Before the Buffalo Bills‘ Week 9 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd called the clash a must-win game for the Bills.

Cowherd said that if Buffalo was able to win the game, it would firmly state that it was one of the top teams in the AFC and a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Conversely, Cowherd stated that if the Bills lost, it would be a sign that they had peaked and that they shouldn’t be taken all that seriously.

Well, Buffalo ended up losing by a score of 24-18 on Sunday night, and afterward, Cowherd ripped into the Bills.

Cowherd first took aim at head coach Sean McDermott. While he credited him for cleaning things up in Buffalo and helping turn the franchise around, he said that he does not think McDermott is a “visionary” or a “creative.”

He also criticized McDermott for not being able to develop a ground game and relying too heavily on quarterback Josh Allen, who Cowherd thinks is breaking down because of all of the hits he has taken and continues to take.

Cowherd thinks that Allen is starting to show his age and that McDermott is beginning to show his ceiling.

Of course, Allen is just 27 years old, but the wear and tear he has absorbed over the last several years has surely taken a toll on him. He has been banged up this season and played with a bad shoulder against the Bengals.

Cowherd also questioned exactly what the Bills do well, pointing out the fact that they rank 17th in both offense and defense and that Pro Football Focus ranks them 30th in special teams.

Buffalo has certainly been one of the NFL’s most puzzling teams this season. It has looked thoroughly dominant for stretches, like between Weeks 2 and 4 when it went 3-0 and outscored its opponents 123-33. But otherwise, the Bills have looked incredibly beatable, and they have ugly losses to the New York Jets and New England Patriots on their resume.

Buffalo is now just 5-4 and sits one game behind the Miami Dolphins for first place in the AFC East.

There is still time for the Bills to turn things around, but they have shown little indication that they will be doing that.

Buffalo will take on the Denver Broncos next Monday.

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