It was an MVP performance from the likely NFL MVP, but the fact that the game broke Buffalo's seven-game winning streak and dropped the Bills to 10-3 is ultimately all that matters. No matter how good or bad you play in the NFL, a win is a win and a loss is a loss.
You don't apologize for sneaking away with wins that you shouldn't have gotten, but playing good enough to win without actually collecting the W? That hurts at any level, but it's especially tough for uber-competitive NFL players.
As such, Buffalo's loss to Los Angeles in Week 14 is actually bad news for the Detroit Lions, who sit at 12-1 and have an 11 game winning streak of their own to consider.
The Lions are now firmly in the Bills' crosshairs (or cross horns, if you will). Heck, the paint hadn't even settled on the final score for the game against the Rams and Allen was already talking about having more of a sense of urgency moving forward.
“We got to come out with some urgency though and I don't think in any phase of the game did we do that today,” Allen said after the loss, according to ESPN. “We'll talk about it as a team and try to figure it out… playing [in a] playoff atmosphere, a team that's playing like they're in the playoffs right now and just again just trying to learn from this and move on.”
The Bills got a taste of a team fighting for its playoff life in the Rams, and they learned that urgency is the name of the game in those moments. They'll certainly come out firing against the Lions, but does Detroit have that same sense of urgency on its sideline? There's always going to be some with Dan Campbell leading the way, but the Lions haven't lost since September 15 and they're coming off the high of beating the Green Bay Packers for the second time this season in a last-second thriller.
Again, Campbell is not the type of coach to sleepwalk his team into an emotional letdown, but had the Bills beaten the Rams that would have set up what would be billed as a heavyweight matchup between two Super Bowl contenders. To be frank, this Week 15 is still a heavyweight matchup between two contenders, but now there's an added element added to the game that wasn't there before Sunday Night Football: Desperation.
Josh Allen is playing red-hot football for the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) moves out to pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium.
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
The Bills were the favorite against the Rams but they faltered in the big moment. Head coach Sean McDermott can't let his team come up short two weeks in a row, especially this close to the playoffs. It wouldn't be an insurmountable loss of momentum, but losing to Detroit a week after losing to the Rams would cast some serious doubts on the Bills' legitimacy as Super Bowl contenders.
They seemed to have shed some of that dead weight by beating Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Orchard Park in Week 12, but that weight would go right back on their shoulders with a loss at Ford Field. That's not even to mention Buffalo's long history of playoff disappointments. That's a long-standing trend the Bills have had a hard time shaking, and that can lead to desperation.
Desperation is a scary thing on an NFL sideline. It can lead to mistakes, but it can also lead to white-hot focus. Speaking of focus, lost in the shuffle of the loss to the Rams is the fact that Allen has been on an absolute tear as of late. Now he's bringing that white-hot flame to Detroit.
“It's hard to win in this league, but when our quarterback can continue to heat up and get in his rhythm and get his feel, it's a plus in our book cause we're still pushing forward,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said after the game, according to ESPN. “… When Josh Allen is Josh Allen, everybody's better …. with six touchdowns, it's incredible. That's hard in this league, and for Josh to continue to go in and out of every week with the MVP mindset that just shows who our leader truly is.”
Dawkins doesn't sound like a player who has lost confidence after a loss, but rather, someone who is focused on following the MVP candidate who is at the top of the Bills' hierarchy. Allen has thrown for 3,033 yards and 23 touchdowns with just five interceptions this season. He's also rushed for 416 yards and nine rushing touchdowns, bringing his touchdown total to 32.
Look for him to light it up again in what is undoubtedly the biggest game of the NFL Week 15 schedule.