward
Teair Tart Jersey second-year offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. The Bills reportedly fired Dorsey on Tuesday morning."I don't think everything we're doing is wrong," McDermott said. "There's some good football being played and some good football being coached. That said, it needs to be better. You can't turn the ball over, and you can't start by giving the team their starting field position at the minus-40-yard line. That's not how you win in this league."So we've got to play better, move the football and score points on a more consistent basis." Want great stories delivered right to your inbox?Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily. Although time is ticking, center believes the Bills can still get things turned around."I think now is going to be the real test for this team not so much on Sundays, but how we stick together on this through the week," Morse said."I think the best teams when the pre sure
Marcus Johnson Jersey is at its highest and when everything seems to be crumbling you come together closer. It's like breaking a bone. When you heal it, it becomes stronger. So that's what we've got to do. And I'm very confident in this team to do that."Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.