Buffalo Bills: Loss to Arizona Cardinals was a thrill ride, but agonizing all the same

The loss for the Buffalo Bills was a thrill ride, but agonizing all the same.

It looked like it was going to be another great comeback for the Comeback Kid himself, Josh Allen. With less than a minute left, the Buffalo Bills quarterback threw a perfect end-zone pass that was hauled in by a diving Stefon Diggs, putting the Bills up 30-26 against an Arizona Cardinals team that refused to go away.

Until then, it had looked grim for Buffalo. The Bills offense had stalled and they couldn’t seem to regain the momentum. They were trailing 26-23 and time was running out in the fourth quarter.

But Allen has been a master at leading fourth-quarter comebacks, and football pundits everywhere were watching to see how the third-year QB would handle this adversity. Would he choke or rise to the challenge?

With a 7-2 record, the Bills wanted to go into their bye week next week on a high. But it wasn’t to be and their record slipped to 7-3 as the Cardinals scored on a desperation play with seconds left to shock Buffalo, 32-30.

Arizona’s sensational and elusive quarterback Kyler Murray looked a little like a young Doug Flutie at Boston College in 1984 when he heaved a Hail Mary pass into the end zone as time ticked down, and miraculously, DeAndre Hopkins leaped up amid blanket coverage and pulled down the TD catch, shocking Buffalo and sparking a tidal wave of reaction on social media.

You could hear primal screams coming from every Buffalo Bills fans’ home at that very moment. Said one Bills fan on Twitter: “You Bills are a horror show.”

Many others echoed similar sentiments. That’s to be expected with a passionate fan base.

But if you are a football fan, there was much to like about this game. In a league that has too many dull-as-dishwater-games, It was a thrilling ride from the opening kickoff.

There were so many twists and turns, and even a gadget play by the Bills with Allen fooling the Cardinals defense by taking a pass from Isaiah McKenzie and scooting 12 yards into the end zone for the opening score.

Many Bills fans, predictably, were horrified at this result. How could the Bills have Hopkins surrounded and still allow him to come up with the winning TD catch?

Well, even though luck was involved, this winning play was more about Hopkins making an outstanding play than the Bills blowing this one.

This TD was a low-percentage play and would fail 99 times out of 100 if they had to do it all over again. But Diggs’ sensational go-ahead TD was a thing of beauty, with no luck involved at all.

For that, the Bills should walk away proud. And so should their fans. The Bills clawed back and only a freakishly lucky play ruined their day.

This is not to take anything away from Hopkins. He’s the Cardinals’ most trusted receiver, and everyone knew the three-time All-Pro was going to be targeted to be the desperation hero.

Hopkins’ grab is being hailed as the catch of the year, and you know you’ve done something special when people like LeBron James and Randy Moss take to Twitter to throw bouquets at Hopkins with several exclamation marks for emphasis.

These plays don’t happen very often. In fact, this last-second strike to Hopkins was the first go-ahead Hail Mary in the fourth quarter since 2015 when Aaron Rodgers hit Richard Rodgers to beat the Detroit Lions, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

But the hard truth of the matter is that Hopkins beat out three Bills defenders in a fight for the ball. Give him credit. He was surrounded by Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer and Tre’Davious White and one of them should have been able to bat the ball away. It was White who had the best position on Hopkins.

But at 6’1″, the Arizona receiver is taller than each of those Bills defenders. White is the shortest of the three Buffalo Bills defenders at 5’11”, so Hopkins was able to use his size and big hands to outjump the three defenders.

Perhaps the best tweet of the night came from DeAndre Hopkins himself. “Don’t ever say it’s impossible,” he said, adding a video replay of the winning score.

For Bills fans, this is going to sting for a while.

Of course, if any city can overcome this it is Buffalo, for the city has had to endure more than its share of heartbreak. No one needs to remind the city’s faithful of the four straight Super Bowl losses, or the Music City Miracle defeat on Jan. 8, 2000 in a wildcard playoff game with the Tennessee Titans.

Despite this jaw-dropping defeat, the Bills still are ahead in the AFC East, although the Miami Dolphins, at 6-3, are nipping at their heels.

Once the shock wears off, and it will, the Buffalo Bills must reset and move on.

A week off will help the Bills lick their wounds, both emotional and physical. Then it will be time to prepare for the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 12, the San Francisco 49ers in Week 13, and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14.

Although suddenly a division title looks a little shaky, the Bills should count their blessings that this wasn’t a playoff game. What doesn’t kill them should make them stronger.