The Buffalo Bills came up short in the playoffs once again on Sunday, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 32-29 in the AFC Championship Game.
That makes four times in the last five years the Bills have lost to Kansas City in the playoffs, twice in the conference title game. The inability to beat Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid is a mark against Josh Allen and Sean McDermott right now,, no matter how well the latter pair has performed in general as a quarterback/coach tandem.
Allen is in it for the long haul as the Bills' franchise quarterback, but there have been some grumblings that perhaps the team would be better off moving on from McDermott.
We're not expecting that to happen though, and it doesn't hurt that Allen went to bat for his coach Monday, saying he is "extremely" confident McDermott has what it takes to lead the team to a championship.
"This is gonna sound weird, I’m just so proud of coach,” Allen said, via Pro Football Talk. “I don’t know why he’s not recognized more in the awards stuff. That’s the cruddy thing about it. But time in and time out, he’s got us in position. . . . We’re fighting to get over that hump, and he gives his life to this. He’s so committed to doing whatever it takes.”
The Bills have made the playoffs six years in a row and have won five straight AFC East titles. There's no reason to think either of those streaks will end in 2025.
Once again, it will come down to how they perform next January. Getting to and eventually winning a Super Bowl are the only blank spots on Allen and McDermott's mantles.
"It's not fun," Allen said postgame. "To be the champs you've got to beat the champs, and we didn't do it tonight."
They might have another shot next year.
