Buffalo Authority

When the Bills lost back-to-back games last month it was well documented that a “two game slide” has been an annual occurrence during their 5-year command of the AFC East. Two dominant wins after that and it appeared that just like in seasons prior, the Bills had moved past their slump and were ready for a long win streak. Talks of the 1-seed crept back up this week as the Bills headed down to Miami to play a team that just fired their GM and sold off one of their best defensive players in a game that should have been a commanding victory for the Bills. The tone from the locker room after their sobering 30-13 defeat to the Miami Dolphins was not one of resolve or focus, as was the case after their losses to the Patriots and Falcons. Instead, the emotion inside the locker room Sunday was one they we have not heard from a Sean McDermott led team in quite some time, if at all. Confusion, dejection, and defeat was the tone on Sunday afternoon, and it started at the top.

Josh Allen, always quick to put the blame on himself (and he did many times in the two minutes he spoke to the media) ended his press conference with an eye-popping quote about Keon Coleman. Allen was asked if Coleman had done enough with his opportunities to date and after a very lengthy pause he said, “He got one [a touchdown] today, so yeah.” The response falls well short of the usual ringing endorsement Allen has of his guys.

Shifting to Coleman, the wide receiver was asked why he thought the passing game is still not consistently there after 10 weeks. His response was, “I mean, if I knew the answer to that – shit, we wouldn’t be talking about it right now. So we just go back to the drawing board.” An uninspiring answer for a player whose maturity had apparently evolved this past offseason. Of course now we know it hasn’t, as he has been late to meetings again this year, benched to start a game while and his head coach and GM continue to talk about him needing to take a step.

Dion Dawkins, the ultimate quote machine and cheerleader for this squad had some troubling things to say, as well. “Who knows?” was his response when asked how concerning it was that a 2-7 team played harder than them. He went on to the say that they need to “Consistently remind yourself and your teammates that it its hard to win in this league and you have to be at your best at all times.” It must be asked why a team with a culture as good as it is and a roster as experienced as it is with “playoff caliber” football still need this reminder in November during a season where they have already endured bad losses prior.

Moving to longtime Bills veteran Dawson Knox, after being told that he was the third leader to say the Dolphins wanted it more and asked how that could happen to the Bills: “I don’t know – it was clear out there on the field…it definitely felt like they wanted it more. We have to do a lot of self evaluation.” Asked why the passing game has had a hard time getting going Knox again said, “I don’t know.”

DaQuan Jones seemed to contradict his offensive teammates, or at least turn his nose up at their excuses of not being ready. “This is the NFL man, if you ain’t wanting to play or be ready to play, you gotta look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day. I don’t know how to answer that question right now – we get paid a lot of money to go out there and compete. You’re telling me someone wants it more than you then so be it.”

Right now it seems to me that for the first time in eight seasons Sean McDermott is having trouble with his players buying in. The Bills pride themselves on “sustained success” and the players who come here mention that a clear culture has been established. For some reason this year there is a disconnect with that message. Look no further than Dion mentioning they need daily reminders that it is “hard to win in this league”, which is one of McDermott’s signature lines.

Ending with the man who is at the top of it all, his response to wether or not he agreed with Brandon Beane that this team was championship caliber, McDermott replied, “I love these players.” For a man who is extremely calculated and thoughtful in his responses to the media, that answer is equally as telling and concerning for a team, and possibly even a head coach, that is clearly soul-searching right now.