Buffalo Rumblings
In the game of who can control the line of scrimmage and get opportunistic plays in the passing game, the Bills weren’t able to get enough going on offense to knock off the Philadelphia Eagles and officially ceded the AFC East divisional title to the New England Patriots.
The rain early was expected, dictating exactly what type of game would be played in the second to last game at Highmark Stadium. An early QB hit from defensive end Gregory Rousseau may have harkened back to the second half of the Cleveland Browns game, and the hope was that the Bills could start faster than they have been so far this year.
But the early game sloppiness that has defined the 2025 season for the Bills continued, and they weren’t able to get enough moving late in the game to pull out a victory as they fell to the Eagles 13-12.
The Bills have stopped trying to force the ball to a subpar group of wide receivers over the last few weeks of the season, electing instead to funnel the passing offense through the tight ends and running backs with some Khalil Shakir sprinkled in. But Brandin Cooks, after struggling with drops in the first few opportunities since joining the Bills mid-season, finally caught a deep pass to set the Bills up in good position to get the first points of the game before a Josh Allen fumble brought the ball the other way for an Eagles start on the Buffalo side of the field. Cooks ended up being a major factor in the downfield passing game in this contest and should provide some optimism going forward in that specific regard.
But one deep pass to A.J. Brown later, the Eagles were inside the 15 yard line.
A few plays later, the Eagles went up by a touchdown.
And just like that, it looked worryingly familiar for Bills Mafia.
The next Bills drive stalled after a Josh Palmer drop, but when it was third down and the Eagles offense needed to make a play to keep a drive going, they got it. The Bills may have committed a penalty. The Eagles may have gotten a clutch pass and catch. One way or another, the Eagles got what they needed.
And that ended up being the story of the game: the Eagles made just one more play than the Bills when they absolutely needed to have it.
With a little over five minutes to go in the first half, the Bills defense got away with a defensive pass interference when cornerback Tre’Davious White pinned the arm of A.J. Brown down the field to help hold the Eagles to a field goal and it looked like maybe Buffalo would get a break. Buffalo would get an opportunity to score before halftime, but would go three and out and let Philadelphia get another offensive drive before half. This drive would result in the reigning Super Bowl champions kicking a field goal and extending their...
