JACKSONVILLE — The game wasn’t pretty … but it was there for the taking.
Unfortunately for the Bills, they failed to swipe it.
On Sunday afternoon at Everbank Field, after a 17-year wait, Buffalo was one-and-done in the playoffs via a 10-3 loss to the Jaguars in one of the lowest-scoring playoff games in NFL history.
And, not coincidentally, all the Bills shortcomings, that incredibly failed to keep them out of the playoffs, were in full flower before 69,442 observers and a national television audience.
Yeah, they snatched the AFC’s final wild card spot despite being outscored this season (359-302), one of two teams achieving that dubious distinction — Tennessee was the other (356-334), though it went into Kansas City on Saturday and overcame a 21-3 halftime deficit to win 22-21 — and ranking in the bottom quarter of the 32-team league in five key statistical categories. Buffalo was 31st in average passing yards, 29th in opposing rushing yards, sacks and average yards gained per game and 26th in average yards given up.
That’s not to disparage Buffalo, but rather to point out the weakness of the AFC this year.
The Bills, who finished the regular season 9-7, went on the road and gave the AFC South champion Jaguars all they wanted.
Buffalo won the time of possession by over five minutes, gained more yards (263-230) and had the edge in both first downs (20-15) and third-down efficiency (7-of-18 to 2-of-12).
Bills running back LeSean McCoy, playing on a sprained ankle, rushed 19 times for 75 yards and added six receptions for 44 more, his 119 yards total offense accounting for nearly half his team’s attack.
Trouble is, Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor showcased his shortcomings, displaying his troubling inaccuracy (17-of-37 through the air with an interception, translating to an anemic 44.2 passer rating).
By contrast, his Jacksonville counterpart, the maligned Blake Bortles, played as if he was the second coming of Michael Vick, running 10 times for 88 yards, and going an economical 12-of-23 passing for a 75.8 rating.
Bortles produced the game’s lone touchdown when he hit backup tight end Ben Koyack — pretty much known only to his friends and family — with a 1-yard TD connection on 4th-and-goal in the final minute of the third quarter.
With the win, the Jaguars advance to next Saturday’s divisional game in Pittsburgh and it’s unlikely the Steelers saw much out of Jacksonville that would evoke their concern.
Meanwhile, afterward, Bills first-year coach Sean McDermott was very much aware that he had just witnessed an opportunity lost.
“The guys played extremely hard,” he maintained, “but you don’t get anything for the effort … it’s won or lost on the scoreboard. There are no moral victories … I don’t believe in those. Obviously we need to score more points.”
Obviously.
Indeed, Buffalo’s offense was limited to Stephen Hauschka’s 31-yard field goal at the end of a horribly-managed series that should have produced the game’s first touchdown.
McDermott admitted, “We learned a lot of valuable lessons today … ones that we will carry forward.
“I’m proud of the way LeSean rose to the occasion … he battled and it wasn’t easy for him.”
Of his effort, McCoy allowed, “I thought I played solid. It wasn’t 100 percent … it was different, the cuts and runs I made. When you’re out there, you don’t think about it … just a little pain.
“We just didn’t play well … not converting, we dropped the ball.”
Of course, one of the factors in the passing game, yet again, was Taylor’s failure to involve the wide receivers.
Of his 17 completions, 13 went to running backs and tight ends … mostly dumpoffs.
The wideouts were targeted a dozen times with only four catches, none longer than 16 yards. Of course, the biggest crime was that Buffalo wasted an inspired defensive effort, holding the Jags to a tie for their fewest points this season (10) and their second-lowest yardage total (219 in a 27-24 loss at Arizona).
McDermott conceded of his ‘D’, “I thought they played well most of the day. They shut down the running game for the most part … Bortles was their leading rusher and usually (a QB running) doesn’t beat you. We did a good job on (Leonard Fournette, 1,040 rushing yards in the regular season, held to 57 yards on 21 carries) and gave our offense chances.
“We got off the field on third down (but) probably the biggest thing we didn’t do was take the ball away.”
Linebacker Preston Brown, the NFL’s leading tackler during the regular season, noted, “We did some good things, but we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities or (get) takeaways. They took advantage and we didn’t … it was a field position game (Buffalo crossed midfield only three times in 11 possessions, getting a field goal, punting and throwing an interception) with both defenses playing well.”
Rookie cornerback Tre’Davious White added, “We knew coming into the game that we would have an opportunity to stop their offense by playing hard and hustling to the ball. (But) we didn’t get the takeaways, so I feel like that made the difference in the game.
“I had the opportunity to catch one and I didn’t … it would have set our offense up on a short field before halftime.”
But, like so many things on Sunday, the Bills just missed.
And as McDermott conceded, “You look at playoff football, it’s usually tight margins, so you can’t beat yourself. I know it burns right now … and it hurts. But I’m extremely proud of every single one of those men in that locker room.”
And McCoy spoke for all of them when he concluded, “We had this game, I can confidently say we had this game …”
Except they didn’t.
