Everyone loves to talk about the games Sean McDermott doesn’t win. But what about those he doesn’t lose?
Coming off a big win, against an AFC East opponent who was teetering on the brink of collapse? That’s the McDermott specialty, the chance for him to really pound in his philosophy that the most important game is the next one.
Sure, the Buffalo Bills have lost some clunkers to inferior opponents on his watch. The 9-6 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 and the 29-26 game to the New England Patriots in 2023 rank atop the list.
Sunday’s 30-13 loss to the 2-7 Miami Dolphins, who fired their general manager and had an injury list longer than Buffalo’s, ranks right near the top.
At least they didn’t get run out of the building in the aforementioned games. In fact, the Bills almost never get taken to the woodshed.
The Bills have only lost five games by three scores with Josh Allen as the starter. It’s just the second time the Bills have lost two games in a season by two scores since 2020 and they have come against opponents who have the same total of wins as the Bills combined.
And since the New England Patriots dispatched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — who come to Orchard Park next week — the margin for error in winning their sixth consecutive divisional championship is miniscule.
“They came ready to play,” Allen said. “They wanted it, obviously, a little more than us.”
It wasn’t so much that the Bills lost — they shouldn’t have lost — but it’s the way they lost. They look lifeless from the start, especially on offense. It was a departure from an offense that, despite certain struggles, scored on its opening possession seven of the first eight games.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw a prayer that was intercepted by safety Cole Bishop on the opening drive. The Bills had a chance to land a haymaker to a reeling defense right off the bat, but instead went three-and-out on their first possession for the first time this season and didn’t convert a third down until the third quarter.
When the NFL’s No. 1 rushing offense that averages 161.5 yards per game — and was held to 87 in the game — couldn’t get rolling against the 30th-ranked rushing defense in the NFL, the offense looked lost.
Yes, Allen threw for 306 yards, his first 300-yard game since Week 1. But everything seemed difficult and Allen looked exhausted for most of the second half as he tried to will the team to a win.
Mix in a hamstring injury that knocked leading receiver Dalton Kincaid out of the game and three turnovers in Miami territory, going in for points, and it was a recipe for disaster.
And Allen owns part of the mess. Too often he bails on a play when his first read isn’t available. He made some dazzling plays, but also got baited into a sack far too often.
His mechanics failed him when he didn’t set his feet and step into a throw to an open Tyrell Shavers in the back of the end zone. Instead, the ball was about 9 yards too short and intercepted by safety Ifeatu Melifonwu.
“Early we were kind of beating ourselves,” Allen said. “And give credit to them for coming out and playing. We’ve got to be better.”
Defensively, the game unfolded eerily familiar to the Atlanta Falcons game, the other double-digit loss this season. Just like Atlanta, Miami got big bodies on small bodies in space and the Bills couldn’t find answers.
Already down two defensive ends — Michael Hoecht (Achilles) and A.J. Epenesa (concussion) — the Bills were down to three when Landon Jackson injured his right knee on the first drive, thrusting defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (who was returning from a calf injury) into duty on the edge. That came with the Bills missing cornerback Christian Benford and nickelback Taron Johnson due to groin injuries.
But the pressure and creativity that haunted Patrick Mahomes last week was missing entirely. Tagovailoa’s two interceptions vaulted him into the NFL lead and he seemed eager to throw more, but the pocket was far too clean.
The Bills, seemingly too concerned with getting beat in the secondary, declined to blitz Tagovailoa often enough. It was the same strategy they always use against the Dolphins, but they don’t have Tyreek Hill anymore and defensive line depth wasn’t deep enough to expect the same four-man effort.
Miami has an offense in which running back De’Von Achane is the team’s second-leading receiver. Hill still ranks third in yards and hasn’t played since Week 4.
The Dolphins trotted out two tight ends who played two games apiece before Sunday. They even started pitching in a sixth offensive lineman to patch holes and the Bills oddly didn’t adjust to Miami playing heavy personnel nearly 60% of the snaps.
The Bills inserted a third linebacker on nearly 25% of the snaps in the first seven games, but played at least five defensive backs on every play until Miami’s final drive. And it took nickelback Cam Lewis trying to fill a run hole and Achane running through it for a 59-yard touchdown.
“I thought we calmed down a little bit in the second quarter and beyond,” McDermott said. “… I thought the defense battled. … No excuses. We battled. Those guys were battling.”
So now Buffalo’s NFL-record 41-game streak of not losing a division game by more than seven points has ended. It’s just the second time it’s happened to Allen as a starter, with the first coming as a rookie in a 24-12 loss to eventual Super Bowl champion New England in Week 16 of 2018.
Injuries can’t be an excuse for the Bills, even though they have sustained them at a bizarre clip. And the defense that surrendered 174 yards on the ground to Achane better find answers with the Buccaneers, Steelers, Bengals, Patriots and Eagles still on the schedule.
“We’ll never use injuries as an excuse,” McDermott said. “We do need to turn over every stone to figure out why this is happening. It does seem like it happens quite a bit year to year. This year is probably as much as I’ve been around. I don’t know what it is … but we’ve got to figure that piece out pretty quickly here.”
Otherwise the final game at Highmark Stadium will be played Jan. 4.