Josh Allen became greedy and this contributed to his and his cost Buffalo Bills.
Feeling an adrenaline rush after breaking away from a sack attempt by New England’s Dre’Mont Jones on second-and-six at the Buffalo 40, Allen ducked into the pocket and ran the ball deep down the left sideline into double coverage only to have it intercepted. Craig Woodson.
The Bills never got the ball in the final minute of the 29-26 loss.
“They went, let a guy miss, (I) threw one, and I should have thrown it out of bounds and lived another day,” Allen said, noting that Buffalo was already 20 yards out of field goal range. “That’s what I should have done.”
So much for hindsight. And so much for Allen and the offense’s hot start to the season.
Buffalo fell to 3-1 in its first game loss at the new Highmark Stadium, and first under rookie coach Joe Brady. And suddenly, the division rival The Patriots they are 2-2 and only one game out of first place.
“These sting,” Allen said. “We have to find a way to learn from it and push it to the back of our brains, learn from it and move on.”
Buffalo’s offense doesn’t look as sharp as it did after combining for 77 points and 855 yards in the first two games. The Bills were coming off a five-run outing in a 24-16 victory against loader last week, and made two more against New England, including the receiver Halil Shakir missing a scratch.
After opening the season with two scoreless outings, Allen combined for three interceptions and a fumble loss in his last two outings. Over his nine-year career, Allen is 42-7 when he doesn’t turn the ball over, while falling to 49-33 when he does.
Brady rallied to Allen’s defense by taking the blame, saying he should have made a better play in that situation.
“We obviously have plenty of time there,” Brady said.
“In those moments, I have to be better. Everyone on the field has to be better in that situation,” he added. “There wasn’t a second during that drive that I didn’t think we were going to go down, much less hit a field goal, let alone score a touchdown. Obviously we didn’t.”
Allen scored on a 2-yard run, his 88th career TD from scrimmage to set the team passing record by Hall of Famers Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed. He also threw a 34-yard pass for it Keon Colemanwho finished with six catches for 116 yards — the second-best total of his three-year career.
The Bills now hit the road for a two-game West Coast swing, starting with a Monday Night Football matchup against Los Angeles Rams.
And injuries are starting to take a toll on the receiver DJ Moore (shoulder) and defensive interference Ed Oliver (knee) were ruled out on Sunday. Buffalo was also without its top linebacker, Christian Benfordwho is nursing a toe injury.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
