Devastation of Bills’ loss was palpable in locker room as Buffalo faces glaring decisions
Along with even more heartbreak, Saturday's crushing loss served as a reminder that Buffalo's roster could look much different next season.
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Josh Allen and the Bills are down and out from the playoffs after a divisional-round loss to the Broncos. Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
Over the years, there have been many versions of postgame Josh Allen after a gut-wrenching loss. Sometimes the Buffalo Bills quarterback is respectfully defiant. Other times, he seems like a plastic bag floating through a gusty day and barely even there.
Last year in Kansas City, with the Bills falling just short in the AFC Championship Game, Allen ethereally glided to the locker room as if no one else was around. That was the worst we’ve seen him take a loss to that point.
But this scene in Denver, following the Bills’ 33-30 overtime loss to the Broncos that eliminated them from the playoffs, was different from all the rest.
Usually wanting to get his postgame media responsibilities done immediately, Allen was unusually late by his standards on Saturday. A member of the Bills’ public relations staff emerged from the locker room into the news conference area, but Allen didn’t quickly follow like usual.
That’s when Allen lost it, away from the public eye for a few more seconds, preparing to actually speak in real time about the game and the outcome that ultimately broke his heart. Allen stayed tucked around the corner to compose himself just enough to take the two steps through the door, and the several more up the stairs to get in front of the awaiting media.
He adjusted his winter hat with tears in his eyes, wiped his red face with two hands and sniffled to clear just enough. As the first question came in, Allen took one deep breath and blew out the air — his last-ditch effort to be normal in an anything-but-normal situation.
He sniffled one more time before his voice broke during his first answer.
“It’s extremely difficult,” Allen started, shaking his head in disbelief. “I feel like I let my teammates down tonight.”
Six straight years to the AFC divisional round at least. And six straight years ending the same way. The Buffalo Bills are on the outside looking in on the Super Bowl once again. Allen will officially end his 20s without a single Super Bowl berth.
“I hate how it ended and that’s … that’s going to stick with me for a long time,” he said.
It was pure dejection in every sense of the word. Much of the news conference went the same way, without Allen looking a single person in the eyes. But once Allen exited stage right and went back to the locker room, the flood of emotions were only beginning.
Tucked in the back right of the visitor’s locker room, just three stalls from the corner, Allen sat. He sported four separate lines of red from his in-game punishment on his left shoulder, some thick, some skinny. Both elbows were completely red.
He shared no words with anyone for more than 10 minutes. At times, he stared 100 miles forward. He grabbed a fistful of hair and looked down. He picked at his fingers a few times. He didn’t pour himself into his phone to scroll as he’s done in past losses.
He just sat there and felt every ounce of the weight he willingly bears of Buffalo’s hopes and dreams for a Super Bowl victory. The weight that will have to wait at least one more year.
Allen wasn’t the only one. Tight end Dalton Kincaid was visibly upset for minutes on end, first biting a towel to try and ease the pain, but then placing it over his head. Left tackle Dion Dawkins had to turn away from the end of his scrum because of how upset he was. Defensive end Joey Bosa walked through with welled-up eyes, too.
It was like this almost everywhere you looked in that locker room. The only murmurs heard were soft attempts at comfort between teammates and the low-volume words of players who agreed to interviews.
The pure devastation in the air was thicker than a band of lake effect snow.
For the vast majority of Allen’s playoff exits, he was not the one ultimately responsible, even if he believed that to be the case. And while he did his fair share to help right the ship on Saturday in Denver, more than that at times, one mistake too many ultimately might have been what did the Bills in.
Maybe if he hadn’t fumbled the ball away at the end of the first half to set the Broncos up with a field goal, the very margin of victory for the Broncos. Maybe if he spotted the safety as he targeted Curtis Samuel deep, only to be intercepted. Or, maybe if he put a more accurate throw to Dawson Knox on third-and-10 at the end of regulation, that could have been a touchdown to end the game.
Perhaps all of it provided a cumulative yield, resulting in his atypical flood of emotions after the game.
There were other culprits throughout the game. James Cook fumbled when the Bills looked like they were about to go into cruise control early, which gave the Broncos new life. The defense, despite being spectacular in keeping the Bills in it through all those turnovers, couldn’t get out of its own way in overtime and took multiple penalties to set up the Broncos for an easy field goal. Even injuries worked against them, with the Broncos capitalizing on Darnell Savage’s third snap in place of the cramping Cam Lewis for a touchdown, and another on Dane Jackson’s first snap for a temporarily injured Tre’Davious White.
And, given the tone taken by head coach Sean McDermott, they were less than pleased about both the ruling on a controversial Brandin Cooks non-catch interception and the way the officiating crew and league handled the enormity of that play in that moment. To the Bills’ credit, it did look like a catch, and it was handled poorly given the stakes.
Regardless of who is at fault, the simple fact is that the 2025 Bills’ season, that began with such promise and an opportunity to get through a playoff field without the likes of the usual AFC playoff mainstays, is over. Even with a road-warrior postseason path, Allen and the Bills looked like they could beat anyone left despite their flaws.
Though the blame goes well beyond just Saturday in Denver, everyone is at fault in one way or another.
Tre’Davious White is one of several players who were in the final year of their contracts.Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images
Whether it was Allen and the players, the way certain pieces of the roster were built by general manager Brandon Beane, in-game decisions by McDermott during the season, borderline stubborn offensive play-calling at times from coordinator Joe Brady or defensive coordinator Bobby Babich taking a bit too long to bring it together, they all share something in the unraveling of what could have been, or maybe should have been, a Super Bowl season.
All of that will undergo an understandably thorough review as the Bills shift into their offseason discovery phase. Even with their flaws, the Bills had a team that could have pushed for the goal that has eluded them since Allen, Beane and McDermott arrived. The uncomfortable truth moving forward is that the seasons of Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson were over before the playoffs even began.
The most glaring issue staring the Bills in the face is that unlike the start of the 2025 season, with most of their key players signed and ready for another go at the title, this roster is very likely to see substantial turnover in several key areas.
The offensive line that has been together for multiple seasons and made the offense go when the receivers couldn’t gain any separation down the field might need to figure out two new starters. Left guard David Edwards and center Connor McGovern are free agents. Given their excellent play the last two seasons, their markets are likely to be pretty good.
The only proven and substantial piece under contract at defensive end is Greg Rousseau, with both Bosa and A.J. Epenesa heading to free agency. DaQuan Jones, one of the Bills’ most important defensive tackles, is also out of his contract come mid-March.
At linebacker, both Shaq Thompson and Matt Milano, who helped rescue the defense over the last couple of months, are both free agents. The only holdover, Terrel Bernard, is coming off his worst season as a pro, and now there’s concern about whether he’ll be a dependable starter moving forward.
White and safety Jordan Poyer are on expiring contracts, too. And the Bills will need to do a massive overhaul of their woefully unequipped boundary receiver room.
Plus, they’re projected to be $11 million over the 2026 salary cap. Suddenly, there’s a high degree of difficulty to get back to this point, given the team and path they just squandered.
If there is one spot of good news, it’s that Allen remains one of the best players in the world, and with him, anything remains possible. But sometimes, Superman will run into kryptonite. The over-reliance and burden on Allen can, at times, be their undoing.
Allen has been steadfast in his determination to deliver Buffalo the championship he so believes the city and fan base deserve. As he enters his age-30 season in 2026, the time in his prime will tick with increasing volume, as will the anxiety of the fans.
There will be tough questions and, perhaps, tougher answers. The Bills deserve all the time they need to figure out how to turn the overwhelming sense of devastation Saturday into one of euphoria, that perhaps even leads to a parade through the snow in Western New York.
As Allen returned from trying to wash away all his emotions in the shower, he still sported the same watery glaze in his eyes from the immediate aftermath of the Bills’ loss.
At this point, the only thing he, his teammates and the fan base can do is hope that one day it will finally be their turn. That all the work they’ve put in and all the pain they’ve endured will have been worth it.
A Bills team that only knows heartbreak will again have to watch another team celebrate the very thing they covet.
Maybe next year.
