Josh Allen on Bills’ offense: ‘The clock’s ticking’

The Bills found a new, painful way to lose at home Monday night. Commit lots of turnovers. And allow the opposing field goal kicker another chance for a walk-off field goal because Buffalo fielded 12 men on the first kick try.

Obviously, quarterback Josh Allen was irritated with the outcome. But you can’t just blame a special teams faux pas for the 24-22 loss. The Bills offense committed four turnovers. And on the final Broncos offensive drive, Buffalo got called for a pass interference to put Denver in field goal range.

It was the sixth straight game the once potent Bills offense failed to score at least 25 points. This is the worst stretch of offense the Bills have experienced since 2018, when Allen was a rookie. Suddenly, mighty Buffalo is a mediocre 5-5 and, if the season ended today, the Bills would be on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. To think, the Bills had won three straight AFC East titles with hopes of a fourth.

Allen thinks the offense has time to turn around their fortunes. He told reporters: “I’m still confident. But it’s no secret the clock’s ticking, got to have some urgency now.”

Meanwhile, hours after Allen made those comments, Bills coach Sean McDermott fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. McDermott elevated Joe Brady, who was LSU’s OC during the Joe Burrow years.

The Bills are losing to some of the NFL’s worst teams. They lost to the Jets and Patriots. And although the Broncos are better, they still only had won three games coming into Monday’s game at Orchard Park.

Josh Allen should also shoulder a great deal of blame. After all, he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. It’s no secret that Allen can be a walking-talking turnover. But he’s gotten really bad this season. He accounts for 14 total turnovers — 11 interceptions and three lost fumbles — to lead the NFL. And the Bills have only played 10 games, So quick math, that’s 1.4 turnovers a game for Allen.

ESPN shared a telling chart after the game. This was Allen’s 10th career game of at least three turnovers. That includes playoffs. There are three other quarterbacks who have done 10 — Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Jameis Winston.

Most games with 3+ turnovers since 2018 including playoffs 😳

Josh Allen: 10
Baker Mayfield: 10
Sam Darnold: 9
Jameis Winston: 9 pic.twitter.com/88Pi2yCnzY

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) November 14, 2023

But given all the miscues, the Bills still were in position to win last night’s game against the Broncos. Josh Allen’s scramble for a TD right after the 2 minute warning pushed the Bills to a 22-21 lead.

Then Russell Wilson took over. The former Seahawks star hasn’t managed much magic since relocating to Denver. But he helped drive the Broncos down to the Bills 17 in the game’s final moments. A pass interference penalty kept the drive alive. Still, Denver had no timeouts left when the offense rushed off the field to usher in the field-goal unit.

Bills coach Sean McDermott said he’s had his team practice similar scenarios. In this case, Buffalo needed to pull its six defensive-back dime package and quickly substitute its field goal unit.

“We practiced two or three times that this week,” McDermott told reporters in post-game. “The substitution from dime to field goal block. And at the end of the day, we didn’t execute it.”

And at the end of the game, the entire Bills team could accept some responsibility in a crazy loss.