Buffalo Bills are a Bad team: Is this rock bottom? 10 Takeaways from loss to Broncos

Summary

---

Episode Overview

Title: Buffalo Bills are a Bad team: Is this rock bottom? 10 Takeaways from loss to Broncos
Date: November 14, 2023
Hosts: Mike Catalana, Jenna Cottrell, Dan Fates

This episode of the Buffalo Plus podcast is a raw and unfiltered reaction to the Buffalo Bills’ dispiriting loss to the Denver Broncos, dropping the Bills to a 5-5 record. The hosts unpack whether the Bills have hit rock bottom, why Josh Allen and the offense look broken, the mounting pressure on the coaching staff, and the ramifications for the season ahead. The team gives 10 hard-hitting takeaways, candidly discussing the disconnect in the locker room, the ongoing identity crisis, and what changes (if any) could possibly stem the slide.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Loss to the Broncos is a Low Point for the Franchise

• Opening Reaction:
  • The Bills lost at home to a Broncos team that “gave up 70” earlier in the season.
  • "Ugly, gross, abysmal, drained, reeling... The Bills didn't deserve to win this game." – Jenna Cottrell (00:53)
  • "They're five and five. They're lucky to be five and five... This team is not very good." – Mike Catalana (01:09)

2. The Offense is Unrecognizable and Josh Allen Looks Broken

• Allen’s Decline:

  • Four turnovers (three from Allen) highlight his crisis of confidence.
  • "He looks broken. He looks like he has no confidence. I don't have any confidence in him right now." – Mike Catalana (02:36)
  • The offense “used to be a Ferrari, right? ... He's like a beat up Honda Accord that ... gets you to your destination, but it's clunky when it gets there." – Dan Fates (05:00)

• Miscommunication Abounds:

  • Persistent issues with option routes and timing, even with veteran receivers like Gabe Davis.
  • "Josh gets up to the line and... It is deer in headlights and nobody knows what they're doing." – Dan Fates (05:59)

3. Coaching, Confidence, and Culture in Crisis

• Ken Dorsey's Future:

  • Multiple calls for offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey’s job but recognition that it’s not only his fault.
  • "It's a short week... but right now, the offense is broken, and it's not all on Ken Dorsey." – Mike Catalana (09:21)
  • Sean McDermott under pressure: "That rope's going to be short for everybody." – Mike Catalana (10:21)

• Culture and Leadership:

  • Team has lost its former swagger; Allen and teammates visibly frustrated on the field and in the locker room.

4. Moments of Frustration – Audible and Visible

• Allen only showed visible energy after the touchdown to Dalton Kincaid and the two-point conversion, but both celebrations were laced with frustration rather than joy.

  • "There was no happy celebration... it was letting out this, this frustration is what it felt like. This is a frustrated offense that is continuing to run their head into the wall and then they get up and run their head into the wall again." – Dan Fates (06:31)

• Jenna’s dad’s quote about self-inflicted disaster becomes a possible title for the pod:

  • "How many times are you gonna get hit in the face with a sack of shit until you start to smell something?" – Jenna Cottrell (07:08)

5. Dramatic Contrast to the Past – Lost Identity

• "This used to be a high powered, fast-paced offense. The Broncos offense stinks... but at least they knew who they were... Josh gets up to the line... it is deer in headlights." – Dan Fates (05:17, 05:59)
• "They have taken an elite quarterback and turned him into a guy who doesn't appear to have confidence in his own game..." – Mike Catalana (03:26)
• "You've turned Josh Allen into just a guy, a jag." – Jenna Cottrell (07:52)

6. The Defense Deserved Better

• Defense played well given the constant bad field position and multiple turnovers:
  • "Thought the defense fought hard and played well... The defense deserved better than they got in this game." – Mike Catalana (14:45, 15:21)
  • “They were bailing water of a sinking ship the entire game and they ran out of gas.” – Dan Fates (14:13)

7. Special Teams Collapse at the Worst Moment

• Lost the game on “12 men on the field” after a missed field goal, erasing any chance at a last-second win.
  • "I mean, we could be talking about all this nonsense and they're [otherwise] 6-4. They lost the game with 12 men on the field..." – Mike Catalana (16:25)
  • “Sean McDermott should be embarrassed. His whole team should be embarrassed. The whole organization, Smiley, the special teams coach. It's on everybody. You lost a game with all your problems because you had an extra man." – Mike Catalana (17:53)

8. Run Game Shows Life—But That’s Not Enough

• The running backs (especially Latavius Murray) ran harder than the passing game was effective, but that's cold comfort.
  • “Their run game was better than their passing game. They outrushed... They ran for more than they threw for more.” – Mike Catalana (18:49)

9. Locker Room: Frustration, Accountability, and Resignation

• The vibe postgame is dejection and exasperation.
  • "Dejected and drained Josh Allen, no question... he was more annoyed, I would say, at the questions that he had to get." – Jenna Cottrell (20:33)
  • "What was the locker room like? Deion was upset... I heard emotion in Deion's voice when he was talking about what was going on." – Mike Catalana (21:32)
• Another players-only meeting is referenced, but the problems persist.

10. The Bills Keep Beating Themselves

• “The Bills, their identity is shooting themselves in the foot.” – Jenna Cottrell (22:18)
• “They said, we're gonna have a team meeting, that we are costing ourselves the games. And then they held their own beer and... turned it over four times. This just stinks.” – Mike Catalana (22:25)
• Seven games left, but the hosts are deeply pessimistic about playoff prospects given the remaining schedule.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Josh Allen as broken QB:
  • "He looks broken. He looks like he has no confidence. I don't have any confidence in him right now." – Mike Catalana (02:36)
• Offensive identity crisis:
  • "This used to be a high powered, fast paced offense. This is now... a beat up Honda Accord..." – Dan Fates (05:00)
• Frustration with culture and coaching:
  • "Whatever they have done with Josh Allen, they have taken elite quarterback and turned him into a guy who doesn't appear to have confidence..." – Mike Catalana (03:26)
• Self-inflicted wounds as the Bills’ identity:
  • “The Bills, their identity is shooting themselves in the foot.” – Jenna Cottrell (22:18)
• Special teams disaster:
  • "You lost a game with all your problems because you had an extra man. Maybe they should try an extra man on offense." – Mike Catalana (17:53)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 00:53 | Opening: Bills lose to Broncos, “rock bottom” talk | | 01:09 | Mike Catalana: “This team is not very good.” | | 02:25 | Audit of Josh Allen’s confidence & turnovers | | 05:00 | Dan Fates: Offense used to be a Ferrari, now a ‘Honda’ | | 06:31 | Josh Allen’s post-TD frustration, team vibe | | 07:08 | Jenna’s “sack of shit” analogy | | 09:21 | Calls for OC Ken Dorsey’s job, but team-wide blame | | 12:24 | Discussion: Team’s inability to win with ‘C game’ | | 14:45 | Defense efforts praised; offense dragging them down | | 16:25 | Special teams: 12 men on the field disaster | | 20:33 | Locker room mood: frustration, accountability | | 22:18 | The Bills’ new ‘identity’: beating themselves | | 23:32 | The bigger picture: AFC wide open, but Bills adrift |

---

Final Thoughts

This episode offers an honest, sometimes harsh, but always insightful look at the 2023 Buffalo Bills’ collapse. With palpable frustration, all three hosts dissect where things have gone wrong—from Josh Allen’s decline to coaching decisions and critical errors on special teams. Though the defense and run game had moments of hope, the team’s identity now centers around self-inflicted wounds. With a daunting stretch ahead, the panel is concerned the Bills season—and potentially their window for contention—is slipping away fast. As Mike Catalana wryly notes, “You have too good of a quarterback to play like they’re playing, but I don’t know if they have too good of a team.”

---

Transcript

[Mike Catalana]

We're talking about Josh Allen here. And when you have a guy like that, Josh Bleeping Allen, he's a special player. Yeah, not right now, he's not.

[Dan Fates]

This is the Buffalo plus podcast, brought to you by Connors and Ferris.

[Jenna Cottrell]

All right, welcome Back to the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel, presented by Connors and Ferris, Mike Catalana, Dan Fates. I am Jenna Cottrell. Please be sure to, like, comment and subscribe to the podcast. Well, as listen to the podcast wherever you find your podcast, Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, you know the drill.

[Dan Fates]

Gentlemen, for our own sanity, please, like, comment and subscribe.

[Mike Catalana]

And your like does not mean you like what you saw on the spot.

[Dan Fates]

The like is for us.

[Jenna Cottrell]

No, the like is for the sanity of. Of wanting to know.

[Dan Fates]

The subscribe is because you like us.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay. The Bills lost to the Broncos. There's so much to discuss in this game. Ugly, gross, abysmal, drained, reeling. Five and five for this Bills team. Mike, what we saw. The Bills didn't deserve to win this game.

[Mike Catalana]

No, they didn't. And, you know, a few weeks ago, I said, maybe this is who they are. This is who they are. Yeah, this is who they are. They're five and five. They're lucky to be five and five. You have lost to the Patriots, the Jets. The jets and the Broncos. Not the Jags. I'll give you the Jags. The Jags are likely going to be a playoff team. I'm talking about the Broncos, who earlier this year gave up 70. The Patriots, who've been horrendous against everybody else but beat the Bills. And Zach Wilson everybody laughs at. And he always beats the Bills. Not always, but he's beating the Bills. This team is not very good. They're five. Five. Mediocre at best, bad at worst. That's who they are.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Dan. It's scary, though, because it's like, where is the bottom going to be?

[Dan Fates]

I don't know. Because they seem to keep finding a new bottom. And the worst part to me is, and we were just talking about it, this offense looks unrecognizable. This is not the offense. And I think, unfortunately, that's skewing our minds. Maybe, maybe that. Maybe that's part of this problem is that we're sitting here going, they're not. They're like you said, Mike, mediocre at best. We're also hold. I don't know, because we saw them be so good. We saw them be elite. We saw them last year, flash. We saw them two years ago get hot and go to the AFC Championship. Like, this just doesn't look like the same team.

[Jenna Cottrell]

No, it doesn't. And Josh Allen, we gotta start with him. Four total turnovers on the night for the offense, three of them coming from Josh Allen. I mean, his confidence, Mike, he looks. He looks broken.

[Mike Catalana]

He does. He looks broken. He looks like he has no confidence. I don't have any confidence in him right now. When they have the ball. When they got the ball late in that game, they had no confidence in Josh or. Limited comment. They ran the ball.

[Jenna Cottrell]

They ran the ball. They ran it.

[Mike Catalana]

They ran it and got the touchdown.

[Dan Fates]

I don't know if it's no confidence in Josh or no confidence in the passing here.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. But that's.

[Dan Fates]

And I know that's part of it. There's miscommunication, which we have talked about before.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

They are not on the same page on these option routes or whatever they are. Josh is just. There are some bad throws, and then there are some throws that they're just on the right spot.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Like, it's just. You see it all the time where it's a throw and you're going, okay, I'm filming on the sidelines. I'm going, okay, where's it gonna go? Like, there's nobody there.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

And somebody's breaking off the route short. Somebody's not going, you know, somebody should be going deeper. Josh. Things are going deep. It's all of that.

[Mike Catalana]

It's. And we're talking about, like, he's had this with Gabe Davis, who he's played with for, what, four years? Like, these are the guys you should be connected with. Look, I watch this game and I see Josh Allen making mistakes, bad decisions, bad throws. But I go back to. And I'm not talking about play calls for Ken Dorsey. I'm talking about what you instill in your players. You know, coaches will always say, I need to put my guys in the best spot to succeed. Whatever they have done with Josh Allen, they have taken elite quarterback and turned him into a guy who doesn't appear to have confidence in his own game, confidence in this team. So it's not always the play calls.

[Dan Fates]

And it's the mentoring, the coaching.

[Mike Catalana]

The coaching, the instilling the relationship. Yes, all those things.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And we talked after the game how, you know, how hurt is Josh Allen? How much is his shoulder affecting him? And we talked about. Mentally. I feel like that is the biggest hurdle for him. I feel like he also has no confidence in himself. And for so many moments for this Bills team over the years, it's Been sit back, watch Josh do something amazing. Third down to move the chains. Allen is Superman and tonight he had couple of interceptions. He could have had another ball intercept. And it's just sometimes you watch him drop back and you're just like, how is this going to end? And Dan, it just is infuriating to see because we talked earlier about, you know, maybe it's not always play. Play calling, but also it's the, the confidence factor and the lack of that you see from him.

[Dan Fates]

You know how I like comparisons.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Usually they're jokes.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Not really in the joking mood, but when I was on the sidelines, I was, you know, talking to people and I said, we talked about Josh Allen used to be a Ferrari, right? It was this, this was a Ferrari. He's like a beat up Honda. Like he's a beat up Honda Accord that like, yeah, it scores. It gets you there sometimes it gets you to your destination, but it's, it's clunky when it gets there.

[Jenna Cottrell]

My God, it was my old Subaru.

[Dan Fates]

It's your old suit. It's, it's just not. Again, what. This is what I'm talking about, where it's unrecognizable. This used to be a high powered, fast paced offense. This is now. And let me say this, the Broncos offense stinks. They are a JV offense that ran about four to five plays, but at least they knew who they were. I saw Russell Wilson get up to the line and at least have control and an understanding and a concept of, hey, we're a really bad offense. It's really mediocre, but at least I know what I'm doing. I'm going to point this guy here and we're going to do these kind of things. Josh gets up to the line and like you said, whether it's confidence looks lost. It is deer in headlights and nobody knows what they're doing.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I was gonna ask you because for us being on the sidelines, you get to really see up close like what Josh's eyes look like. And I feel like over the course of the season you've, you feel like because we've, we've shot so many games, like you can tell when Alan's comfortable, in control, on fire, all this stuff. And I feel like his eyes just keep getting bigger and bigger of like, what, what am I gonna do? Where's it going to go from here?

[Dan Fates]

The only time that there was energy, passion, fire from Allen was after the touchdown pass at Dalton.

[Mike Catalana]

Knox.

[Dan Fates]

Dalton.

[Mike Catalana]

Dalton.

[Dan Fates]

Kate. That was a very fired up Josh Allen, he was. That was after James Cook got back in the game. He was in James Cook's face, screaming, yelling at him in an encouraging way. There was no low positive, he was fired up. It was that Josh Allen that came to the sidelines after Kansas City, screaming at his teammates in a good way, encouraging them. That was what I saw. I saw the same thing when Gabe Davis caught the two point conversion. There was no happy celebration in a dance. It was throw the football down and it was letting out this, this frustration is what it felt like. This is a frustrated offense that is continuing to run their head into the wall and then they get up and they run their head into the wall again.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I have a saying that, that my dad used to say to me and it's not fair, it's not very PC in terms of like it swears, but it's. He said, how many times are you gonna get hit in the face with a sack of shit until you start to smell something.

[Mike Catalana]

Ben, Ben. Coming up with a good one.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, I think they have title for the pod.

[Mike Catalana]

I think they all smell it now. I don't think there's any question. And look, I've said to you guys, we've talked about Josh is a uniform.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Is that okay?

[Mike Catalana]

That's great, that's fine. Josh is a unicorn. You found a unicorn as a player and they've turned him into. I'm just trying to think of a. I mean they've just turned him into another guy.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, you've turned Josh Allen into just a guy, a jag.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. And we keep saying that his receivers are that way and all, but you know, that's one thing when you say this about the second or third wide receiver on the team, but we're talking about Josh Allen here. And when you have a guy like.

[Dan Fates]

That, it's Josh Bleep.

[Mike Catalana]

And Alan, he's a special player. Not right now he's not. Now he is lost.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And look, is he, dare I say, a liability?

[Mike Catalana]

He's not a total liability because he can still make plays at any moment. But when he's in a game like this where he's already turned it over three times, I think he's lost something.

[Dan Fates]

It's a little bit back to the more than before. It's rookie Josh where he makes the wow play, but there's no. How about this? No consistency, no execution. He made a throw to Gabe Davis in the third quarter that I went, oh my God, four different. Like it threaded the needle around four different people.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That was the one I Thought we were gonna get it, was gonna get picked.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dan Fates]

The next play, he misses the handoff to James Cook. I can't even tweet. Oh, my God, what a throw. That was insane.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

And he makes a mistake.

[Mike Catalana]

I started to tweet. Maybe I actually did. I was gonna say that. Well, at least we know Josh isn't afraid to make a tight throw, because Jenna and I both react like, oh, oh, oh, boom.

[Dan Fates]

We're like, he's rolling this way and he's going back across the body. It's right in my line of sight. I'm like, well, that's going to be knocked down by that guy. That guy picked off by that guy. And Gabe catches it. And I went. That's the Josh Allen that. That arm arrogance where it's like, I can make any throw, but there's few and far fewer.

[Mike Catalana]

These turnovers have not been arm arrogance turnovers. They've been bad reads, bad decisions. It's a guy who lacks confidence. And look, there's probably been four times during this year where we've talked about Ken Dorsey losing his job. And I tweeted it tonight. I don't necessarily think that solves everything with this team, but they need something to happen, and I don't know if Sean McDermott rule. It's a short week, and I know all this stuff, but I'm looking at this offense and going, I'm not going to say, what difference would it make? But right now, the offense is broken, and it's not all on Ken Dorsey. There's no way. It's all on him. Josh is making mistakes. Receivers are making mistakes, overall plan. But you hear Sean McDermott, look, the pressure's on him. The pressure's on Sean. I think he has more rope, certainly, than Ken Dorsey. He's the head coach. He's gotten them to the playoffs. He's done a lot of great things, but that rope's going to be short for everybody. And if Josh Allen doesn't play better, certainly the rest of this year, it all reflects on the head coach because.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Absolutely.

[Mike Catalana]

Look at this way. Would it not be stunning if Ken Dorsey's the offensive coordinator next season?

[Jenna Cottrell]

It would be.

[Dan Fates]

It'd be stunned.

[Mike Catalana]

Right. Something dramatic. Dramatic would have to change. I'm saying is, do they change it now?

[Jenna Cottrell]

I don't. I don't think it would be now. I think if it were to be the case, it would be maybe before the bye, but I don't. I don't. I don't know how drastic they would be. Right now, knowing. Knowing Sean and how loyal he can be.

[Dan Fates]

Sean was asked after the game if something drastic needs to be changed. And Sean said, I don't know. I need to think about this. I need to assess this, because I'm pretty mad right now.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, that's why.

[Dan Fates]

That's a little bit of. And so you're saying, what is it gonna change? I agree. But Ken Dorsey sure feels like a dead man walking.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

And.

[Dan Fates]

And I'm like, you don't say. Like, here we are being like, okay, well, is he gonna be fired now or is he gonna be fired? Goodbye. Or is he gonna be fired?

[Jenna Cottrell]

Like, I can't imagine this scenario.

[Dan Fates]

And that's the only thing I'm saying. And I said this before, firing Ken Dorsey, like you said, does not solve the problems. I don't think.

[Mike Catalana]

Doesn't solve all the problems, but it might at least change things.

[Dan Fates]

It's a change. And that's what I said. What did I say? Bring him down. Bring him down the sidelines. Change something. We are getting hit with the bag of shit over and over again. And we're sitting there being like, roses, right? It's roses. It's still this. Bill's offense. It's not. It's no longer fair to compare this team to what they did two years ago.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It's different.

[Dan Fates]

It is a broken thing that they're trying to put back together.

[Mike Catalana]

You know what's really interesting? And you're right. When we think about two years ago and all these different things, but even this year, we saw glimpses of at least a competent offense and a confident quarterback. Glimpses of that correct this season. And it's gone. It's gone.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Feels like it was years ago. Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

When the tough has gotten going with this team. They have folded. They have the games where they were great. Everything worked.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Okay. They got stopped. The opening drive against the Raiders, they then scored every drive. They scored every drive against Miami and.

[Mike Catalana]

Washington handed them the ball nine times.

[Dan Fates]

But where was a game where they made adjustments and they said, hey, man, our fastball is not working. We don't have our A pitch tonight. Where's the other B pitch? You gotta win sometimes with your C game. This Bills team has zero chance to win when they don't play the Ray game. They're not talented enough. They're not good enough.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. And by the way, this.

[Dan Fates]

They used to be able to win with their se game. We'd go, yeah, hey, they didn't play well, but they got the win. Let's move On.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I was gonna say no style points.

[Dan Fates]

That's what we said all last year. They're not that good.

[Mike Catalana]

And they won 13.

[Dan Fates]

Not that guy.

[Jenna Cottrell]

They are not that guy right now. It is disappointing. I will say Ken Dorsey tonight. I get the criticism, but there were a ton of drops.

[Mike Catalana]

Oh, no, no. This is why I say, this isn't the game where I'm blaming game plan. I'm blaming overall coaching of the player and his team. This is a team that goes out on the field. They used to walk out on the field like, we're scoring 30. Keep up with us.

[Dan Fates]

How long has it been?

[Jenna Cottrell]

44 days now.

[Mike Catalana]

44 days. So it'll be 50 days plus and scoring 30 against the jets, unless Zach Wilson decides to turn it over nine times. They're not scoring 30 points in that game because we know the way that's going to go. So it's going to be another week. Oh, and then they have Philly and Kansas City and Chiefs, Dallas. Dallas and on the Chargers.

[Jenna Cottrell]

But, yeah, it's true. It used to be like, oh, it'll be fine.

[Mike Catalana]

I will say this. You've been listening this long, you want some positives? Thought the defense played well. Yeah, I thought the defense fought hard and played well. But you also notice, Lincoln, you also notice Sean McDermott's answers. Usually, I don't like hearing this from a head coach. I thought it was a little bit of, like, a little bit of a sense of, my defense played pretty well. And that wasn't the problem. We turned it over four times.

[Dan Fates]

When did I text you guys? When I said, I text you guys and said, man, this defense is really a problem. Opening drive, they fumble the ball. They hold him to a field goal, and I go, man, this defense, I can't believe they allowed a field goal. Like, what? What's the EPA for that? Like, this is where I got to. And again, it sucks. I feel like the defense ran out of gas at the end. I think they were bailing water of a sinking ship the entire game and they ran out of gas. It sucks. And you want to know what? We can talk about the field goal in a second. But I thought the defense. And again, the Broncos aren't anything explosive by any means. No, but again, they played well, they got stops.

[Mike Catalana]

They.

[Dan Fates]

They finally got to a quarterback. They forced a turnover. Again, this is held together. Said it before, gum, tin foil and duct tape. And they've been. They were good enough to win the game. Again, the defense was good enough to win.

[Mike Catalana]

By the way, is Taron Johnson Just a magnet for every play at the end of the game.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, I guess so.

[Mike Catalana]

And I. I did not like the call. I see why they threw the flag. He's running towards the receiver, but he does turn back to the ball. Certainly to me, they could have let that one go. Yeah, I didn't think that was worthy of the call.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I agree.

[Mike Catalana]

But when you're a bad team, you need all of those breaks. They didn't get them. But the defense, I thought, fought hard. After all those turnovers, the defense deserved better than they got in this game.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I literally tweeted that. This defense deserves better.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And they're not perfect. But at the same point, special teams was bad as well.

[Mike Catalana]

About. This organization focuses on teams. Their special teams stink.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Well, even Sean McDermott brought it up a lot in the postgame press conference about the field position where they were starting at, as well as the punts, some of those line drive punts.

[Mike Catalana]

Sam Martin, he can't kick anymore. I said he punts like he's part of the offense. I mean, seriously, he can't kick.

[Dan Fates]

Shout out Reed Ferguson for laying.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I was.

[Mike Catalana]

Laid him out.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Honestly, it was nice to see the juice and some energy.

[Mike Catalana]

But. But the. The special teams, their coverage was terrible in this game. That kid's stud returner. But yeah, their coverages were terrible. But let's go to the end of the game. I mean, we could be talking about all this nonsense and they're six, four.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And they could have been like a Giants win type.

[Mike Catalana]

They lost the game with 12 men on the field when the guy choked away on a field goal. And I don't know what Peyton was thinking, rushing his.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Causing his own panic for his special teams. And he gets away with it because the Bills special teams, we worry about teams, about teams. One third of the plays.

[Dan Fates]

One third of the game.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. Was one third plus one extra guy at the end. 12 guys on the field. Could you believe that? That's how you.

[Jenna Cottrell]

No, I could. That's the thing. I could. I could.

[Dan Fates]

Rex would have had 10.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes, well, 10 you can get away.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, that's true.

[Dan Fates]

Missed it. Rex would have had 10.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That's fair. That was brutal.

[Dan Fates]

That's good to go.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Thanks. Yeah, we appreciate it. Thank you.

[Mike Catalana]

We're just yakking away. These guys are working hard.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Let them go.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Honestly, though, I wasn't surprised at the end. I was like, oh, of course.

[Dan Fates]

And there's no explanation. Of course I appreciate Tyler Medicavich kind of speaking up for special teams, but asking him over and over again. It's like we practiced it. We practiced it all week. Sean McDermott said they thought this was a possibility of something that can happen. It's the. It's the sudden run on the field.

[Mike Catalana]

But they know there's one guy. They know who it is, whoever it is, to blame. They should have been better. They should have anticipated it. It's either going to be a timeout and you're going to walk out there or be ready. They didn't anticipate it.

[Dan Fates]

You asked Matakiewicz what. When did you know?

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

And he goes, when I saw the flag.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. It wasn't like he's out on the.

[Dan Fates]

Field going, there's nothing else that it could be. He goes, there's no other flag that's there.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Like you said, he's like.

[Mike Catalana]

But it's not like he's running on the field, looking around, going, oh, you know, in the punt, sometimes they'll count, but they don't do it. There's. That's an embarrassment. Sean McDermott should be embarrassed. His whole team should be embarrassed. The whole organization, Smiley, the special teams coach. It's on everybody. You lost a game with all your problems because you had an extra man. Maybe they should try an extra man on offense.

[Dan Fates]

The luck coordinator I thought was funny when James Cook dribbled the ball down the field. We were looking at.

[Mike Catalana]

Right. Okay.

[Dan Fates]

So it's a joke that everybody's talking about analytics that the Bills have just had bad luck, man. Yeah. And they. You wanna know what? Another ball bounces off Gabe Davis, it's intercepted.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

James Cook's trying to get an extra half yard and fumbles it like. Yeah, some of that. James Cook was dribbling the football at midfield, and by the way, he already fumbled it.

[Mike Catalana]

I don't have any problem with them benching James Cook and running back. First of all, Latavius Murray was really good. He dropped a pass, ran hard.

[Dan Fates]

Who didn't?

[Mike Catalana]

Their run game was better than their passing game. They outrushed. Yes, they did. They ran for more than they threw for more.

[Dan Fates]

That's how bad Josh was.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah. And at the end, when they needed the touchdown. They won't.

[Mike Catalana]

They ran the ball.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

What other nonsense.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Boos.

[Mike Catalana]

Oh, people were booing, Dan, you're on the field. They were booing. Right.

[Dan Fates]

They booed on the third offensive snap because the first one was the fumble, the second one was an incompletion, the third one was a hold.

[Mike Catalana]

And then.

[Dan Fates]

And then there was boos.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. And they booted halftime.

[Dan Fates]

Yep. Yes, they Booted. Halftime also. Can we just talk about that? Tyler Johnson got a handoff today.

[Mike Catalana]

At least one. Did he get. It was.

[Dan Fates]

It was that opening drive.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Unbelievable. He. All of a sudden, they pitch it to some guy and I'm filming. I'm going, who the hell's 26?

[Mike Catalana]

They said.

[Dan Fates]

They go, tyler Johnson, Ty Johnson. I go, ty Johnson's getting the football.

[Mike Catalana]

You know what they said? They said, we're going to put James Cook on the bench. And then they looked over and said, I don't think he's bothered enough by it. Get Ty out there and he's going to realize.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Rub it in. Yeah, that was bad. We literally were like, who the hell's that? Yeah, that was. They. They sent a message with that.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. And then look, he ran hard. All those things. Honestly, I think right now, in this game, the running game, I guess you could say, kind of kept him in it a little bit. Certainly got him the touchdown to go ahead. But they have Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs was invisible in the game.

[Dan Fates]

That's what I thought of the guy. I was like, everybody's tweeting me. Oh, I bet Dan hates this running game. That's great. This is great. But you also want to have Josh Allen be Josh Allen on top of it. This is supposed to be the. Hey, you guys know this complimentary football guys. Ever heard of this?

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah. Well, I haven't seen it, but uncomplimentary.

[Mike Catalana]

Is that. No. Is that how you would say that? Not just bad discom.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I like that better. Okay. Dejected and drained Josh Allen, no question, he was a little bit more feisty. Is too strong. But he was a little bit more pissed off, I would say, today. Well, he was more annoyed, I would say, at the questions that he had to get.

[Mike Catalana]

First of all, the questions were fair.

[Jenna Cottrell]

They were. They were fair.

[Mike Catalana]

I'm sorry, Josh got to answer the questions. So stand up and answer the questions.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Mitch Morris was great about that.

[Mike Catalana]

Mitch Morris was a pro, and he stood there and I know Josh is down and all those things. Stand up and answer the questions. He's. You lead this team. You played lousy. This isn't like the jets game where he came in and said, I sucked. I cost us the game.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Walked in there with his head down like he was done. And I know he should be. He's going to be down at the end of the game.

[Dan Fates]

He was still in his full pads. That's what he Pretty much. What after.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, that's been pretty much closed.

[Dan Fates]

He Was still.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That's been status quo, though, these last couple of weeks.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

What was the locker room like? What was the vibe?

[Mike Catalana]

Deion was upset.

[Dan Fates]

Yes.

[Mike Catalana]

By the way he was talking. He answered the questions, you know, tried to explain as best he could. You know, we understand this. It's hard for these guys to explain. What do you want them to say? Sometimes I do. They. They're not going to criticize a teammate. That's not cool. They try to be honest. They take the blame on themselves. We got to be better. But I could. I heard emotion in Deion's voice when he was talking about what was going on.

[Dan Fates]

And what I also heard, too, was this was a team that had a players only offensive meeting, and they said they cost themselves games. That was what the vibe was when they left Cincinnati.

[Mike Catalana]

Right.

[Dan Fates]

We thought we could have won that game. We cost ourselves it. And Deion's like, we had 12 guys on the field that cost us a game.

[Mike Catalana]

We turned the ball over four times. That cost us the game.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I literally said, the Bills, their identity is shooting themselves in the foot.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And someone tweeted back at me, they don't have a foot left.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. They said, we're gonna have a team meeting, that we are costing ourselves the games. And then they held their own beer and. And went out and played this game and turned it over four times. This just stinks. There's seven games left in this season. I think if the schedule wasn't what it is the rest of the way, you might feel a little differently. But the sad thing is, the afc, I still think, is wide open, and the Bills right now look like a team that's going to be sitting home in January unless something drastic changes. And I don't know what's going to change. I have seen a lot of bad football in Buffalo. You guys have been kind of fortunate in what you've seen here. This stinks. They're too. They have too good of a quarterback to play like they're playing, but I don't know if they have too good of a team. I think this team is. Well.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And then you start to think about the repercussions of this season and what things will look like in the off season and all of that. And that looks a lot closer than if we were to be a team that's vying for the playoffs.

[Dan Fates]

We've hit the panic button. We're approaching crisis mode. Like, organizationally.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. Because you got to get Josh Allen back this year. You got to get him back to being.

[Dan Fates]

You're Paying him a quarter of a billion dollars.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It's a lot of money.

[Mike Catalana]

Look at this. Well, all we pay Jenna. We expect a lot out of her.

[Dan Fates]

We're the last ones here.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I'm not shocked.

[Mike Catalana]

We always Buffalo plus always closes the place.

[Jenna Cottrell]

What time is it?

[Dan Fates]

Oh, shout out.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Oh, it's 123.

[Dan Fates]

Shout out.

[Mike Catalana]

Andrew. Oh, yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yes.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Shout out.

[Mike Catalana]

If you're still watching. He came to say hello beforehand. Works here with the Bells from Albany.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Shout out.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Shenandahoa. Rival high school.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. No, we appreciate it, guys, all the time.

[Dan Fates]

Oh, absolutely.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

They wiped the floor. Well, it's nice. Thank you for coming up and talking to us. We appreciate it.

[Jenna Cottrell]

We always appreciate it by the day. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We got the list, but we hit on everything. Yeah, it's not good. It's not great. Short week ahead. Jets will be here on Sunday.

[Mike Catalana]

St. Wilson, baby.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Can't wait.

[Dan Fates]

What a shootout this is gonna be.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I'm really excited to be on the field for this one.

[Mike Catalana]

By the way, this is a 425 game. They're not bringing Nance and Romo for this one, are they?

[Jenna Cottrell]

I can't imagine.

[Mike Catalana]

No way, Jim. I'm not coming.

[Jenna Cottrell]

All right, please be sure to, like, comment what you think needs to change or what you have seen or what you expect.

[Mike Catalana]

Is there anything that doesn't need to change?

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, what do you want to get off your chest? Yeah, drop it in the comment section. Please be sure to, like, comment. Subscribe to the podcast. We always appreciate it. Remind everyone you can find our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, wherever you find your podcasts. For Mike Catalana and Dan Fates, I am Jenna Cottrell. Thank you for watching the Buffalo plus channel. We do appreciate it.