Josh Allen grappled with the heavy burden of the Bills’ heart-wrenching loss to the Broncos, which marked the end of their season.
In the aftermath of Denver kicker Will Lutz’s decisive 24-yard field goal that clinched the game in overtime during Saturday’s divisional playoff showdown, a visibly emotional Allen took responsibility for the defeat.
“This is incredibly tough,” the Bills’ quarterback expressed during a post-game press conference after the 33-30 overtime loss. “I feel like I let my team down tonight.”
Allen, who had maintained a clean sheet regarding turnovers in his last six playoff appearances, found himself struggling to keep possession throughout this game.
While he managed to complete 25 out of 39 passes, amassing 283 yards and three touchdowns, he was also intercepted twice and lost two fumbles after being hit by Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto.
These errors contributed to a total of five turnovers for Buffalo.
“Yeah, can’t win with five turnovers,” Allen said. “When you shoot yourself in the foot like that, you don’t deserve to win football games.”
Despite the turnovers, the Bills appeared poised to build on their Allen-led postseason heroics until a series of controversial calls late in the game.
Late in the fourth, officials did not call a pass interference penalty on an Allen pass to receiver Brandin Cooks in the endzone, forcing the team to kick a game-tying field goal instead of potentially having the ball on the one-yard line.
In overtime, cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian ripped a pass out of Cooks’ hands that was ruled an interception, despite the receiver appearing to be down on the play.
“No,” Allen said when asked if he received an explanation for that call.
“I mean, losing that way…regardless…losing in the playoffs is not fun.”
Saturday’s outing was a stark difference from the Bills’ performance against the Jaguars last Sunday, when they notched their first postseason road win in three decades.
A banged-up Allen powered Buffalo to a 27-24 win over Jacksonville as the former NFL MVP authored a comeback that included him running in the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth.
A week later, the Bills have once again been bounced from the playoffs before reaching the Super Bowl.
Buffalo has not made it past the AFC championship game with head coach Sean McDermott, who has been at the helm since 2017, and Allen, who was the organization’s first-round pick in 2018.
“I haven’t been doing a lot of talking other than them,” Allen said. “I love my teammates and I’m extremely sorry.
“Just missed opportunities throughout the game. It’s a long season, hate how it ended. It’s going to stick with me for a long time.”
Allen’s tearful comments elicited a similar reaction from several teammates, including Cooks and left tackle Dion Dawkins.
“He ain’t let us down,” Dawkins said, fighting back tears.
