Rout by Bengals uncovered a Payments workforce which may be regressing

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Sitting glumly at a desk contained in the Payments’ follow facility on Monday, quarterback Josh Allen had issue coming to grips with how a lot his workforce achieved and overcame, solely to wind up no nearer to the Tremendous Bowl.

Extra troubling for Allen and the Payments — a day after they had been throttled 27-10 by the Cincinnati Bengals within the divisional spherical of the playoffs — is the prospect that they took a step again.

“Recency bias from this final recreation, I do know all people’s going to lose their minds, however we did a variety of good issues this yr,” Allen mentioned.

But after Buffalo matched a franchise document with 13 wins, received a 3rd consecutive AFC East title and completed a half-game behind top-seeded Kansas Metropolis, Allen nonetheless completed the season with a sense of being, as he put it, “sick to my abdomen.”

“It (stinks) feeling such as you’re shut and never having the ability to accomplish it,” he added. “It’s been the final three years with a really related feeling. We’ve bought to proceed to push ahead and discover a solution to recover from this hump.”

It may properly be humps, plural, now for Buffalo.

The Payments made it to the AFC championship recreation after the 2020 season, dropping at Kansas Metropolis. Final yr, they fell once more on the street to the Chiefs, this time within the divisional spherical. Now, Buffalo finds itself overtaken by Joe Burrow and the Bengals within the AFC’s pecking order.

In contrast to a yr in the past, when Allen went toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes and Buffalo squandered a three-point lead within the remaining seconds of a gripping 42-36 time beyond regulation loss, the Payments let the Bengals take a 14-0 lead within the first quarter and responded meekly.

The Bengals uncovered Buffalo’s many weaknesses. Amongst them: an a injury-depleted defensive entrance lacking Von Miller, a younger and banged-up secondary and an offense overly reliant on Allen and Stefon Diggs.

“I’m an enormous believer in who you might be within the final recreation of the season, when it comes to what you noticed on the sphere. And that’s what it’s a must to handle. And so clearly, we weren’t adequate yesterday,” coach Sean McDermott mentioned, whereas acknowledging the hole between the Payments and the AFC’s elite has narrowed in a convention stocked with quarterback expertise.

“That’s additionally why and the rationale why we should proceed to develop, and now we have to reply that query of can we compete at that degree,” McDermott mentioned. “Can we deal with these quarterbacks? And who should now we have to assist us try this?”

The Payments might want to retool whereas having little wage cap area and a roster that options 21 gamers eligible to turn into unrestricted free brokers. That group contains center linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, beginning security Jordan Poyer and working again Devin Singletary.

Singletary was so shocked by Buffalo’s loss that he mentioned he’s given no thought to his future.

“To be sincere, I didn’t suppose the season was going to be over, so I believed I nonetheless had time to consider it,” the fourth-year participant mentioned.

EMOTIONALLY DRAINED

Offensive lineman Rodger Saffold acknowledged the Payments had been emotionally spent following a season during which their schedule was twice disrupted by winter storms and their recreation at Cincinnati on Jan. 2 was canceled when security Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the sphere.

“We haven’t been capable of take a breath because the Damar scenario, and it’s been actually weighing heavy on lots of people,” Saffold mentioned, noting that it lastly caught as much as the workforce on Sunday. “It was virtually like being in quicksand, just like the tougher that you simply fought, the deeper that you simply sank.”

Hamlin was wholesome sufficient to attend the sport and go to the locker room on Sunday.

NOT DIGGING IT

Operating again Duke Johnson took it upon himself to chase down a pissed off Diggs, who bolted from the locker room instantly following the loss and earlier than McDermott had an opportunity to deal with the workforce. Johnson persuaded Diggs to return.

“I believe Diggs wants extra credit score than I do as a result of Diggs didn’t should hearken to me,” Johnson mentioned.

“He’s pissed off like all of us are,” McDermott mentioned. “He was in as we speak. He and I spoke, and I’ll go away it at that.”

Diggs didn’t make himself out there to the media. Nevertheless, he tweeted: “Need me to be okay with our degree of play when it’s lower than the usual? Nah.”

SURGICAL UPDATES

Allen mentioned he won’t require surgical procedure after spraining a ligament in his throwing elbow throughout a 20-17 loss on the New York Jets on Nov. 6. The harm initially altered his throwing movement. Allen mentioned he felt totally recovered a couple of weeks in the past.

Defensive sort out Jordan Poyer mentioned he’ll require surgical procedure to restore a torn rotator cuff, which led to him lacking two video games in December. With no threat to worsen the harm, Phillips performed in Buffalo’s remaining three video games.

NEARLY BACK

Security Micah Hyde mentioned he would have been cleared to play this weekend if the Payments had superior. Hyde returned to follow two weeks in the past after being sidelined since Week 3, when he had surgical procedure to restore a herniated disk.

Fueling Hyde’s want to return was the chance to line up with Poyer within the secondary for at the very least another recreation. Hyde and Poyer bonded upon signing with Buffalo on the identical day in free company in 2017.