Josh Allen and the 10-3 Buffalo Bills will look to shake off the disappointment of the team’s stunning 44-42 loss to the 7-6 Los Angeles Rams last Sunday. They’ll face an even stiffer test in Week 15 in the shape of the 12-1 Detroit Lions.
The loss sinks the Bills to two games behind the 12-1 Kansas City Chiefs for the top seed and a first-round bye in the AFC (though Buffalo holds the tiebreaker after winning the head-to-head matchup).
Against the Lions, Allen indicated his team will “have to come out with some urgency.” When reflecting on the Rams game, he admitted that his side didn’t play with urgency: “I don’t think at any phase of the game did we do that today.”
Allen did everything he could to put his team in a position to win, completing 22 of his 37 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns. The MVP frontrunner added 82 yards and three more scores on the ground in a herculean effort.
However, Buffalo was doomed by questionable playcalling at the end of the contest. Trailing 44-35 with 1:06 to go at the Rams’ one-yard line and possessing all three time-outs, the Bills inexplicably attempted a quarterback sneak (it was snuffed out) and had to burn a timeout.
After scoring on the next play, Buffalo failed their onside kick attempt and never got the ball back. FOX announcer Tom Brady couldn’t fathom the team’s playcalling.
The Bills often rely on Allen’s excellence around the goal line (
Getty Images)
“To me, you take three shots throwing and don’t use a timeout, and then you can kick it deep and use your three timeouts and still get the ball with good time,” he bemoaned.
“It changes the entire complexity of the last 1:02 of the game. … I did not like that one bit. That could have just cost them the game right there.”
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford also had a strong day, completing 23 of his 30 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns. Allen was effusive in his praise of the Los Angeles veteran.
