Moments after the Buffalo Bills were eliminated from the AFC Divisional Round in a 33-30 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos, quarterback Josh Allen stood at a podium Monday and fought back tears, taking personal responsibility for a season slipping away dramatically.
Allen, who was visibly shaken and at times difficult to hear, repeatedly came back to a central idea: he felt he let down the teammates he had battled with all year.
“I let my teammates down tonight,” Allen said, his voice cracking.
“Just missed opportunities throughout the game. It’s been a long season. Hate how it ended. It’s gonna stick with me for a long time. Can’t win with five turnovers.”
A painful culmination to a turbulent postseason
Buffalo‘s playoff run had offered hope that this might be the year the Bills finally pushed beyond their perennial contender status.
After snapping a decades-long road playoff drought with a Wild Card victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier in the postseason, the Bills‘ hopes were high as they faced Denver.
But the Divisional Round was defined by costly mistakes. Allen committed 5 turnovers, two interceptions and two lost fumbles, and the team finished with five giveaways overall, errors that ultimately translated to Broncos points and momentum.
The Broncos clinched the win when kicker Wil Lutz booted a 23-yard field goal in overtime after Denver capitalized on an overtime interception that flipped a potentially game-sealing possession for Buffalo.
In his emotional remarks, Allen acknowledged the totality of those miscues, not just the final turnover, as part of why the Bills couldn’t finish the job.
“You shoot yourself in the foot like that, you don’t deserve to win football games,” Allen added.
Support from teammates amid the heartbreak
In a vivid snapshot of a locker room still processing the blow, offensive lineman Dion Dawkins also broke down publicly.
Dawkins, eyes red and voice shaky, insisted Allen did not let the team down, a poignant counterpoint to the quarterback’s own harsh assessment.
The emotional scenes weren’t limited to the field and podium. Multiple Bills players were captured visibly distraught in the tunnel and locker room after the loss, underscoring the collective disappointment of a group that had envisioned a longer postseason run.
For Buffalo, this defeat continues a familiar theme: outstanding regular seasons that end moments short of a championship breakthrough.
Under Allen and head coach Sean McDermott, the Bills have been perennial AFC contenders, but, like so many franchises with Super Bowl dreams, they have frequently fallen in the stretch of the playoffs.
Allen‘s performance throughout the 2025 season once again showcased his elite talents, strong passing numbers, clutch fourth-quarter drives, and leadership through adversity.
Yet, in the unforgiving lens of postseason football, those skills were overshadowed by the decisions and misfires that helped Denver pull out the victory.
