The Bills will not be the AFC East champions for a sixth straight season.
Their chances of extending their run came down to a two-point conversion with five seconds left to play on Sunday, but quarterback Josh Allen’s pass to wide receiver Khalil Shakir — who was open on the play — fell incomplete in the back of the end zone. That gave the Eagles a 13-12 win and it made the Patriots the AFC East champs for the first time since the 2019 season.
Allen’s second touchdown run of the fourth quarter came at the end of a thrilling final drive. The Bills picked up 25 yards on a hook-and-lateral on a fourth down and then saw wideout Brandin Cooks pick up 36 yards on a catch he made while pinning the ball to his helmet. They went for two in an attempt to win the game without going to overtime and head coach Sean McDermott will likely be questioned about that decision because of the way his defense played in the second half of the game.
The Eagles led 13-0 at halftime, but gained just 17 yards before Allen’s touchdown and quarterback Jalen Hurts did not complete any of the seven passes he tried in the second half of the game. McDermott may have felt that the extra time created too much injury risk for a team that struggled to move the ball for most of the day, but the end result is that the Bills will have to be road warriors if they’re going to make the Super Bowl for the first time since Jim Kelly was running the offense.
Whatever McDermott was thinking, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter’s blocked extra point after Allen’s first touchdown will go down as the biggest play of the game.
Winning the game keeps the Eagles alive for the second seed in the NFC. They’ll need to beat the Commanders next week while the Bears lose both of their remaining games, but they’ll be home for their first postseason contest regardless of how things play out in Week 18. Staying alive beyond that game may take the kind of complete offensive performance that eluded them on Sunday and for most of the regular season, but the reigning Super Bowl champs played the kind of defense that can win them games in the playoffs.
