Getty Bills quarterback Josh Allen attempts a pass to receiver Gabe Davis at Lincoln Financial Field on November 26, 2023.
The Buffalo Bills had several opportunities to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12, which makes their 37-34 overtime loss even more frustrating.
Putting the multiple questionable calls from Shawn Hochuli’s officiating crew aside, Bills quarterback Josh Allen nearly connected with wide receiver Gabe Davis for what could’ve been the game-winning touchdown. However, Davis ran in the opposite direction of Allen’s throw and the Bills settled for a field goal.
Did Allen throw a bad pass? Or did Davis run the wrong route? Both players blamed the mistake as a simple “miscommunication” after the game. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, November 28, Bills interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady addressed “who’s at fault.”
“FOR THE WIN…”- Jim Nantz, thinking what every viewer was on this Josh Allen OT pass for the Bills… but Gabe Davis ran the other way. 🏈🎙️😬
“At the end of the day, if there’s a miscommunication, that falls on me as offensive coordinator,” Brady said. “There’s nothing easy about it from a Josh Allen standpoint of it’s a blitz zero situation, which we knew we’d get. Where there’s a lot of guys coming at you and you’re gonna have to drift and make a decision on the fly.
“We didn’t connect on it. Gabe’s not at fault. Josh isn’t at fault. Like as the offensive coordinator, I gotta point the thumb at myself. What can I do to put them in a better position to have success the next time we get that opportunity and we can have a walk-off there.
“That’s basically what it comes down to right now. Internal conversations about us figuring that out.”
Overall, the offense looks more explosive since Brady took over as offensive coordinator after Ken Dorsey two weeks ago. Against the Eagles, the Bills recorded 505 yards on 92 offensive plays and completed 13 third-down attempts.
While the numbers don’t lie, “We didn’t win the football game. Our job is not to ‘out-gain’ the opposing team. Our job is to outscore them,” Brady said.
Joe Brady was Praised for Taking Responsibility for the Crucial Mistake
Interim OC Joe Brady on how he saw the Allen-Davis miscomm in OT
Question from @MattParrino
Brady taking the blame for the costly miscommunication was applauded by fans and analysts on X, formerly known as Twitter. Even former Bills receiver Stevie Johnson chimed in to post, “I fw Joe Brady.”
One fan responded, “He already sounds like a leader,” while another person wrote, “I love this guy… No matter the situation right now I’m looking forward to the future with Joe Brady at OC and even maybe more down the road.”
SB Nation’s Bruce Nolan offered the following assessment after watching Brady’s presser. “1. He knows who’s more at fault for it re: Allen/Davis. 2. Him refusing to say and deciding to take ownership himself is the right thing to do.3. Who points thumbs? 4. I like Joe Brady.”
Bills WR Gabe Davis Shared the Blame With Josh Allen After the Game
Asked Gabe Davis if it should be simple for he and Josh Allen to read the same thing against a complex defense with blitzers flying in a tight spot, late.
His answer summed up: Yes, it should.
Speaking to reporters in the locker room at Lincoln Financial Field, Davis agreed that it should’ve been easy to connect with Allen on that option route.
“Yes, it should’ve been simple. We’ve been running it four years. It is that simple. But again, mistakes happen. We both made a mistake on not being on the same page.”
“We could have won the game,” he added, per The Buffalo News. “We’re confident, we had the game, it was right there. But again, toward the end, just me and him had a miscommunication, and it was a touchdown.”
Allen shared a similar sentiment during his postgame press conference but took more responsibility for the mistake.
“Yeah, it’s an option route,” Allen said. “They were in zero, so we max-protected it. Understand they were coming to get me. I made a guess, and I guessed wrong.”
Bills head coach Sean McDermott pointed out the most frustrating part of the mistake while speaking to reporters after the game. Allen “had him open.”
“That’s where I’m saying, that’s one right there, where an opportunity to win the game and put it away, and they made the plays that needed to be made, and we didn’t,” McDermott said. “We’ll go back and learn from this and move forward.”
While it was great to see Allen flash his signature spark again, throwing for 339 yards and two touchdowns along with two rushing scores, “There are no moral victories,” McDermott concluded.
The Bills have a bye week before facing the Kansas City Chiefs (8-3) on Sunday, December 10. At 6-6, there’s no margin for error if Buffalo wants to play in the postseason.