Another game, another dispiriting loss by the Super Bowl-or-bust Buffalo Bills

Listen to this article

The margin between victory and defeat in the National Football League can be tissue thin. A zig here, a zag there and the Buffalo Bills could be undefeated instead of being .500 and sitting on a precarious playoff bubble about to burst.

“The frustrating part,’’ said Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver after his team’s 37-34 soul-sucking loss to the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night, “is being so close, yet being so far.”

Buffalo heads into its bye week with a bewildering 6-6 record — its losses coming by six, five, four, six, two, and three points. It has outscored its opponents by a league-best 101 points — the type of margin one would expect from a team with an 8-4, 9-3, or even 12-0 mark. Against the Eagles, the Bills continued to make history, both good and bad. While their super-freak quarterback Josh Allen became the first player in NFL history with four games of 300-plus passing yards (339) and 75-plus rushing yards (81), the Bills became the first team since the 1970 merger to lose a game in which they had 500 yards, 10 third-down conversions, and a positive turnover margin. Teams achieving those thresholds were 39-0 before the Bills ignominiously ended the streak.

Chosen by many pundits to reach the Super Bowl, Buffalo finds itself scrambling just to reach the postseason. In addition to going at least 4-1 in a finishing stretch featuring road games against the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers and Miami Dolphins, and home games against the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots, they’ll need several of the teams ahead of them in the wildcard chase to stumble.

With Josh playing like an NFL MVP the past two weeks, it’s still possible, but as we saw again in the Eagles loss, even when Josh puts on his Superman cape, it isn’t always enough. He accounted for four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) and put the Bills ahead near the end of regulation and in overtime, but, alas, in a recurring theme, Buffalo’s injury-depleted defense was unable to close the deal. After an impressive first half in which they forced two turnovers and limited the potent, Jalen Hurts-led Eagles offense to 99 yards and one touchdown, the Bills melted like Philadelphia Cream Cheese in a microwave. The Eagles scored 30 points in their final seven possessions, capped by Hurts’ 12-yard game-winning run. So close. So far. So Bills.

I normally don’t blame officiating for deciding games. That’s usually a loser’s lament. But referee Shawn Hochuli and his crew had an abysmal night. The fact the Eagles improved to 5-0 in games he’s worked and the disparity in penalties (11 accepted against Buffalo versus four against Philadelphia) has stoked conspiracy theorists. How in the world could they not flag the Eagles for a horse-collar tackle on Josh before the end of the first half or see that it wasn’t truly intentional grounding? There also were a couple of blatant pass interference penalties against Philadelphia that were missed, plus a Bills fumble recovery that probably should not have been ruled an incomplete pass.

That said, the decisive factor in the Bills loss was the Bills themselves. That’s another recurring theme. If the normally reliable Tyler Bass missed only one instead of two field goals, the disposition in Western New York might be a whole lot sunnier. Had James Cook not dropped an easy touchdown pass and Gabe Davis cut right rather than left, the Bills could have won.

The loss dropped Buffalo to 2-6 in one-score games this season, 8-15 in such nail-biters over the past three seasons, and 28-28 (including 1-6 in overtime games) during Sean McDermott’s seven seasons as head coach. This latest gut-punch has prompted angry Bills Mafia members to call for McDermott’s head. Detractors grouse that McDermott coaches scared – not to lose – and isn’t aggressive enough offensively. There also is rancor the Bills are wasting this generational talent they have at quarterback.

There is merit to both criticisms. McDermott’s conservatism was underscored by his decision to eschew taking a shot or two downfield with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Yes, there’s risk involved, and the Bills only had one timeout left because McDermott squandered one trying to ice the Eagles kicker before his game-tying field goal, but you have a quarterback with the strongest arm in football and he’s playing out of his freaking mind. Why not see if you can get the ball in position for the winning field goal?

Admittedly, 20 seconds isn’t a lot of time, but the Bills faced a similar dilemma two Thanksgivings ago and Josh took them down the field with 23 seconds remaining for the game-winning kick against the Detroit Lions. We could also cite the 13-second debacle from a few years ago when Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to a game-tying field goal that ultimately cost the Bills their best shot at a Super Bowl.

As I’ve opined before, McDermott may be the Marty Schottenheimer of this era – a coach good enough to win a lot of games but never get you to THE game. Even if the Bills don’t make the playoffs, which would be a colossal failure, I can’t see McDermott being fired by owner Terry Pegula, who last year rewarded him and general manager Brandon Beane contract extensions through 2027. But if the Bills continue to flounder and squander the talent that is Josh Allen, Pegula won’t be able to stand pat. He has to sell a stadium full of sticker-shock, personal seat licenses to pay for his new pigskin playpen that opens in three years. And after this season, the Bills braintrust will be confronted with several extremely difficult roster decisions because they’ll be way over the salary cap.

This quarterback and offense are still formidable enough to make a serious run. But McDermott has to stop wasting Josh. Otherwise, Oliver’s Sunday night lamentation might be the way we look back on this era of Bills football. So close and yet so far.

Best-selling author and nationally honored journalist Scott Pitoniak is the Rochester Business Journal sports columnist. His latest books – “If These Walls Could Talk: Buffalo Bills,” and “Invisible No More: A Historical Novel” – are available in bookstores and on Amazon.