ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills traveled out to Denver knowing they had little room for error in their quest to earn a playoff berth. They flew back home knowing they now have no room for error. Thanks to a 24-17 loss to the Broncos, Buffalo will now need to win its final three games, and get some help around the AFC, if it hopes to end its 14-year postseason drought.

“There are guys in this locker room that have been around here for a long time, we’ve gone through a lot together,” said tight end Lee Smith. “We put ourselves in a position where we are actually playing for something in December this year. The bottom line is that we didn’t win.”

At 7-6, the Bills are in the “in the hunt” category, but with a 4-6 record in AFC games, it’s not much of a hunt, especially when you consider they play host to Aaron Rodgers and red-hot Green Bay Sunday, and finish the year at arch-nemesis Tom Brady and New England on Dec. 28. In between they play at Oakland, which has now won two of its last three games after an 0-10 start.

What frustrated the Bills in Denver is that the defense did a solid job against the high-powered Broncos offense led by Peyton Manning. Denver had season-lows for first downs (15) and total yards (306), and Manning threw for a season-low 173 yards. His 56.9 passer rating was his worst since 2008.

“I feel like it’s a game we could win; I wasn’t overly impressed,” cornerback Corey Graham said of the Broncos, who are now 10-3. “We made plays, we just didn’t make enough.”

Buffalo’s pass rush was shut out for the first time in 25 games dating back to 2013, and this was the first time this season it didn’t register at least two sacks. However, the defense did its part as it forced three turnovers – two interceptions and a fumble – and gave the offense an opportunity to make something happen. Instead, quarterback Kyle Orton did nothing with those chances as the Bills fell into a 24-3 hole. Two garbage-time fourth-quarter touchdown drives made the game seem closer than it probably should have been.

Coach Doug Marrone accepted full blame for the loss, but several players felt differently.

“You know what? Good for Coach Marrone for taking the blame, we definitely appreciate that, because that means he has our backs, but it’s not on him,” said Smith. “We’re the ones out there. He’s not the one out there getting penalties, we are. Sure, he might not have mentioned it during the week as much as he wishes and maybe he’s beating himself up about it, but it’s on us as players and we’ve got to get it fixed.”

REPORT CARD VS. BRONCOS

PASSING OFFENSE: C — Kyle Orton threw for 355 yards, but 183 of that came in the fourth quarter when the game was mostly decided as the Broncos began the period up 24-3. Orton set a club record with 57 attempts and tied the team record with 38 completions, but he also threw two picks, one in the red zone, and he just didn’t make enough key throws early in the game. WR Sammy Watkins broke out of a month-long slump with seven catches for 127 yards, but he lost a fumble. TE Scott Chandler had eight catches, and WR Chris Hogan caught a touchdown pass, but WR Robert Woods was oddly ignored as he was targeted only four times. The offensive line was touched for four sacks, but Orton didn’t help the cause with his lack of mobility.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-plus — The Bills were able to run fairly effectively in the first half as they managed 62 yards, but once they fell behind 21-3 early in the third quarter they abandoned the run and attempted only four more rushes, one a QB sneak touchdown by Orton. Fred Jackson gained 35 of Buffalo’s 74 yards, but Bryce Brown and Boobie Dixon combined for just 26 yards.

PASS DEFENSE: B-plus — Peyton Manning didn’t have a very good game, and part of that was Buffalo’s solid play in the back end. CBs Stephon Gilmore and Corey Graham each made interceptions, but each had lengthy returns into Denver territory wiped out by penalties which cost the Bills about 75 yards in field position. Graham also recovered a fumble after a pass reception by Jacob Tamme that was recovered by SS Duke Williams. Manning finished with a season-low 173 passing yards. The Bills’ front four did not have a good game. Manning dropped back only 20 times, but wasn’t even pressured, let alone sacked.

RUSH DEFENSE: D — The Bills didn’t get gouged as the final tally was 135 yards, but when the Broncos needed to run, they were successful. This was most evident on the goal line as the Bills could not stop C.J. Anderson, who rushed for three touchdowns. Anderson gained only 58 yards after going for more than 165 in each of his last two games. Juwan Thompson ripped off a 47-yard run for Denver when FS Aaron Williams whiffed badly on a tackle.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D — The Bills have played well in the kicking game most of the year, but not against Denver. Jordan Gay had a mystifying day. In the thin air of the Mile High City he should have been kicking the ball through the end zone. Instead, he mis-hit two of three and it cost the Bills 50 yards in returns. Punter Colton Schmidt also should have had a good time in the altitude, but he turned in one of his worst games with a 31.7-yard net average on three punts. Marcus Thigpen had one kickoff return for 27 yards, and there were no chances for punt returns.

COACHING: B-plus – Doug Marrone just can’t handle fourth-down situations. Down 14 points with 5:25 left at his own 16, he opted to punt the ball back to Peyton Manning. Otherwise, it wasn’t a bad day for the coaching staff. The offensive plan by Nathaniel Hackett wasn’t terrible; he was hurt by the play of his quarterback. On defense, Jim Schwartz locked up Manning and held Denver to 306 yards and 15 first downs, both season lows.