Frustration shows after Bills come up short

Buffalo has lost 8 straight that were decided by seven or fewer points

N.Y. Forget the excuses of the Buffalo Bills being undermanned and overheated in the South Florida humidity.

If there’s one moment encapsulating the frustration of Buffalo’s first loss of the season, it came via a seven-second CBS video clip showing offensive co-ordinator Ken Dorsey’s volatile eruption in the visitor’s coaches booth following a 21-19 loss to the Dolphins.

Ripping off his headset and violently bouncing it off the desk, Dorsey proceeded to trash his game notes before someone had the wisdom to cover the camera lens with their hand.

While Dorsey can no longer laugh off questions about his ultra-competitive reputation, which has been well-documented by players and fellow coaches since ascending to the job this off-season, the Bills must own up to an outcome mostly of their own undoing in a game they dominated Miami in nearly every statistical category.

Their defence, minus four regulars and featuring a secondary of rookies and backups, limited the Dolphins to a meager 212 yards and 15 first downs. Buffalo’s offence, despite finishing the game with a piecemeal line, gained 497 yards on a near-franchise record 90 plays from scrimmage.

And yet, a series of critical errors cost them.

There were mishandled snaps. And a blown coverage, which led to Jalen Waddle’s 45-yard catch — on third-and-22, no less — to set up the go-ahead score.

The Bills failed to respond in being thwarted on five snaps from inside the Miami 6. And a holding penalty on backup lineman David Quessenberry with 18 seconds left led to Buffalo not having enough time to make up the ground and attempt a field goal before time expired.

As much as the Bills (2-1) deserve credit for showing perseverance, what mostly stood out was a team crumbling in familiar fashion with the outcome on the line.

Buffalo can boast having tied the NFL record in winning its past 20 games by 10 or more points.

What’s worrisome is how the Bills have dropped eight straight, including playoffs, in games decided by seven points or fewer. The streak is tied for the NFL’s sixth longest since 2010.

Those losses include squandering a three-point lead in the final 13 seconds of regulation in an eventual 42-36 overtime loss to Kansas City in the AFC divisional playoff round in January.

There was their 14-10 loss to New England last season, in which the Patriots attempted just three passes. And let’s not forget quarterback Josh Allen losing his footing in being stuffed near the goal line on fourth down in the final seconds of a 34-31 loss at Tennessee in October.

Coach Sean McDermott downplayed Buffalo’s struggles in tight games two weeks ago, when noting how the Bills overcame their firsthalf struggles in rallying to outscore the Rams 21-0 in the second half of a 31-10 win. And yet, if the Bills want to be measured as Super Bowl contenders, they’ll face similar questions until showing an ability to win in the clutch. Last season’s final seven playoff games were decided by six points or fewer.

The playoffs are still months away, and perhaps the Bills get the benefit of the doubt for suggesting the loss can be galvanizing, given the adversity they faced.

“Sometimes a loss like this is good medicine,” Von Miller said. “We got high-character guys. Adversity reveals character. This is all just adversity and I’m excited to see how we respond.”

‘‘ This is all just adversity and I’m excited to see how we respond.

VON MILLER BILLS LINEBACKER