Tearful Josh Allen gets emotional after season-ending loss

The Buffalo Bills' path to the Super Bowl seemed clear this year.

Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson didn't make the playoffs, and while the Bills weren't the favorite, it looked like it was Josh Allen's time to get the monkey off his back.

That's when Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos' defense came to spoil the party.

Allen and the Bills turned the ball over five times, and not even putting up 30 points was enough to get the win. That's why, following the loss, the reigning MVP shouldered the blame.

Emotional Josh Allen blames himself for the season-ending loss

“It’s extremely difficult. I feel like I let my teammates down tonight,” a tearful Allen said, via 7 News WKBW. “Missed opportunities throughout the game. It’s been a long season. I hate how it ended and that’s going to stick with me for a long time. You can’t win with five turnovers. I fumbled twice, threw two picks. When you shoot yourself in the foot like that you don’t deserve to win.”

The Bills rallied from a 23-10 deficit and forced overtime with a field goal. They were on the wrong end of some unlucky bounces and questionable calls. Even so, Allen said the team shouldn't have been in that type of position in the first place, and he felt responsible for how things went down.

“I love my teammates,” Allen said. “I’m extremely sorry and disappointed in how this ended.”

Football is a team sport at the end of the day. Allen did more than enough to keep his team afloat, even without the type of weapons a player of his caliber should have.

It was a disappointing end to the season, especially given the context.

But that also speaks volumes about how competitive this league is. There are no easy paths to the Super Bowl, regardless of who is and isn't playing.