Bills’ Injury Issues ‘Not the Reason We Lost’ to Chiefs, Says Sean McDermott

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott may have danced around the truth after the AFC Divisional Round loss. Injuries left their mark all over the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott was admirable in his postgame press conference, facing the organization’s uncertain future after yet another January heartbreak in a 27-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

However, in taking the high road, McDermott covered for his team and said what should be considered a falsehood.

Buffalo’s laundry list of injuries played a significant impact in ending their season, even if McDermott didn’t publicly consider it as the reason the Bills lost.

© Jay Biggerstaff, USA TODAY

Yes, big-time players make big-time plays. And the Chiefs made more of them. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen did his part, but receiver Stefon Diggs didn’t. Neither did defensive tackle Ed Oliver.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce did, and he has the Bills’ extensive set of injuries to thank. That isn’t to discredit the Canton-bound tight end. But it was only a matter of time until Kelce left his fingerprints on the AFC Divisional Round.

“I’m confident in this team, I’m confident in Josh, you know we have to continue to grow,” McDermott said after the loss. “And I think a piece is you want to get to a game like this as healthy as you possibly can. That’s not the reason we lost, however.

“Again, we just didn’t do enough defensively.”

The Chiefs moved the ball at will for much of Sunday’s action, which to an extent is to be expected when facing perhaps the greatest to do it. Yet, the drop off in health, especially across the middle of Buffalo’s defense, paved a path for Kelce to do serious, ultimately unrecoverable, damage.

When the two played in Week 14, he had six catches for 83 yards. He didn’t score a touchdown, but the Bills narrowly avoided his lateral, changing their fortunes. They wouldn’t be so lucky on Sunday.

With linebackers Terrel Bernard and Baylon Spector out, Buffalo went into the game with just four active linebackers – something McDermott hadn’t dealt with before. Losing Tyrel Dodson, briefly, only made matters worse.

The Bills were forced to bring veteran linebacker A.J. Klein out of his vacation plans and into Highmark Stadium. Against an elite tight end, it went about as expected.

Kelce caught five of his six targets for 75 yards and two crucial touchdowns. The Chiefs won for the right to visit the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday.

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Simply put, they were not well equipped to cover him. He was open early and often, including against two defensive backs in the first half. Later in the game, he’d find himself in a footrace against Buffalo linebackers – who made it close – but couldn’t tackle him short of the pylon.

Kansas City’s best non-quarterback had an opportunity worth salivating over against the Bills defense. He hadn’t scored since Week 11! Buffalo kept it close – so close – but that connection was pivotal in ending their season. Given the health of their roster, there may not have been anything they could do about it.