This was supposed to be the year for the Buffalo Bills. Even as a wild card team, the Bills had the path set up for them to where they would not run into Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow. They took care of business last Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and then they came so close to punching their ticket to the AFC Championship game. Instead, the offseason is officially here for Buffalo.
The Bills fall to the Denver Broncos in overtime, losing 33-30 and the Bills will be sitting at home next week rather than getting ready for the winner of the Texans and Patriots game that is taking place tomorrow.
Buffalo was down 23-10 at one point and only gave up one touchdown in the second half, but couldn't capitalize on offense to close it out in regulation. In overtime, the Bills had their chance to win the game after stopping Denver but a costly turnover and a penalty-driven drive put Denver in field goal range to give them the win.
There is so much to digest from this game and Bills fans are going to be feeling sick for quite sometime. This loss hurts, there's no denying it.
Winners and losers from Bills' season-ending loss vs. Broncos
Winners
TE Dalton Kincaid
Dalton Kincaid was this week’s Khalil Shakir, we had the same amount of catches as targets. He finished the game with 6 catches for 83 yards and he got in the endzone that brought Buffalo ahead of Denver in the second half. When on the field, Kincaid has played an extremely important role for the team.
The Bills will now have to make a decision on whether or not they will pick up his fifth-year option in the offseason.
DT Deone Walker
The Bills have something special in Deone Walker, who once again had a solid game which included an interception at the line of scrimmage. On top of that turnover, he was pushing blockers around and managed to help with the run-defense. The Bills’ defense was horrendous this season, but they have a special young player in Walker.
LB Shaq Thompson
Shaq Thompson outplayed every other linebacker on the Bills this season. He played great sideline-to-sideline football this season and proved to be a quality veteran, and it showed again against Denver. He had 5 total tackles, including 2 for a loss.
Losers
QB Josh Allen
Josh Allen deserves a big portion of the blame for this loss. Plain and simple. Yes, I know that the defense gave up 33 points at the end of the day, but when you are responsible for four turnovers, a lot of the blame has to be given out. Allen finished the game with 283 yards through the air and 3 touchdowns, but he had 2 interceptions and 2 lost fumbles (with 3 total).
Typically, Allen is the one that is being let down. This time, he deserves a great amount of the blame.
CB Tre'Davious White
As far as his performance on the field, Tre’Davious White had himself a solid game. He wasn’t perfect, but he was solid for the most part. However, after getting called for a questionable pass interference that put the Broncos deep in Buffalo territory in overtime, White went over to the ref and slammed his helmet right in front of the ref and was penalized for that, putting Denver up for a chip shot 24-yard field goal try that ended up winning the game.
I get it, White had every right to be upset with the call because there were non-calls like that for the Bills when they were ones being interfered with, but there is no reason to slam your helmet right in front of the ref that gives Denver an even easier kick than they had before.
CB Dane Jackson
When White took a play to recover from a hit he took in the 4th quarter, Dane Jackson stepped in and it took just one play for the Bills to regret trusting him. Denver took the lead late in the 4th quarter after Bo Nix hit Marvin Mims for a 26-yard touchdown that Jackson was responsible for. Jackson has been a liability for Buffalo in his first stint with the team, as well as this season.
DE Joey Bosa
For the second straight game, Bosa did not do what he was paid to do; come in and close out the game. He struggled against Jacksonville, and it was the same result in this game. Not to mention, he had a roughing the passer penalty called against him in overtime and the only reason why it wasn’t accepted is because Buffalo committed
Joey Bosa had a strong start to the season with the Bills, but he did not deliver when it mattered the most.
HC Sean McDermott
I get why fans may want a coaching change after this game. Again, the Bills had a clear path to the Super Bowl where they didn’t have to worry about running into Mahomes or Burrow. That’s where Sean McDermott comes into play because at the end of the day, everything falls on him.
The fact that Buffalo’s defense was horrible once again and that’s what McDermott specializes in, and that they couldn’t get back to the AFC Championship game, it is time to have a serious conversation on whether or not the Bills should run it back and see what other options are out there.
The one common denominator is that the Bills’ defense was bad, and that falls on the shoulders of McDermott.