ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -By Monday morning, the yard lines and logos had been removed from the Rogers Centre turf and work crews began taking down the “Bills Toronto Series” signs and banners.
If only it were so easy for the Bills to erase the dreadful memories of their trip north of the border and a 16-3 loss to Miami that all but mathematically ended any shot at Buffalo making the playoffs.
The players were embarrassed and frustrated immediately following a game in which they came out flat, with the offense managing a mere 163 yards and failing to score a touchdown for the second straight outing. And the mood had not changed some 18 hours later.
“It’s still frustrating. It’s still tough,” receiver Lee Evans said. “To play like that is unacceptable. It’s really hard to swallow.”
postseason appearance – the worst drought in franchise history and tied with Detroit for the longest active streak in the NFL.
The Bills (6-7) are left to play out a three-game string, starting with a road game against the New York Jets (8-5) on Sunday.
So much for the Bills getting off on the right foot in playing their first of five annual regular-season games in Toronto or winning over any new fans in their home away from home.
“Embarrassed, disappointed – they’re a couple of words you could use,” defensive tackle Marcus Stroud said.
It didn’t help that the setting was decidedly neutral, with numerous fans rooting for the Dolphins.
“It felt like we were on the road,” tackle Jason Peters said.
What’s evident is that the Bills have proven they’re now capable of playing poorly on both sides of the border.
The loss was the latest in a seemingly endless spiral for a sputtering offense that has gone nearly nine full quarters without scoring a touchdown, including a 10-3 loss to San Francisco the previous weekend. And the touchdown drought comes immediately after the Bills scored the second-most points in franchise history in 54-31 win at Kansas City on Nov. 23.
Against Miami, Buffalo’s lone scoring threat ended when, on first-and-goal from the 3, J.P. Losman was intercepted on an underthrown fade to Evans into the corner of the end zone.
so maddening that Bills owner Ralph Wilson resorted to sarcasm after the game: “Three points? Listen, the way we’ve been playing, it’s tough to get three points.”
Wilson, however, refused to be drawn into questions about coach Dick Jauron’s status, and instead blamed the team’s woes on a lack of talent.
Jauron is in the final year of his three-year contract, and the team has not indicated whether he’ll be back next season.
Bills players continued to go out of their way in expressing their support for Jauron.
“Dick has my utmost respect. He’s a good coach and a good person. Everybody knows that. Unfortunately, we’ve gone through a bad spot,” right tackle Langston Walker said. “Coach Jauron hasn’t thrown anybody under the bus, and I don’t expect him to. I definitely won’t throw him under the bus.”
Jauron could only express his disappointment on Monday.
“The game was a big letdown,” Jauron said. “We knew how important it was for us, and we just didn’t perform, and that reflects on me. That’s on my shoulders. It was a very disappointing day for us.”
The coach then provided a philosophical answer when informed that Bills chief operating officer Russ Brandon had termed the team’s meltdown as unacceptable.
“Is it unacceptable? Well, how do you not accept it if you’ve done it?” Jauron said. “We’ve got to live with it. That’s our record and we’ve got to take it and go on and try to get better and improve.”
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