The Buffalo Bills will not be AFC East champions.
Against one of the best teams in the NFC on Sunday, they looked little like Super Bowl contenders.
A daunting Eagles defense stifled the Bills then held off a late rally for a 13-12 win in Buffalo. The loss combined with a runaway New England win over the New York Jets earlier Sunday secured the AFC East title for the Patriots.
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Dramatic late rally falls short
After being held off the scoreboard for the first 54 minutes of the game, the Bills rallied to score two touchdowns in the final 5:11. But they trailed 13-12 after the second touchdown thanks to a blocked extra point on their first.
At that point, with both teams exhausted and the game clock almost expired, the Bills opted to gamble with a 2-point conversion attempt instead of kicking an extra point for overtime. The gamble failed when Josh Allen’s pass fell incomplete in the end zone. Fittingly, Allen threw the ill-fated pass under duress from Philadelphia’s pass rush.
The Eagles, meanwhile, entered Sunday locked into the NFC East title and out of the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They didn’t have much to play for. But they improved their chances of moving past the Chicago Bears from the No. 3 seed to No. 2 with Sunday’s win.
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And, perhaps, more importantly, their defense was overwhelming in a game that was billed as a potential Super Bowl preview.
The Bills have long operated as a second-half team and entered Sunday’s game leading the NFL in second-half point differential (+109). They added to that differential with a 12-0 advantage after halftime. But it wasn’t enough to secure the win after a dominant effort from Philadelphia’s defense through most of the game.
Josh Allen spent Sunday under pressure
The Eagles limited the Bills to three punts and a fumble in the first half en route to a 13-0 lead. They set the tone early with a sack of Allen that forced a fumble that bounced from the Buffalo 30-yard line into Philadelphia territory.
Philadelphia recovered and converted the turnover into a Jalen Hurts touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert for a 7-0 lead. From there, the Bills were playing on the their heels against a Philadelphia defensive front that dominated their offensive line.
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When the Bills punted to conclude the opening drive of the second half after a scoreless first, fans who weathered cold rain in the Buffalo stands responded with boos.
Bills squander second-half scoring chances
The Bills didn’t broach the red zone until the final five minutes of the third quarter. When they got to fourth-and-goal, they didn’t convert.
Allen took off for the end zone when he couldn’t find an open receiver in the end zone. He escaped pressure only to be met by multiple Eagles defenders at the goal line. Zack Baun tackled him short of the goal line to force a turnover on downs.
Buffalo’s next possession started at Philadelphia’s 41 after the Eagles punted from their own end zone. It ended with another punt after Allen lost 19 yards on a third-down sack.
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Again, Allen couldn’t find any open receivers. This time he ran backward in a failed effort to buy time from the Eagles’ pass rush before Jalyx Hunt took him down for his second sack of the day.
Philadelphia’s offense was somehow worse in a second half that produced just 17 yards from scrimmage. But the Bills mustered too little too late after failing to score until an Allen touchdown sneak with 5:11 remaining.
Buffalo’s defense gave Bills a chance.
The Bills mounted their late, last touchdown drive after forcing the fourth straight Philadelphia three-and-out of the second half. And they kept hope alive with a fourth-and-10 hook-and-lateral that set up a deep pass from Allen to Brandin Cooks to get into the red zone.
But Philadelphia’s defense ultimately came up with one last stop on the 2-point conversion to secure the win.
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When the day was done, the Eagles had sacked Allen five times for a loss of 51 yards. They hit him six other times and kept the pressure on almost every time he dropped back. And they came up with stops when it mattered most.
The offensive woes that have plagued Philadelphia for much of the season continued as the Bills outgained the Eagles, 330-190. But the defense that anchored the Eagles’ 10-5 start was good enough to secured win No. 11 on Sunday.
