Buffalo took a major step backwards on Sunday, losing to a Rams team that was floating around a .500 record while Buffalo was hot on the heels of the Chiefs for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Dropping that game against the Rams, while Kansas City found yet another miraculous way to win on the last play of a game with a doink-and-in field goal to clinch the division, puts the Bills two games behind Kansas City with four to play.
After the game, quarterback Josh Allen and head coach Sean McDermott made it clear that something was lacking from the Bills in this game —urgency.
Allen was asked about comments made last week saying that the Bills could be playing more freely now that they have the division in hand, and if he thought it took longer for the team to get to that today than in other games.
"Maybe, maybe not. We've got to come out with some urgency, though, and I don't think at any phase of the game that we did that today."
Sharp words. Allen was pointed and direct following the stinging loss, especially considering he put forth a record-setting performance and got little help from the rest of his team.
Head coach Sean McDermott echoed the same sentiment following the loss.
"I didn't feel like we came out very urgent," McDermott said. "When you come out and you don't win the line of scrimmage, that's not a great way to start a game. So whether we were urgent enough or weren't urgent enough, at the end of the day, we didn't come out and win the line of scrimmage like we need to to win the game.
Why the Bills didn't come out with urgency is entirely speculation. Perhaps it was the let-down of having already clinched the AFC East. Maybe it was traveling to the west coast. Who knows. But what's for certain is the road for Buffalo to try and get home field advantage in the playoffs has now become a steep uphill battle. They'll have to be perfect in their next four games and hope Kansas City stumbles twice in a four game stretch.
