ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Down three points in the AFC Championship Game with over three minutes remaining, the Buffalo Bills' season came down to the final chance to win in Josh Allen's hands.
Despite ultimately losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, Bills general manager Brandon Beane said that he would sign up for that situation again next year and take Buffalo's chances.
"You've got to do a lot of things very well to be in that position," Beane said in his end-of-season news conference on Thursday. "And let's also give credit to the Chiefs. They're going for a historic three in a row. We're not losing to different teams every year, and it's just us coming up short. It's a very good team. They've taken down a lot of teams.
"... We're going to continue to turn over every rock, every stone. But again, the last five years, this team, counting playoffs, has averaged 13 to 14 wins. So, I do want to make sure we balance the scale here, even though we have not gotten to the big game yet. We're going to keep fighting, and I'm determined we'll get there."
Getting there is the challenge for a Bills franchise that is still seeking its first Super Bowl title -- coming up short to the Chiefs in four of the past five postseasons. However, there is a major difference in the competitiveness of this AFC Championship Game appearance to the team's last one in 2020, a game that the Bills weren't poised to win. Beane referenced multiple times in his news conference that this team isn't in need of an overhaul but instead was just plays away.
The fixes would be easier to point to if there were just one glaring issue or an overall restructuring needed. That's not the case. The core group in place has proved to be successful.
This year's Bills defied outside expectations and differed from previous iterations under Beane and coach Sean McDermott. Yet in the end, the same result played out. The Bills haven't made a Super Bowl appearance since the 1993 season, including seven seasons with Allen.
But what did them in this time? The Bills' season was full of setting historic marks but again ended in a loss to the Chiefs. Performance and coaching miscues failed the Bills when it mattered most, especially on defense. The Bills just did not perform their best against an opponent that demands nothing less. The challenge going forward is to fine-tune the roster and details needed in the big games.
"It's the same s---. We're done with pats on the back," defensive tackle Jordan Phillips said on Monday. "...We got to finish, we got to figure out how to get over it. ... We have the team. We have the right mindset. We just got to figure out what is holding us back from taking that next step."
Allen shared similar sentiments on the loss: "We're constantly knocking at the door and you're playing a team like the Chiefs, who have done it so well for so long. You got to not just knock, you got to kick the door down, and we didn't do that."
Being continually in the mix for the best team in the league year after year is a place that Bills leadership wants to be. Beane has emphasized that for several years. No team in NFL history has won more games over a six-season stretch, including playoffs, and not made a Super Bowl appearance. As Allen said, constantly being on the verge of the Super Bowl resonates with the team.
"I'd rather be in the position we're in, where we're continually knocking on the door," McDermott said on Thursday. "But ... I don't deal well with sitting right on the edge and being like, 'Hey, well, it was a good season. Slap everybody on the back and say, we'll get them next year.' That is the last thing that we're about, Brandon, myself. But I'm confident in who we are."
McDermott pinpointed part of the team's success -- and signs that the blueprint is working -- to the coaching staff's ability to develop players selected in later rounds of the draft and those who hadn't had as much success on other teams. The Bills prospered this season not with the traditional veteran players as pillars of the team, but by building a new way of winning.
A fifth straight AFC East title was clinched in Week 13, the fourth team since division realignment in 2002 to clinch a division with five games remaining. The offense, led by MVP contender Allen, became the first team in NFL history with at least 30 rushing and 30 receiving touchdowns in a single season. Allen's performance was vital, especially without a star receiver.
The defense was solid, especially when it came to takeaways, but had down moments while dealing with injuries to the unit. Special teams was inconsistent, from returns to kicker Tyler Bass, who eventually finished the season on a positive note (13-for-13 on all postseason kick attempts).
In the AFC Championship Game, the Bills made mistakes in all three phases and missed crucial opportunities. Allen mishandled the ball multiple times in the first half. Such miscues were typical earlier in his career but not this season when he drastically improved his turnovers. But the defense was the largest issue, giving up too many early points and struggling to get off the field. The final nail in the coffin -- the unsuccessful final drive that didn't come together.
"[The defense] didn't do it enough. We didn't perform well enough in the Kansas City game," McDermott said when asked about the unit's performance.
Some of it was coaching, seen when the Chiefs caught the Bills off guard several times, some of it was injuries and not clicking on the field. Outside cornerback is a major position to watch moving forward with the significant drop-off from Christian Benford, who exited the game vs. the Chiefs with a concussion in the first quarter, to 2022 first-round pick Kaiir Elam, whom Patrick Mahomes targeted successfully. With Benford off the field in the final three quarters, Mahomes thrived against man coverage, taking advantage of Elam and completing 11 of 13 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. Starting Buffalo CB Rasul Douglas is set to hit free agency.
The defensive line issues were apparent in the AFC Championship Game loss (pressure percentage vs. Mahomes dropped from 45.7% in regular-season meetings to 33.3%), and defensive end is a position to watch this offseason. In four playoff games against the Chiefs since 2020, the Bills' defense has allowed 34.8 points per game (averaging 28.3 points scored). That's despite winning the time of possession battle in the four games combined (30:28-29:31) and the turnover margin (plus-two).
"Winning games, winning the line of scrimmage is critical. And I felt like we did that at some times this year, not enough," McDermott said. "... I believe that moving forward, in order to move forward just as a team in games where I've been in the Super Bowl, it's your front is what gets you there. You have to have a good quarterback. But the O-line, the D-line, those are the guys that are getting you there and they impact the game more than any position."
Receiving options fell short for Allen. He was without a clear "difference-maker" and that will need to improve for 2025 with both Beane and McDermott noting that No. 33 pick Keon Coleman did not return to the level of play he had prior to his midseason wrist injury.
The team's 2023 first-round pick Dalton Kincaid also had a season that the Bills didn't expect, as Beane described, dealing with injuries including to his left PCL. It was emphasized that he needs to add to his playing strength for next year.
There are other areas and positions to be addressed that will come with plenty of draft picks awaiting the Bills and more cap flexibility than the year prior. The cap for 2025 has yet to be shared with teams, but Beane is projecting the team to have plenty of space.
Despite falling short to the Chiefs -- yet again -- the Bills' approach is to learn and build on what worked this season and carry it forward into next year.
"We are not giving in, we're not," Beane said. "We're frustrated, we want to win and all that's doing is making our chip bigger. We'll reset, we'll recalibrate, not make any rash decisions and over the next few weeks and couple months shape what the next team will look like."