PHILADELPHIA — The Buffalo Bills took the lead in the fourth quarter and then again in overtime, but gave up both to the hometown Eagles in a heartbreaking 37-34 loss on Sunday.
Jalen Hurts outshined Josh Allen in overtime, leading a game-winning touchdown drive to clinch it for the Eagles on a 12-yard run late in overtime.
Allen is now 0-6 in his career in overtime games.
The Bills took a 17-7 lead into halftime but the Eagles have proved all season that no halftime lead is safe against Philadelphia. A Josh Allen interception and three straight touchdowns for the Eagles made for a back-and-forth game that came down to the final drive for the Eagles.
The Bills drove down the field late in the fourth quarter to take a three-point lead with under two to play. The Eagles managed to drive into field goal range and Jake Elliott made an improbable 59-yarder to send the game to OT.
Here are some instant observations.
1. Disgraceful officiating in first half
The Bills were flagged for 10 penalties in the first half, and that’s not even counting two more that were negated because of an offsetting penalty. The Eagles were only penalized one time in the first 30 minutes.
The two most egregious were a missed horse collar tackle on Josh Allen when Hassan Reddick spun him to the turf by the back of his jersey. The officials congregated almost a minute after the play and came out of their huddle to flag Allen for intentional grounding. The other questionable call was a missed defensive pass interference on Darius Slay, who wrapped up Bills receiver Trent Sherfield on a third-down incompletion.
2. Jalen Hurts: A tale of two halves
Hurts looked confused for most of the first 30 minutes as the Bills defense relied on their four-man front to apply pressure on the Eagles quarterback. The back end held up consistently and allowed the front to frustrate Hurts and muddy the pocket. When Hurts did get out and attempted to make plays off schedule, the Bills secondary held up long enough to…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply