DENVER — Josh Allen needed a moment to compose himself before walking through the door to the press conference after the Buffalo Bills’ heartbreaking 33-30 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos.
Allen took the podium, took a deep breath, wiped the tears from his eyes, and did his best to provide answers to yet another heartbreaking playoff loss.
“It’s extremely difficult. I feel like I let my teammates down tonight,” he said. “I just missed opportunities throughout the game. It’s been a long season. I hate how it ended and it’s going to be with me for a long time.”
The scene in the Bills locker room was tough. The players were emotional and struggled to hold back tears after another close loss in the playoffs.
Bills receiver Brandin Cooks arrived in Buffalo on Nov. 25 after spending most of the season in New Orleans. He quickly became one of the Bills’ most reliable weapons in the passing game and built chemistry with Allen.
In just 53 days, Cooks was able to feel the weight Allen carries for the Bills.
“He ended up carrying us all year,” Cooks said. “The way I think about it is, somebody step up so you can take some of that off of him. … He’s the best point guard in this league. Everybody else around him has to come in and be able to play, so he’s not always going to feel like the man, I’ve got to win this game.”
When Cooks was asked after the game what it was like to watch Allen struggle so emotionally with the loss, tears began to stream down his face as he tried to explain what the loss meant to the room.
“I think we all feel that way,” he said. “You work so hard. I’m personally so grateful to be a part of it. I look back and think — what could I have done to take some of the pressure off him. You just love the game so much, and when you come up short like that, it’s going to sting for a long time. There’s no next week.”
Bills left game Dion Dawkins heard a quote from Allen about how he felt responsible for the loss. Dawkins said it wasn’t Allen’s fault before tears began to flow and he had to turn his head away to his locker.
Allen’s performance was an emotional roller coaster ride for Bills fans. The 29-year-old had gone six straight playoff games without a turnover before committing four against the Broncos on Saturday. Allen’s two interceptions and two lost fumbles were four of the Bills’ five total turnovers.
“You can’t win with five turnovers,” Allen said. “You’re shooting yourself in the foot like that, you don’t deserve to win football games.”
Allen finished with 349 total yards and threw three passes, connecting with receiver Mecole Hardman on his first, receiver Keon Coleman on his second and tight end Dalton Kincaid on the fourth quarter to take the lead and erase a 23–10 third quarter deficit.
The Bills faced a tough road to the Super Bowl this season after finishing 6th. Buffalo had not won a road playoff game since 1993 before beating the Jaguars last week in Jacksonville.
Despite Allen’s shaky play at Empower Field, the Bills still had a chance to win the game late in regulation and in overtime. A deep ball to Cooks in overtime was intercepted and then picked off by Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian. Cooks appeared to be down after making contact with the ball before a defender took the ball away from him. The officials ruled it an interception, and Bills coach Sean McDermott took a timeout, hoping the Crew would apply another rule. Couldn’t make a call.
After the game, McDermott said he believed Cooks made the catch and was upset with how the officials handled the situation.
“We’re not just going to sit here and take it, that’s what I’m saying,” he said in a pool report. “I’m upset about it, and I feel strongly after looking at it in my own locker that it’s a catch, a Buffalo hold, and that the process should have been (long pause) … handled differently. I don’t understand why the head official who’s at the game doesn’t get a chance to look at the same thing that people in New York are deciding.”
As for Allen, McDermott said the loss isn’t on his quarterback.
“We had opportunities, all of us,” he said. “I’m extremely proud of him. He’s a great person, a great leader, a great quarterback. Yeah, there are plays we all want back.”
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