What happened on the final play?
The Buffalo Bills lost to the Los Angeles Rams 44-42 on Sunday. Josh Allen had an MVP-caliber performance with three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns. But Sean McDermott burned a timeout before the final touchdown, necessitating an onside kick that they did not recover. Then, Buffalo forced a punt that they needed to block to pull off a miracle. There was no punt rush and when asked why, McDermott said the Bills did not have enough players on the field.
“Bills coach Sean McDermott on why they didn’t go for a punt block or return on the final play of the game: ‘We didn’t have enough guys on the field.'” ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg posted on social media.
Bill Barnwell followed up with a visual of the punt defense the Bills ran out there.
The image shows only six defensive linemen against seven offensive linemen for the Rams. While the chances of blocking the punt were slim, having two more guys on the field would have helped slightly. The coaching snafu is not the first that ended a game for the Bills this season. McDermott's use of timeouts in the loss against the Texans made headlines as well.
The Bills are already in the playoffs but this loss may have cost them a chance at the number one seed. What is next for Buffalo and how can they fix their problems before the Super Bowl?
The Bills need great coaching performances to win the Super Bowl
The Bills have lost to Patrick Mahomes three times, Joe Burrow, and Deshaun Watson in the playoffs under Josh Allen and Sean McDermott. They have beaten Lamar Jackson, Mac Jones, Skylar Thompson, Mason Rudolph, and Philip Rivers. The reality is they need absolute perfection to make it through the AFC and they have not had that.
McDermott has put together a fantastic career with the Bills, breaking the franchise's playoff drought and securing a franchise quarterback. But losses like this and moments like the final punt raise questions that are unavoidable in Western New York. Sean McVay handled the situation perfectly, taking a delay of game penalty to bleed the clock and using a timeout to make sure the play was right.
Even with the Bills having a great record and another AFC East crown secured, there are questions heading into the playoffs. Everything that happened on Sunday exposed their flaws, as the running game, defense, and coaching were all poor. Those things need to change for the Bills to finally win a Super Bowl.
