A week after an incredible upset win few saw coming over the Green Bay Packers to keep their postseason chances alive, Buffalo looked the same old Bills at the worst possible time, blowing key opportunities in a devastating 26-24 loss to the now-three win Raiders that few saw coming.
The Bills started off as well as they could have hoped, as they forced a three-and-out on Oakland’s first possession, and drove 60 yards in 7 plays, with Kyle Orton finding dynamic rookie Sammy Watkins for a 42 yard touchdown just over five minutes into the game. Buffalo’s defense forced two more three and outs to start the game, but an Orton interception on a promising drive nearing field goal range and another with nothing to speak of blew the Bills’ best chance to bury the underdog Raiders, as rookie quarterback Derek Carr hit a 50 yard bomb to Kenbrell Thompkins late in the first quarter, setting up a three-yard touchdown pass to James Jones on the first play of the second quarter to tie it.
From there, however, only three more points from an ineffective offense in the second and third quarters, and four Oakland drives to set up Sebastian Janikowski field goals helped the Raiders build a 19-10 at the end of three quarters. Buffalo appeared to be waking up late, though, as Orton found Chandler down the middle for a 29 yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut it to 19-17, and after forcing a quick stop, the Bills drove 32 yards to their own 46, but on a third-and-one, Buffalo called a swing route to Chris Hogan that fell incomplete, and punted the ball away with just over eight minutes to go.
On a day when the Bills ran for just 13 yards on 13 carries, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and head coach Doug Marrone showed no faith in their run game against a Raiders that ranked 24th in the league defending the run entering the game. After that punt, Buffalo got Oakland to 3rd and 22 from their own 19, but Carr rolled out and found Andre Holmes on a jump ball over Corey Graham for a 51 yard gain, and Carr found Jamize Olawale for a two-yard touchdown three plays later to make it 26-17 with 2:51 left, with a 30 yard touchdown from Orton to Robert Woods with 1:09 left just providing window dressing.
On a day where their defense was far less than perfect for the first time in weeks, the Bills needed some plays from their offense, which did not provide it. C.J. Spiller, who had -4 yards on 4 carries and 14 yards receiving on four grabs for a total of 10 yards on eight touches in his first action since Week 7.
“We knew that coming in that it was going to be one of those games where you have to take two and three (yards),” said Spiller. “Guys played physical and they put a lot of guys in the box and sometimes they outnumbered us and sometimes they did a great job of shutting down the running game.”
Defensive tackle Corbin Bryant and safety Aaron Williams know the team blew a great opportunity after a week in which team president Russ Brandon said the team was on the right path for success and “changed” the culture in Buffalo (via Buffalobills.com’s Chris Brown).
“We’re trying to move this organization up the ladder and when we lose a game like this and we have a chance to get ourselves in better position for the playoffs it definitely hurts,” said Bryant. “Yeah it’s no secret it hurts a lot.”
“There are really no words at this point for how disappointed I am just for myself and the way we played in general,” said Williams. “I feel like we just didn’t come out and play. We had the playoffs this year and we let it slip away.”
The goodwill for the organization built with big wins over the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers, along with the performance of the defense versus elite quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers (no touchdowns to four interceptions in games against them) was thrown away in one game, despite Carr only completing 17 of 34 for 214 yards to go along with his two touchdowns. While the stats (32 for49 for 329 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions) will say Orton had a decent game, they were very much empty, with much of them accumulated on the four scoring drives, and not much when the Raiders went on a 19-3, plus his two interceptions show that while he has a decade of NFL experience, he also has made infurating bad mistakes that killed the Bills when the defense was just a bit off, helping keep them out of the postseason for a fifteenth straight season.
“It breaks your heart,” said Orton. “You sit there and put your all into it for a long time. You really don’t do it for anybody but yourselves and the guys sitting next to you in the locker room. We’ve still got one game to go and we’ll play as hard as we can and try to get a win, but certainly when you’ve gone this long and you’ve got a chance and you put it all on the line and you don’t come through it stinks and it hurts.”
The game next Sunday at Gillette Stadium versus the AFC-leading New England Patriots was supposed to be a true measuring stick game for how far the team has come under Marrone regardless if a win would get them into the postseason, but today’s loss now makes it a question whether Buffalo has truly come along at all.
Player Quotes via Buffalobills.com’s Chris Brown
