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The Buffalo Bills’ 24-17 loss to Denver on Sunday afternoon was a heartbreaking one, as the team fought hard but couldn’t make the plays to pull off an upset over a superior opponent. Their defense put on a valiant effort – they intercepted Peyton Manning twice and snapped the future Hall of Famer’s streak of games throwing at least one touchdown pass at 51. Their vaunted pass rush failed to sack Manning, but they certainly contained him enough to have won the game, had the offense been able to produce something beyond the two late touchdown drives that made the final score close. As in most of their losses this year,  the Bills made too many mistakes, didn’t make enough plays and got just enough questionable officiating calls to keep them from winning. In addition to the pair of picks they got from Manning, the Bills also got a turnover on a fumble recovery near the end of the first half, but they had three turnovers of their own to offset the three their defense came up with. As for the officiating, both of Buffalo’s interceptions, by Corey Graham and Stephon Gilmore, featured long returns which were nullified by questionable penalties. In addition, there was a terrible pass interference call against Nickell Robey that kept a Denver drive alive. Not to beat a dead horse, but Buffalo will continue to be disrespected by the league officials until they fight their way out of the losing stigma they have attached to them. The Bronco defense, of course, deserves credit for playing a terrific game in holding the Bills’ offense in check. Their effort, and a strong rushing attack, led the defending AFC champs to victory on a day when Manning was sub-par.

Among the positives for Buffalo to take from the losing effort – they controlled the clock, outgained the Broncos and never quit, as Orton led them on the two late touchdown drives to keep the score close after they fell into a 24-3 hole. Sammy Watkins re-emerged as a potent passing attack weapon, with 7 catches for 127 yards. The loss left the Bills with a 7-6 record, but their playoff hopes, although slim, remain intact as Miami, Cleveland, San Diego and Kansas City all lost. They’ll continue the late-season gauntlet the NFL schedule-makers stuck them with next week when they play their final home game of 2014 against Green Bay.

In a tight AFC playoff race that finds 12 of the 16 teams with .500 records or better, the Buffalo Bills kept themselves in the hunt in that race with a 26-10 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Their chances of actually qualifying are razor thin, but they kept themselves alive with the win. The victory was a lot like most of the Bills’ triumphs this season – the defense played a great game, and the offense did just enough to secure the win. The Browns held a slim 3-0 lead at halftime, as both teams’ first half offensive performances were pretty listless. Buffalo’s defense played another solid game, with 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and a strip, fumble recovery and return for a touchdown by Jerry Hughes. The offense finally came alive in the second half, as QB Kyle Orton led the team on an 8 play, 84 yard scoring drive that included a key fourth down conversion that saw Orton scramble to buy time, then complete a long pass to Robert Woods to set up the touchdown, which came on a short toss to Chris Hogan. Like their earlier home win over Miami, the Bills then settled for field goals on their fourth quarter drives, with Dan Carpenter hitting four of them. At that point, the Bills were controlling the action and seemed comfortable taking the conservative route and adding to their lead. Orton threw for modest yardage, the running game added a decent 106 yards, including the yardage needed to control the clock in the final quarter, and the defensive effort helped minimize the damage of two Orton interceptions. Buffalo has four games remaining in the regular season, three of them against arguably the three best teams in the NFL – Denver, Green Bay and New England. Depending on how the rest of the AFC contenders do, the Bills will probably need to beat 2 of them and win the game they’re expected to – against the Oakland Raiders. To have any chance for success, the defense will have to play even more “lights out”, since they’ll be facing Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. The offense will have to raise its’ game, as most likely it will take more than field goals to topple the offensive juggernauts of the Broncos, Packers and Patriots.