A season of Super Bowl aspirations for the Buffalo Bills ended in heartbreak, and quarterback Josh Allen took full responsibility in a tearful post-game address. The Bills had the ball in overtime with a chance to win the Divisional Round, but costly mistakes flipped the script as the Bills fell 33-30. Allen’s four giveaways led directly to Broncos points, including the possession that set up their game-sealing drive in overtime. When Allen addressed reporters after the loss, he struggled to hold back his emotions as he summed up the defeat.

“It’s extremely difficult,” Josh Allen said in the post-game presser while fighting back tears. “Feel like I let my teammates down. Just missed opportunities throughout the game. It’s been a long season – I hate how it ended. It’s gonna stick with me for a long time.”

When reporters further asked Josh Allen about the five turnovers that the Bills committed in the game, he bluntly stated that a team can’t win after making such mistakes. 

“Yeah, can’t win with five turnovers,” Josh Allen said. “I fumbled twice, threw two picks. You shoot yourself in the foot like that, you don’t deserve to win football games.” 

Even though Josh Allen wasn’t fully healthy heading into the game, he gave the Bills everything on the field. He finished the night 25-of-39 passing (64.1%) for 283 yards, 3 touchdowns, two interceptions, and 66 rushing yards. But the other side of the story is hard to ignore: he also accounted for two lost fumbles and two interceptions, tying a career high for turnovers. 

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Let’s rewind to the end of the first half of the game, when Josh Allen’s first big mistake happened. With just seconds left before halftime and the Bills trailing 17-10, Allen tried to push for points. That gamble backfired badly as Allen fumbled the ball and the Broncos recovered. With two seconds left in the game, the Broncos then turned Allen’s mistake into a field goal.

The Bills’ struggles compounded after halftime when Broncos pass-rusher Nik Bonitto came in untouched from Josh Allen’s blindside and blasted him to force another fumble. Not long after that, the Bills’ defense picked off Broncos quarterback Bo Nix and handed Buffalo’s offense great field position. 

The Bills then had the ball at Denver’s 40 and were already close to field-goal range. This was the moment for Josh Allen to take control of the game. But instead, he threw an interception on just the second play of the drive and gave the opportunity away.

Then came the most painful moment of all for the Bills. In overtime, on a third-and-10 from Buffalo’s own 36-yard line, Allen went for the jugular. He launched a deep pass to the Bills’ receiver Brandin Cooks that would’ve put the Bills in field-goal range. But Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian intercepted the pass and came down with the ball as both players hit the ground.

This performance adds to a concerning postseason trend for Allen, especially in games where every possession matters. He has now fumbled 14 times in 15 playoff games despite 29 touchdowns against just six interceptions. Now, as the Broncos advanced to the AFC Championship Game, they did it by capitalizing on five Buffalo turnovers. And, one of those turnovers came in a clutch moment with plenty of controversy.

Controversial officiating also played a part in the Bills’ loss to the Broncos

On that decisive overtime pass from Josh Allen to Brandin Cooks that turned into an interception, officials ruled that Cooks did not maintain possession of the ball through the process of the catch. Because McMillian also had his hands on the ball, officials ruled it a simultaneous catch, which goes to the offensive player on a reception but to the defense on a turnover. The call stood after review. But it looked like Cooks might have secured the ball and been down before McMillian took it away. As such, Bills head coach Sean McDermott had something to say about that controversial call after the game.

“Obviously, I don’t have the power to challenge,” Sean McDermott said in the post-game presser. “We’re in overtime, so the flag is not an option to throw it down, so I called a timeout to try and get the process to slow down because it seemed like the process was not slowing down. It seemed like a rapid unfolding of the review, if there was a review.” 

McDermott also pointed out that if the play was going to be ruled an interception, the review process should’ve taken more time, given how big the moment was for the Bills. A completed catch would have put the Bills in comfortable field-goal range for a potential game-winning kick. Instead, things unraveled quickly. 

After the interception, two pass-interference penalties on the Bills gifted the Broncos 47 yards. The second penalty, called on Bills’ cornerback Tre’Davious White, moved the ball to Buffalo’s 8-yard line. White was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after he threw his helmet down in frustration.

From there, the damage was done as the Broncos drove 75 yards and kicked the game-winning field goal. Just like that, the Bills went from forcing overtime to holding the ball in a potential game-winning drive and still lost the game. 

Now, the bigger picture looks even more troubling for Buffalo. The Bills have reached the Divisional Round six straight years with Josh Allen and McDermott, but they’ve only won four of those games. Allen is a good enough QB to win a Super Bowl, no doubt about that. But if the Bills still can’t make it to the Super Bowl in the Allen era, you have to wonder… will they ever?