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Missed opportunities, uncharacteristic night for Bills offense in AFC Championship Game

Bills offense struggles
Posted at 12:14 AM, Jan 25, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-25 13:46:24-05

BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — It was a night of missed opportunities.

"When you're going up against the reigning Super Bowl champs and the no. 1 seed at Arrowhead and you don't have your A-game, you're not going to win the game," Allen told reporters after the game.

The Bills offense, one of the best in the league when it comes to scoring in the red zone, were unable to capitalize.

"Red zone efficiency is the key to winning all these games," center Mitch Morse said. "If you want to have a fighting chance, especially in the AFC Championship Game, you gotta score points."

"You've gotta score touchdowns against these guys," Allen added. "We didn't do our job. lack of communication, lack of execution down there, it falls on my shoulders."

The team instead settled for two field goals when getting inside the Chiefs 10-yard line. Coach McDermott admitted those weren't easy calls to make.

"I thought about it on both occasions," McDermott said about going for the end zone rather than settling for field goals. "I'll look back at that and re-evaluate that. As an entire team, we'll learn from this experience."

An uncharacteristic night for Josh Allen and company was hard to ignore. Allen finished 24-for-48 for 287 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. That pick came at the Chiefs 20-yard line, and was the first red zone interception of Allen's career.

"We didn't execute," Allen said. "I didn't execute how I should've of. I didn't perform well enough for this team."

Allen's wide receiving corps had a pretty quiet night for the most part when it came to explosive and long plays, especially Stefon Diggs who has been known to come down with a few deep balls this season. Diggs had six catches for 77 yards despite being double teamed nearly all night, a vast improvement from the game back in week six. After the game, Diggs was seen as one of the last Bills players on the field, watching the Chiefs celebrate their AFC Championship title.

Cole Beasley led the receiving corps with seven catches for 88 yards while Allen led the ground game, rushing for 88 yards on seven carries. The unit was also just 5-of-14 on 3rd down conversions.

"They doubled a couple of our guys and brought it from distance," Allen said. "Hats off to them. They're the reigning Super Bowl Champs for a reason and they were the better team tonight."

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