JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Josh Allen compared his performance to feces – in no uncertain terms – apologized for using foul language on camera, then doubled down and said it again.
Never in his four years as the Buffalo Bills’ starting quarterback has Allen sworn during a press conference. And it’s difficult to recall another regular season defeat that affected him as much as the Bills’ stunning 9-6 loss to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at TIAA Bank Field.
Allen looked like he’d been crying when he finally emerged from the visitors’ locker room to address what went wrong. He sat red-faced behind a microphone, having committed three turnovers in the second half, and with a hoarse voice attempted to explain how the highest-scoring offense in the NFL failed to find the end zone, how shoddy protection from the offensive line, an inability to run the ball and a deluge of penalties, including five personal fouls, resulted in a presumptive Super Bowl contender falling to a one-win team starting a rookie quarterback.
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“This one stings,” Allen said. “But I’ll tell you that this one makes the other games feel better. Having this pit in our stomach right now puts things into perspective. It’s a week-to-week league. Any given Sunday, any team can come out here and play well and beat the other team. That’s just how it goes. It’s life sometimes. We’ll use this to our advantage. We’ll be better from it.”
The Bills (5-3) believed they were beyond such disastrous performances.
Allen hadn’t committed three turnovers in a game since a Week 4 loss to the New England Patriots in 2019, which has long been viewed as a turning point for the then second-year QB.
The Bills hadn’t failed to score a touchdown since the meaningless loss to the New York Jets in the 2019 regular season finale, when Buffalo rested several starters, including Allen, before the team’s playoff loss in Houston. They hadn’t failed to score a touchdown in a game they were trying to win since October 2018, when Derek Anderson was the quarterback and they dropped back-to-back losses at Indianapolis and at home against New England.
“They were ready to play and we weren’t,” coach Sean McDermott said about the Jaguars (2-6).
Allen failed to throw or run for a touchdown in just one other game since his rookie season, when he recorded more than 300 passing yards in an 18-10 victory at the New York Jets on Oct. 25, 2020.
That wasn’t this.
This was a rookie performance by a quarterback who finished second in NFL MVP voting and a no-show by an offense that rewrote the franchise record book last season. And in a game the Bills were favored to win by more than two touchdowns.
This was the Bills turning back the clock much too far, reverting to a time when Allen was forced to play hero ball and attempt to win games on his own because he was surrounded by inferior talent.
Allen didn’t point a finger at anyone but himself. And while the quarterback deserves criticism – his three turnovers went a long way to cementing the outcome – he has every right to be frustrated with his teammates.
“We had a lot of little things add up to big things and I put the ball in danger too often,” Allen said. “Bit us in the butt. ... But that starts with me. So I’ve got to be better for this team.”
This loss isn’t solely on Allen. He had 314 yards of total offense. The Bills finished with 301 net yards.
Allen completed 31 of 41 pass attempts for 264 yards, the two picks and a 62.7 passer rating, his worst since a 24-17 loss to Baltimore on Dec. 8, 2019.
Officially, he led the team with 50 rushing yards on five carries.
But he spent much of the afternoon running for his life.
The offensive line was atrocious.
Cody Ford, the 2019 second-round pick, was forced back into the starting lineup because of injuries to rookie right tackle Spencer Brown and guard Jon Feliciano and showed precisely why he was benched earlier this season.
But the other four linemen – left tackle Dion Dawkins, left guard Ike Boettger, center Mitch Morse and right tackle Daryl Williams – played those same positions throughout the Bills’ run to the AFC championship game last season.
There’s no excuse for their struggles in pass protection – they allowed four sacks to a team that had 11 all season – or their inability to open running lanes.
“It’s the hardest thing to do, is look at yourself,” Morse said. “And I think as an offense we have to do that, each and every one of us, and go from there.”
The running game was non-existent, as it has been most of the season.
Devin Singletary finished with 16 yards on six carries. Zack Moss had 6 yards on three.
“That’s a huge issue right now for us,” McDermott said.
Allen has a bevy of talented wide receivers, but often failed to find them, resorting to checkdowns.
He completed nearly half of his passes to Cole Beasley (eight catches for 33 yards) and Singletary (seven catches for 43 yards).
The Bills’ frustration overflowed from the jump. They were flagged 12 times for 118 yards.
“I’d like to believe we’re a disciplined team,” McDermott said, “but it doesn’t show right now, so I’ve got to go back and look at that, as well.”
And yet they had every opportunity to win this game, right down to the final possession.
“Our defense allowed nine points with a couple of short fields,” Allen said. “We’ve got to be better for them.”
Buffalo’s defense allowed just 219 yards, the fewest in a loss since Dec. 2, 2018, when the Bills allowed just 175 yards in a 21-17 defeat at Miami.
This was supposed to be the easy part of the schedule – at home against Miami, at Jacksonville, at the New York Jets – teams that had combined for fewer victories than the Bills.
A team that had visions of a first-round playoff bye and the Super Bowl suddenly finds itself in a fight for the AFC East.
The Bills lead the Patriots by just a half-game with nine to play.
