Rex Ryan's Bills Are Once Again a Rex Ryan Team; and That's Not Good Enough

History is repeating itself for Rex Ryan, and that's the most worrying sign of all in a 2015 season full of worrying signs for the Buffalo Bills.

After the Bills' 35-25 defeat at the hands of the Washington Redskins that took place in a more embarrassing fashion than the final score suggests, the best Buffalo can finish this season is as an 8-8 team on the outside of the postseason hunt. Like each of Ryan's final four seasons in New York, his squad will have to find its own motivation down the stretch.

With resilient performances throughout the first half of 2015 and plenty of other scapegoats—injuries, general manager Doug Whaley, offensive play-calling—distracting Buffalo fans from the truth, Sunday was a sobering, introspective look into a team that in many ways threw the towel in on its season before it was mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

It took some time for the Bills to get off the team bus, at least mentally. They allowed Redskins touchdowns on each of their first three possessions, with quarterback Kirk Cousins leading scoring drives of 11 and 10 plays to take it to a defense that's supposed to reflect Ryan's defensive expertise.

After three punts and a turnover on downs for their four first-half possessions, the Bills offense did eventually get it together. Tyrod Taylor had some nice throws to Sammy Watkins and kept Buffalo within striking distance, but it was all moot once Cousins helped Washington punch it into the end zone twice more down the stretch.

In the end, the result left the Bills out of the postseason for yet another season—continuing an unbelievable streak as NFL.com's Chris Trapasso noted:

The 15 seasons of playoff-less football in Buffalo before this one obviously don't fall on Ryan's shoulders, but it's hard to deny the similarity between those issues and the one that ate away at Ryan's reputation as the Jets head coach.

In six seasons in the Big Apple, Ryan went from a savant of motivation and fire to a coach who just can't get the best out of his players. From back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances to four straight seasons at .500 or worse, his act quickly wore thin.

It would've been tough to make the argument that his Bills are following in those footsteps, with injuries across the board stymying what was a promising start. After the most discouraging of performances against a similarly skilled Redskins team, it's beginning to become apparent that Buffalo's problems might exist past just the on-field personnel.

As he should, Ryan sent out a message to every player on the roster in the wake of a team-wide lull, but he didn't direct his statement just to the players, as ESPN's Mike Rodak noted:

Ryan is right to include coaches in that so-called threat, but he better not forget about himself when making those remarks.

This season wasn't a make-or-break year for Ryan by any means in his first year in Buffalo, but it's impossible to deny the fact that he's leading an underachieving team. These Bills have shown they have the talent capable of making it to the postseason, even if they have to compete with the mighty Patriots in the AFC East.

Right in the thick of the AFC wild-card standings through half the season, the simple fact that the Bills leave Week 15 eliminated from the postseason is an obvious indication that Ryan is underachieving along with the rest of the team.

It would be far-fetched to assume Ryan could get the boot after an initial season around the .500 mark, but HBO's Bill Simmons is one who thinks that might be the best outcome:

Bills apologists might point toward head-scratching play-calling from offensive coordinator Greg Roman or the slew of injuries that took a toll on both sides of the ball. But the reality is, Ryan walked into a locker room with a defense he promised to mold into the physically dominant units he coached in New York. 

That hasn't happened, and the Bills defense is looking worse and worse by the week. It's only amplified the type of team-wide descent that typically falls onto the shoulders of the head coach.

These Bills may not have given up on their coaches, but signs have arisen to indicate that the locker room isn't where it needs to be. As NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported before Sunday's game, star defensive end Mario Williams is at a "fundamental disconnect" with the coach, which could lead to his departure in the offseason. 

When a team's best player is clashing with a new coach in this public of a fashion, it more than likely means he's speaking for some of the players who aren't as willing to go public with their displeasures.

The Bills may not be quite there roster-wise, but they should be above having to win out down the stretch just to get to .500. At some point, the responsibility of that has to fall onto the head coach.

And when you take that into account, the Bills have gotten exactly what they asked for in hiring Rex Ryan to coach this team.