At NFL Scouting Combine, it Became Clear the Bills Must Address Gorilla in the Room

There have been more than whispers about Sean McDermott's mismanagement of the final 13 seconds of regulation in playoff loss at Kansas City.

INDIANAPOLIS — Those last 13 seconds of regulation at Kansas City are not going away, and ignoring them is only going to make it worse for Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott and the winning culture he's built but may no longer be able to sustain.

Dismissing the team for the offseason without talking about it privately, much less publicly, only served to plant doubts in the minds of players and others inside the building about his ability to get them all the way to the top, Bills Central learned at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine.

It has become clear that the team's devastating, dumbfounding playoff loss in overtime to the Chiefs will almost certainly prove to be a watershed moment either way. What direction the Bills head from there will have almost nothing to do with improving the team's talent and almost everything to do with what the coach does next.

At the Combine, McDermott once again had a chance to shed some light on those disastrous 13 seconds at the Combine. All he provided again was darkness.

But the problem is not what McDermott says for the world to hear. He wouldn't be expected to share much anyway. It's the fact that he's acted the same way behind closed doors that's been so disconcerting.

Ignoring the problem won't make it go away, and telling his players that the horrific way the team was managed in those 13 seconds simply will be a "learning moment" and that the "execution" wasn't what it needed to be or some such just isn't going to cut it.

They need clarity and closure.

They need to know why the kickoff after they took a three-point lead was boomed through the back of the end zone, which allowed the Chiefs to take possession at their 25-yard line with no time going off the clock.

They need to know why the absolute wrong defense was dialed up that allowed the Chiefs' receivers free releases from the line of scrimmage with the Bills' defensive backs 30 yards off the line of scrimmage at the snap.

They need to know why more, if not all, defenders weren't dropped into coverage with such little time remaining. That would have made things much more difficult for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who would have had to get rid of the ball quickly no matter what, considering how much time was left. Instead, they inexplicably rushed four.

The result was far too predictable. Professionals that they are, the Chiefs easily completed the two pass plays gifted to them for a total of 44 yards to get in position for a game-tying field goal as time expired.

They won in overtime after winning the coin toss and driving for a touchdown, which meant Bills quarterback Josh Allen wouldn't get a chance to touch the football again after passing for 329 yards and four touchhdowns without an interception.

Even Andy Reid, McDermott's counterpart on the opposite sideline, couldn't screw that one up. McDermott's long-time coaching mentor would have to wait until the following week to put his fingerprints on a crime scene.

In the meantime, McDermott has refused to address the issue with his players, who apparently are more confused than he was about the course of action during those final seconds of regulation.

Some are downright disgruntled.

“You preach accountability,” one player told Tyler Dunne of Go Long. “But you don’t practice it.”

Good morn, all. Sean McDermott isn't talking about "13 Seconds," but I chatted with players who will. What happened? Where do the Bills go from here?

"It was a bad, bad situation."

The story at Go Long:https://t.co/8aLSscvtuw

— Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) March 4, 2022

"You don't get over a game like that," said another.

Sources at the Combine confirmed that some players aren't satisfied with the way McDermott has avoided the issue and are questioning the way the end of regulation was managed.

Fact is, the Bills didn't appear to make any adjustments to slow the Chiefs' passing game at any time during the game, playing soft coverage the whole time, allowing their opponents to get into a rhythm that produced 42 points against the top-ranked defense in the NFL.

The players want answers McDermott has been unwilling to provide.

If the coach wants to keep that epic collapse from reversing the upward trajectory of his franchise, the only way that's going to happen is by getting out in front of this.

When the players next gather for their first 2022 offseason minicamp, McDermott has to bring them all into a meeting room and talk about it, be transparent and don't dismiss them until all their questions have been answered.

Unless or until that happens, there is serious doubt the Bills ever will be able to climb as high as they need to under his leadership.

They don't need him to say anything in front of the cameras and open microphones. They just need closure — behind closed doors.

That will be more important than anything McDermott can ever do or has ever achieved in his time with the Bills.

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.