The Buffalo Bills entered this game at 6-5 and were going on the road against one of the league's best, Philadelphia Eagles who entered Week 12 at 9-1. The Bills thankfully looked like they had figured some things out last week against the Jets but it remained to be seen if it was because they did or their opponent made them look better.
The Bills would build a double digit lead at halftime and certainly stayed with the Philadelphia Eagles right up until the end. It was Josh Allen finding Gabe Davis for a touchdown in the final two minutes to take a three point lead before Jake Elliott hit a nearly 60-yard field goal to tie it in the closing seconds.
The game would go to overtime and while the Bills would drive down the field, they would stall and be forced to settle for a field goal after miscommunication between Allen and Davis in the end zone. The Eagles would respond with a touchdown and take a 37-34 victory.
These are some of the initial reactions from Week 12 for the Buffalo Bills.
Buffalo Bills defensive line dominates one of the best offensive lines in the NFL
The Philadelphia Eagles have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL and this is one of the reasons their "tush push" play is almost unstoppable. The Eagles did find out on Sunday that they were going to be without starting right tackle Lane Johnson and while he is a key part of the line, it might not have changed much as the Bills defensive line absolutely dominated this game.
It might not show up in the box score as the Bills only had two sacks and one QB hit on Jalen Hurts but they made an impact from almost start to finish. The opening drive for the Eagles was three straight incompletions as Hurts had to throw sooner than he wanted due to the pressure by the Bills.
The interception by Terrel Bernard was also due to the defensive line as Leonard Floyd deflected a pass up in the air that the linebacker was able to bring down. It was overall a pretty good performance by the defense due in large part to the defensive line.
Buffalo Bills need to clean up the penalties
One of the big storylines coming out of this game, and something the Buffalo Bills have to correct, is penalties. The Bills were called for 10 penalties in the first half alone and while they did a better job in the second half with only one penalty, it is still something that can't be overlooked.
The biggest culprit this week was the offensive line as they were called for a majority of those penalties. Being on the road, certainly played a factor with a few false starts but there were also a number of flags thrown for holding.
Some of these penalties would cost the Bills points, like on the opening drive where back-to-back false start penalties pushed them out of field goal range, and it made this game much closer than it should have been.
Josh Allen couldn't do much more than what he did
Even though the Buffalo Bills came up short, it was not because of Josh Allen who had arguably one of the best games of his career. He finished the game with 339 passing yards, 81 rushing yards, and four total touchdowns (two passing and two rushing).
The only blemish on the day was an interception in the second half that was an ill-advised throw where James Bradberry jumped the route. However, the interception wasn't like some of the other interceptions he has had recently where he forced the throws that were almost certainly going to be turnovers.
The Buffalo Bills have a tough road ahead if they want to make the playoffs but if Josh Allen continues to play like this, they certainly will have a great chance.
Buffalo Bills show they can compete with NFL's best
The Buffalo Bills at one point looked like one of the best teams in the NFL earlier this season after their win over the Miami Dolphins but have struggled over roughly the last two months to the point that playoffs are no longer a certainty. However, one thing is clear in that this team is talented enough to compete with the NFL's best.
The Bills were able to go on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles, who had only one loss on the season and led for most of the game. Even when the Eagles came back, the Bills didn't back down and continued to trade points.
The Bills are on the outside looking in but the rest of the AFC will not want to play this team if they somehow make it into the playoffs this year.