1 day Ago By Associated Press
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen could take plenty of satisfaction from a season in which he became the betting favourite for MVP, and the Buffalo Bills defied the doubters who predicted a down year.
Instead, Allen and the Bills again fell short of their goal of winning the Super Bowl, and on Monday, the star quarterback was second-guessing himself about what more he could have done in a 32-29 loss to the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game a day earlier. Allen took responsibility. He had the ball with an opportunity to tie the game or put the Bills ahead in the closing minutes — only to come up empty on a desperation fourth-down heave that fell through the arms of diving tight end Dalton Kincaid.
“Yeah, it sucks. You keep going back and thinking about what you could have done differently, plays even throughout the game,” said Allen, who was stopped earlier in the fourth quarter on fourth-and-1. “Any time you lose, you’re going to have those thoughts in your head and just understanding that you’re not promised opportunities like that all the time,” Allen added.
“You can’t just knock on the door, you got to kick it down.” Try as they might, the Bills and Allen once again will be spectators on Super Bowl Sunday. This marked the fourth time in five years they’ve been eliminated by the Chiefs, and the second time in the conference title game.
Winners of five straight AFC East titles, the Bills became the first team to win 11 or more games over five straight seasons that didn't reach the Super Bowl at least once over that span. Fairly or not, the narrative remains unchanged. Allen, coach Sean McDermott and the Bills enter another off-season being remembered more for their shortcomings than their successes.
“It’s hard to win Super Bowls in this league. We understand that,” Allen said. “And when you’re playing a team that’s now been to three in a row, you gotta go out there and you gotta beat them.
You gotta take it from them, and we didn’t do that.” Buffalo matched a franchise record with 13 regular-season wins and ran away with the division, clinching the title in Week 13. The Bills became the first team to finish with 30 touchdowns passing and rushing and matched an NFL record by having 13 players catch a TD pass.
And Buffalo did all that following an off-season salary-cap purge that cost them six of eight team captains, including receiver Stefon Diggs, who was traded to Houston. Using a spread-the-wealth approach on offence, the Bills became the only team to beat each conference's top seed — Kansas City and Detroit — in the regular season. Then they eliminated Bo Nix and the Broncos and Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in the first two playoff rounds, only to have Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs again block their path in a game that featured four lead changes.
If it meant anything, Allen's teammates had his back. “I can’t even begin to fathom what that dude has to put on his shoulders every single week,” tight end Dawson Knox said. “He’s got the whole city on his back and he carries it with grace and better than anybody that I could possibly imagine carrying it, what he has to go through, the plays he made last night,” he added.
“The game could’ve easily gone our way. And then we’d be having different conversations now.” Until next year, perhaps.
Miller time Edge rusher Von Miller has every intention of returning, even though the soon-to-be 36-year-old could be a candidate to be cut. Miller has three years left on his contract, and the Bills could free up a projected $8 million in salary cap space by releasing him. Not so fast, said Miller, who already accepted a pay cut by agreeing to restructure his contract last year.
“I want to be here. I don’t want to speak for them but I think they want me here, too,” he said. “But I plan on being a Buffalo Bill for sure.
” Playing hurt Knox revealed that Kincaid closed the season playing with a torn PCL in one knee and a fluid buildup in the other. Meantime, Allen said he’s not sure if he’ll compete in the Pro Bowl Games this weekend after hurting his hand — he didn’t say which — during a goal-line play Sunday. Free agents The Bills have 11 players eligible to become unrestricted free agents.
The most notable on defense are cornerback Rasul Douglas and safety Damar Hamlin. On offense, it’s receivers Amari Cooper and Mack Hollins and running back Ty Johnson. Safety Micah Hyde, who considered retirement before re-signing to Buffalo’s practice squad in December, told The Associated Press he plans to retire.
Familiar foes In 2025, Buffalo will face the Chiefs for the sixth straight year. Also on the schedule are the Ravens and the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles..
