The Buffalo Bills came into their game against the New York Jets cruising. Fresh off a bye and a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs before that, the Bills have all the pieces in place to dominate the division-rival Jets. However, the downstate rivals didn’t get the memo in the Bills Week 9 contest. The Bills-Jets game was close throughout, and it was Zach Wilson and company who came up big with the clock winding down to win the game. Buffalo remains in first place in the AFC East, but this game highlighted some flaws in the team that could cost them again down the line. Here are the four Bills most to blame for the Week 9 loss vs. the Jets, including quarterback Josh Allen.

3. Jordan Poyer and Matt Milano

It’s unfair to blame two players who didn’t step on the field in the Bills Week 9 loss, but blaming Jordan Poyer and Matt Milano, who sat out with injuries, illustrates the point that injuries on the defensive side of the ball are killing the Bills.

The Bills were already missing Poyer’s partner in crime, Micah Hyde, who is out for the season with a neck injury. And All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White still hasn’t returned from last year’s ACL injury.

Despite these MIA stars, the Bills defense has been good. That changed in the Bills-Jets game without Poyer and Milano, two of the biggest defensive playmakers on the roster.

Their absence really showed up in the run game. Without Milano — who spied Patrick Mahomes and made some incredible open-field tackles vs. the Baltimore Ravens — the Jets ran wild. The home team ran for 174 yards vs. the Bills, and Poyer’s replacement, Jaquan Johnson had several key missed tackles on big runs.

This loss isn’t Poyer and Milano’s “fault.” Injuries happen in the NFL. But if they keep happening to key Bills defensive players, the unit could be in for a long second half of the season.

2. Gabriel Davis

Josh Allen was terrible in this game (more on that below), but when Gabriel Davis had a chance to help his QB out, he simply didn’t come through.

For the Bills to truly be a Super Bowl contender, Gabriel Davis is the key piece on offense. Stefon Diggs is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, so we know what the team is getting from him. The running game is good (not great), the offensive line is solid, and tight end Dawson Knox has his moments.

The one big X factor is Davis. If Buffalo gets the 2021 AFC playoffs four-touchdown beast, the offense is as good as (or probably better than) any offense in the league. If they get the Davis who struggles to separate and drops passes, you get a situation like in the Bills Week 9 matchup with the Jets.

Davis caught just two of five targets for 33 yards. He had some big drops, too, including on the final Bills offensive play of the game. Despite his struggles, Allen hit Davis right in the numbers on 4th-and-21 with 30 seconds to go. It may not have won the game, but it would have given Allen a few more chances. We’ll never know, though, because Davis dropped it.

And P.S., stop with the pass interference whining on that play.

1. Josh Allen

Now we come to the heart of the team’s struggles in the Bills-Jets game. Josh Allen was bad. His final line was 18-of-35 for 205 yards with two interceptions, no touchdown passes, and five sacks.

He did have nine carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns on the ground on Sunday. But the Bills needed their quarterback in the Meadowlands, not a 6-foot-5 fullback.

The interceptions were absolutely unconscionable. Allen threw the picks directly into Jordan Whitehead and Sauce Gardner’s arms. They weren’t hard throws or exotic coverages. They were both just horrible throws from Allen that changed the course of the game.

Allen was also uncharacteristically inaccurate during this game. He completed just 52.9% of his passes, which is the third time this season Allen’s gone under 53% passing. The Bills sneaked out wins vs. the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens, but winning with Allen throwing this poorly isn’t sustainable.

And as bad as Allen was, the worst part of the game was watching him shake out his arm on the final series and thinking about life for the Bills with Allen injured, too.

Allen is one of the best players in the league and was (and still can be with a few good games) an MVP candidate. However, he is the biggest culprit in the Bills Week 9 loss to the Jets, and if he doesn’t figure out how to play better soon, things could get ugly in Orchard Park.