The Buffalo Bills lost a Monday Night Football matchup to the Denver Broncos 24-22 in a game riddled with costly turnovers and penalties.
In fact, the Broncos’ field goal in the final seconds missed giving the Bills the win- Until they were flagged for having too many men on the field (12), allowing Denver a second chance kick that netted the victory.
“Shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place,” Bills QB Josh Allen said at the beginning of his postgame press conference alongside center Mitch Morse. “Lot of bad football. A lot of bad Football.”
Buffalo turned the ball over on their two opening drives of the game. Allen is leading the NFL in total touchdowns but he is also leading the league in turnovers (13) and interceptions (11), throwing two and adding a fumble in the loss to Denver. The Bills now lead the league with eight first-half turnovers since NFL Week 5.
Allen finished the day with one of his worst outings of the season, going 15-of-26 passing with 177 yards despite having a season-low of only 19% pressures on his dropbacks.
“I’m still confident, but it’s no secret the clock’s ticking. Got to have some urgency now,” he added about the team’s playoff hopes.
When asked why he was confident despite how things have been going, the sixth-year pro knew where to draw hope from.
“Because we’ve done it before.”
He’s not wrong. In past seasons with Allen under center, the team has turned things around midway through the season and gone on a run. It’s worth noting those runs typically involved Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator and Leslie Frazier as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach.
Allen’s struggled with turnovers for much of his NFL career, and will often remark how he will “learn” from those mistakes and “get better” from that.
The question is when will that happen?
Daboll successor Ken Dorsey has shared responsibility in his tenure for questionable playcalling, though there’s been a messy slide this season in discipline and execution in Allen’s game. That has raised questions about the root of the problem and how to fix it.
The issues in his execution and gameplay decision-making could raise valid questions about whether a new position coach could help him get back to form and develop in the right direction, and whether a change is in order from QB coach Joe Brady to improve.
Whether a change off the field takes place, a change on the field is needed.
The Bills are second in the AFC East behind the Dolphins and ESPN analytics gives Buffalo a 33% chance of making the playoffs.
In the past, they’ve played best at times when they’ve been viewed as underdogs or had their backs against the wall, and with a less talented roster than they have now.
Can they do it again?
These questions will be answered in their next seven games.
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