Josh Allen can't save the Bills from themselves forever

Buffalo Bills fans probably have zero interest in engaging with any naysaying right now, and I can't say I blame them. What their team pulled off on Sunday night, erasing a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to steal a win over the Baltimore Ravens on a last-second field goal, was among the best regular-season moments we've seen in recent NFL history — one that, as an added bonus, puts Buffalo in the catbird seat for AFC playoff positioning in a few months' time.

It was also a testament to the greatness of Josh Allen, and to the fact that, as long as he's Buffalo's starting quarterback, the Bills will always have a chance in every game they play. The Ravens spent much of Sunday night looking downright unstoppable; Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry might be the two most difficult players to tackle in the entire league, and putting them in the same backfield just feels downright unfair. But no matter how many times Baltimore threatened to put the game to bed, Allen kept Buffalo within shouting distance, throwing for nearly 400 yards and rushing for 30 more. And when a Henry fumbled opened the door just a crack, Allen was ready to kick it down with three scoring drives in the final four minutes of game time.

All of which is spectacular, and worth celebrating ... and yet. In the cold light of day, it's hard to shake the nagging voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me how vulnerable the Bills looked for the overwhelming majority of Sunday night's game. Allen has been a one-man offense for years now; if that were all that were required to win a Super Bowl, Buffalo would've finally gotten over the hump by now, likely more than once.

But of course, football is a team game, and no one man can do it alone, not even one as gifted as Allen. The Bills have been undone in recent years not by their quarterback but by their defense, a unit that has consistently failed to deliver in the biggest moments and has forced Allen to be more than perfect to beat the AFC's elite. That, more than anything, is what will determine whether this is finally Buffalo's year — and based on what we saw in Week 1, it's hard to feel too optimistic.

Bills' thrilling win can't hide concerns about Sean McDermott's defense

It's worth remembering just how thin the margins are here. If Henry holds onto the ball, or if John Harbaugh keeps his offense on the field to try and convert a fourth-and-2 and salt away the clock, Buffalo likely loses — and rather than spending Monday morning (rightfully) singing Allen's praises, we're instead marveling at just how unstoppable Jackson seemed and how Bills head coach Sean McDermott seems no closer to finding an answer against the best quarterbacks in the sport.

McDermott is a good head coach, and he's done yeoman's work keeping Buffalo's defense afloat amid a myriad of personnel challenges over the last couple of years. But when the chips have been down, his unit simply hasn't been good enough: It wasn't good enough in last year's AFC Championship Game, when it couldn't get Patrick Mahomes off the field in the fourth quarter; or in the 2023 Divisional Round, when it allowed eight yards per play to Mahomes and the Chiefs; or most significantly in the 13 Seconds game back in 2021.

To really buy into the Bills, we need to see McDermott make some headway against the likes of Baltimore and Kansas City. Buffalo's defense doesn't need to be dominant; Mahomes and Jackson are going to get theirs, to a certain extent. But this defense does need to be able to get a key stop or two, and while they technically checked that box on Sunday, it was in just about the least inspiring way imaginable.

Seriously: The Ravens averaged 8.6 yards per play! The Bills got off the field on each of their final two possessions, but that felt as much like good fortune as anything, reliant on 1) a Henry fumble and 2) Harbaugh taking the ball out of his own offense's hands. After watching that display, do you really trust this defense to make a play when it has to moving forward? Which team would be favored in a rematch on a neutral field?

Of course, this could all be moot. Allen is that good, and the margins are that thin at the top of the conference. Maybe this is just the year that the Bills finally get the ball to bounce their way for a change. But the sledding wouldn't be quite so tough if Buffalo had a defense that could offer at least some resistance. Unfortunately, the changes they made in the offseason didn't seem to matter much in their first true test.