The Buffalo Bills were seeking to get back in the win column on Monday Night Football when they took on the Denver Broncos. While, on paper, the Bills should have been heavily favored, the team has been far from a sure thing this year. Not to mention, the Broncos have been playing pretty well in the past three weeks.
Buffalo seemingly had a win in the books after quarterback Josh Allen rushed for a six-yard touchdown to put the team up 22-21 with a little under two minutes remaining. But the Broncos marched down the field with help from a defensive pass interference call. Will Lutz's first attempt at a game-winning field goal was missed, but the Bills had 12 men on the field. That allowed Lutz to have a do-over, and he hit a 36-yarder down the middle to pick up the 24-22 win.
Now, the Bills are 5-5 on the year and on the outside looking in for the playoff picture. When it comes to Bills to blame for the loss, these three stand out.
Josh Allen's turnovers were costly for the Bills
There's no question that Allen is one of the top quarterbacks in the entire NFL. The problem is that he and the Bills offense have dealt with turnover issues. Well, those issues manifested in prime time on Monday night.
On Buffalo's second drive of the game, Allen targeted wide receiver Gabe Davis deep in the middle of the field, but it was picked off by Denver safety Justin Simmons. Luckily for them, the Broncos punted and couldn't get any points off of it.
Just before the end of the first half, Allen targeted wide receiver Deonte Hardy down along the left sideline, only to see it get intercepted by Broncos cornerback Fabian Moreau. Four plays later, the Broncos got into field goal range, and Lutz nailed a 40-yard field goal to give the team a 15-8 lead heading into halftime.
Allen would have one more turnover, a fumble late in the third quarter immediately after hitting Davis for a 38-yard gain.
Turnovers have been a common theme for Allen, and it is costing the team wins. With their schedule being ridiculously tough the rest of the way, he can't afford to make errors like he did on Monday night. If he does, the Bills can kiss a playoff berth goodbye.
James Cook dealt with similar turnover issues as Josh Allen
Quarterback Josh Allen wasn't the only player on the Bills who had turnover issues on Monday night. Running back James Cook also dealt with that and did so early on.
When looking at the final scoreboard, one has to imagine what would have happened if Cook had never made a costly error on the first play of the game. After receiving a pass from Allen on a screen, Cook ran toward the left sidelines and tried to fight his way through a crowd of Broncos and Bills players. As Cook was being dragged to the turf, Broncos cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian ripped the football out of his hands. That then became Broncos football.
This gave Denver possession on Buffalo's 28-yard line, and after three plays, took a 3-0 lead on a 40-yard field goal by Will Lutz.
Cook did disappear a bit after the fumble before returning to the game. He did suffer another turnover scare late in the game, fumbling in the fourth quarter. But he did luck out, as the football took a lucky bounce right back into Cook's hands, and he took it for a total of 42 yards, 29 after recovering the fumble.
The difference in the game was those three points. If Cook hadn't fumbled on the first play, the Bills may have gotten a win.
Taron Johnson's late pass interference penalty costs Bills
The Buffalo Bills took a 22-21 lead with just under two minutes remaining on a six-yard touchdown run by quarterback Josh Allen. It was up to the Bills' defense to hold off the offense of the Broncos to secure the win. Given how well the Broncos played on Monday night, that was far from a sure thing.
Denver had moved down to Buffalo's 45-yard line but was facing a third-and-10 situation. Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson would heave up a pass to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, but it was severely under-thrown. Seemingly, this would have set up a fourth down. But, the referees had thrown a yellow flag on the field and called Bills cornerback Taron Johnson for pass interference.
Yes, the ball was under-thrown by Willson, but Johnson had his back turned to the football and made contact with Jeudy before it arrived.
This play gifted the Broncos premium field position and allowed them to eventually kick a game-winning field goal.
Somewhere, New York Giants fans were screaming, "Oh, now you call pass interference on Taron Johnson." That is about when he held tight end Darren Waller in the end zone back in Week 6 on the final play of the game that went unpenalized. Oh wait, there was at least one fan who brought that up on social media.
Either way, the Bills defense needed to clamp down on that final drive of the game. Instead Johnson was early with his contact on Jeudy, and it effectively cost them a win. Well, that and the Bills having 12 players on the field on Lutz's missed field goal attempt.
