TAMPA, Fla. - The Buffalo Bills have been telling us for weeks that they know what kind of team they have.

This rough patch they were going through? Don’t worry, they kept telling us, because they’ve got the right players and the right coaches in their locker room to get things turned back around.

I’m guessing that during the first half Sunday night, their definition of what kind of team they have might have differed from that of Bills fans who were lighting up Twitter and/or throwing things in anger at their TV screens as Tampa Bay raced to a 24-3 lead.

But to their credit, the Bills put together a magnificent get-off-the-deck rally in the fourth quarter and pushed the game into overtime when Tyler Bass made a 25-yard field goal with 22 seconds remaining.

Yes, in the end it didn’t work out as the Bills ultimately lost 33-27 in overtime when Tom Brady hit Breshad Perriman with a 58-yard touchdown pass, and yes, they have now lost five of their last eight games and are officially in trouble in the AFC playoff chase.

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But maybe, just maybe, they can build off what happened in the fourth quarter Sunday night and win three, maybe even all four, of their remaining games. Will that be good enough for a playoff berth? It’s awfully tough to know right now, but make no mistake, the Bills are not in a great spot at 7-6 in the jumbled AFC.

It was a shame that the rally did not result in victory because when the Bills tied the game and then won the coin toss to start overtime, it sure felt like it was destiny and they would drive down and win the game.

Instead, they came up with a most inopportune three-and-out, gave the ball back to Brady, and well, we all knew what was going to happen, didn’t we?

Here are some observations I had on this tough loss for the Bills.

1. Tom Brady will never stop torturing the Bills

There is no player in the history of the NFL who has ever had more success against one opponent than Brady has had against the Bills. Brady is now 33-3 in the games he has started against Buffalo.

There are hundreds of quarterbacks who have played in the NFL who would dream of having a career anywhere near as productive as the one Brady has had in just the games he has played against Buffalo.

Brady has now completed 769 of 1,200 passes (63.9%) for 9,032 yards with 72 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. Brady’s yardage total just against the Bills would rank 215th in NFL history.

Yes, only 214 quarterbacks have passed for more yards in their entire career - against all NFL teams - than Brady has against Buffalo.

He’s 44 years old, and he toyed with the Bills throughout the first half as the Bucs raced out to a 24-3 lead. He finished with 363 passing yards and another two TDs.

2. Forget the stats, the Bills defense has problems

All year long the Bills have prided themselves on their defense and they have the rankings to prove it, don’t they? No. 1 in yards allowed, No. 1 in passing yards allowed, No. 2 in points scored.

But as I’ve been saying all year, look who they were playing. Well, Davis Mills, Jacoby Brissett, Mike White, Taylor Heinicke and Trevor Siemian were nowhere to be found.

The Bills' seven wins this season have come against Miami (28th ranked offense), the Jets (22nd), the Texans (32nd), the Saints (23rd), Washington (19th). The only good offensive team they beat was the Chiefs (3rd).

When they came up against the league’s No. 1 offense in the Bucs, it was a mismatch in the first half and because the defense did nothing. The Bucs finished with 488 yards of offense.

And then, after playing so much better in the second half, the Bills had one more catastrophe when Tremaine Edmunds lost Perriman on a crosser over the middle and there was no one else in the secondary in position to make a tackle as Perriman sprinted to the end zone.

3. Credit where credit is due for the late rally

I didn’t see his halftime interview with CBS’ Tracy Wolfson, but Sean McDermott was apparently noticeably emotional and struggling to find words for what he had just witnessed. I can’t blame him. It was unwatchable.

But whatever McDermott said at halftime, the Bills played a much, much better second half on both sides of the ball and it nearly resulted in what would have been the signature win of McDermott’s coaching career.

Down 27-10, the Bills scored 17 points in the final nine minutes of regulation to force the overtime and Josh Allen put forth a performance that will go down as one of his best, and grittiest, even in defeat.

Allen finished with 308 passing yards and another 109 rushing and was responsible for three touchdowns, and he did so playing on a gimpy leg throughout the fourth quarter.

He deserved a better fate than losing to Brady, again.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills mount incredible rally but Tom Brady tortures them again