Bills’ loss to the Eagles highlights a major issue that could derail the team at the worst possible time
For a large majority of the Eagles game, it was hard to watch for Bills Mafia.
What an ugly game and performance by the offense for the Buffalo Bills up until the fourth quarter.
The Week 17 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles has fans questioning whether this team has what it takes to make a deep postseason run.
While the defense held its own against running back Saquon Barkley and the Eagles, the offense had one of its worst performances in years for most of the game. At the end of the game, Allen missed wide receiver Khalil Shakir for the two-point conversion, ending the game.
Offense struggles to get anything going
Quarterback Josh Allen and the offense just couldn’t get anything going for nearly the entire game. Ahead of the contest, the team ruled out Allen’s best weapon, tight end Dalton Kincaid, and you could feel his absence in the matchup.
Allen tried to do too much at times, and his receivers didn’t do him any favors. With what was touted as one of the best offensive lines in football, the running game with running back James Cook couldn’t get going, either. All around, the offense was to blame for the loss, not the defense. Fortunately, the Bills kept it close with a valiant fourth-quarter effort but came up just short.
The reigning MVP finished his day going 23-for-35 for 262 yards while adding seven carries for 27 yards and two touchdowns.
One thing is for certain: the team needs to get a true No. 1 option for Allen this offseason. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady didn’t call his best game by any means, with fans clamoring for some regime changes after such an awful effort. If the team could stop throwing screen passes all the time, that’d be really great.
Allen was battling with a foot injury that had his availability in question leading up to the matchup, and it appeared to limit him somewhat during the loss.
The Eagles’ defense came to play
The Eagles were wreaking havoc on Allen and the Bills’ offense all game. Early on in the contest, Buffalo was driving down the field before a more-than-a-little questionable call resulted in a turnover.
Then, in the fourth quarter, Allen tried making something out of nothing, evading pressure before being sacked once again for a massive loss, kicking Buffalo out of field goal range.
Much like they did to win the Super Bowl against the Chiefs, the front four from Vic Fangio’s defense made life miserable for Allen, bringing him down multiple times throughout the contest for some big sacks. The defense held Buffalo scoreless well into the fourth quarter.
Buffalo had some life, and it came down to a fourth-and-goal situation with less than 10 seconds on the clock, but Buffalo fell just short, losing the game.
Buffalo’s defense held strong
Make no mistake about it, the defense from Buffalo kept this game from being much uglier than it should have been at times. While Allen has put on his Superman cape and helped lead his team to victory, the defense did its part in the loss against the Eagles.
Stopping Barkley, getting pressure on quarterback Jalen Hurts, getting some third-down stops, the defense did their part in a big way, and if nothing else, fans should be just the slightest bit excited at the thought that the team has turned a new leaf. Heading into the matchup, Buffalo had the worst run defense in the league, but kept Barkley mostly in check the entire matchup.
At the end of the day, the loss was a sobering reminder of how thin the margin is between winning and losing against elite competition.
Buffalo’s defense showed real progress against one of the NFL’s best teams, keeping the Bills within striking distance deep into the fourth quarter. The offense, while largely stagnant for most of the evening, at least gave the team a chance late.
With the postseason fast approaching, there’s little time to dwell on what went wrong. If anything, this game showed Buffalo is close, but “close” isn’t good enough in January, and the offense will need to be far more consistent if the Bills want this season to end differently than last.
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