The streak of consecutive non-playoff seasons will reach 15 this year for the Buffalo Bills, as they lost a must-win game on Sunday to the lowly Oakland Raiders, 26-24. It was a strange game in that, after starting off with a drive that ended with a 42 yard touchdown pass from Kyle Orton to Sammy Watkins, the Bills went completely flat in all phases and played nothing at all like a team fighting to qualify for the postseason. After shutting down a pair of future Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers the past 2 games, Buffalo’s supposed dominant defense got schooled by the Raiders’ rookie QB, Derek Carr. Oakland’s running game, ranked at the bottom of the entire NFL, gouged the Bills for 140 yards that included some long runs through gaping holes, especially after Pro Bowl defensive tackle Marcell Dareus left the game with a knee injury. The deciding play of the game came in the fourth quarter, when Oakland faced a 3rd and 22 situation and Buffalo proceeded to give up a 50 yard completion from Carr to Kenbrell Thompkins, a New England Patriot castoff, who burned Corey Graham on the play. The Bills didn’t force any turnovers, despite facing a rookie QB and a team that has been mistake-prone all year and had won only two games going into Sunday’s contest. The Bills’ front four did little to disrupt Carr or the Oakland rushing attack, and Mario Williams and Jerry Hughes were non-factors. It was just a completely discouraging game to watch considering the Bills were supposed to be inspired to battle for a playoff spot.
The Bills’ special teams did nothing, and the offense, except for the opening touchdown and a couple of late desperation drives, looked mostly lost. They ran for only 13 total yards in the game, on 13 attempts. While the Bills’ defense was allowing Carr to have his way, Orton was continuing his maddening habit of turning the ball over, as he had 2 more interceptions. Overall, Buffalo’s effort was mind-boggling, considering how they shocked the NFL world by defeating Green Bay the previous week. On this day, they never looked ready to play while the Raiders, playing out the string of a sorry season, were by far the more inspired team. In another amazing statistic highlighting the Buffalo franchise’s historic troubles, the loss means the Bills haven’t won in Oakland since 1966.
So the Bills are now reduced to playing for pride at New England next week to end the season, although the Patriots may have a lot at stake, with the possibility of gaining home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win. It would be great to see EJ Manuel play in that game, but I don’t see that happening, since the league will expect the Bills’ coaches to go all out to make the game competitive with playoff seedings at stake. My take on the game is this: Between the Bills’ mostly inconsistent play all year and the Patriots’ need for the victory, it could be one of the most epic run-for-the-bus efforts in Buffalo history.