MITCH HORUCY
Sports Editor
Image property of the Buffalo Bills.
In what I have deemed the unofficial end of the holiday season, the Buffalo Bills have lost another heartbreaking playoff game.
This time is different, though; the team has fired Sean McDermott after the loss.
This ends an era of Bills football that will be hard to replicate.
McDermott finishes his tenure as the second-winningest coach in Bills history, finishing first in win percentage as well.
He also got fired on a streak of seven straight playoff appearances, the longest streak in team history.
I’ll get more into the firing and potential head coaching targets, but I’d like to talk about the game that got him fired.
The Bills lost 33-30 in overtime to the Denver Broncos.
It’s a game that had countless ups and downs for both teams.
From the perspective of a fan of football and not a Bills fan, it was a tremendous game.
Unfortunately, I am a Bills fan.
Starting with Josh Allen, this was truly the first playoff game where I felt like he was a big reason the team lost.
The lost fumble he had right before halftime is one of the worst plays I’ve seen him make.
But at the same time, Allen is a major reason why the Bills made it that far in the first place.
Despite his four turnovers, he still finished with 349 total yards and three touchdowns.
It’s an incredibly tough loss to stomach, partially because of the turnovers the team had.
Even with five turnovers as a team, they had chances to capitalize and didn’t.
After a Deone Walker interception in the third quarter, Allen threw a pick on the edge of field goal range.
In the fourth quarter, the team had two drives end in field goals, with both drives missing obtainable chances to score a touchdown.
Once again in overtime, the defense got a stop, with the Bills offense needing just a field goal to win the game.
Regardless of the questionable interception call, the team didn’t score, and it led to them losing.
It’s unfortunate, but questionable officiating once again took away from a great game.
As just mentioned, I still think the interception on the throw to Brandin Cooks was a bad call.
By the definition of a catch, he had possession and was touched down; that should be the end of the play.
Not just limited to this game, the definition of “surviving the ground” that we hear so often as football fans is still unclear.
I don’t know what that definition is, but the fact that the infamous “Dez caught it” game was 12 years ago, and we’ve made little-to-no progress with that definition is embarrassing for the league.
Another thing I have a problem with is consistency overall with officiating.
I am a huge fan of letting guys play in the playoffs and swallowing the whistle in big time moments.
As a hockey fan, that’s one of my favorite aspects of the NHL playoffs.
However, calling two penalties in overtime to seal the game doesn’t sit right with me.
It especially doesn’t sit right when Broncos cornerback Riley Moss, the league leader in pass interference calls, was gifted a no-call at the end of regulation.
Neither of these reasons is the reason the Bills lost the game, they’re not excuses, but it’s another great game where fans come away talking about refs.
Moving onto the consequence from this game, McDermott has been fired.
It’s incredibly sad to see him go, as he brought Buffalo from being a laughingstock to a Super Bowl contender year in and year out.
With that being said, I understand the decision.
Owner Terry Pegula said that the team hit the “proverbial playoff wall.”
McDermott did a good job with the defense down the stretch, but in the end, they consistently gave up points in the playoffs.
In the last six playoff losses, the team has given up an average of 33 points per game.
As a defensive head coach, that’s unacceptable.
He leaves Buffalo as the second-greatest coach in franchise history, but it was the right choice.
On the contrary, keeping and then promoting general manager Brandon Beane is an awful choice.
He’s put together a great offensive line but has failed to get Allen any real help besides James Cook.
Here’s a list of Buffalo Bills besides Stefon Diggs that have had a 1,000-yard receiving season since 2020:
End of list.
He also has failed to address the team’s biggest issue on defense, edge pressure.
Another fun list, here’s a list of Buffalo Bills edge rushers that have a sack in the team’s last six postseason losses:
Jerry Hughes in the 2020 AFC Championship, end of list.
If McDermott got fired due to frequent letdowns, I truly don’t know how you don’t fire Beane as well.
With that being said, the Bills now have the most coveted job opening in the NFL in my eyes, especially with the Ravens hiring Jesse Minter.
I’ve gone back and forth on who my top candidate is, but there’s numerous that I think can lead the team.
Two guys that I’m extremely high on are Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Broncos offensive pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Davis Webb.
Starting with Flores, he was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019-2021, going 24-25 in those three seasons.
It wasn’t a great tenure, but the team finished one game out of the playoffs in his second year with the team.
He’s a defensive-minded coach, which may turn some people away from the idea of hiring Flores, but I don’t think it should.
One of my favorite football content creators, Theo Ash, had this to say about Flores in a recent TikTok video, “He is to defense what Ben Johnson is to offense.” He’s not wrong.
In his six years calling the defense, his team has been top seven in points allowed three times as well as leading the league in takeaways twice.
He also checks the box when it comes to culture, which I imagine Pegula and Beane will want to continue even with McDermott gone.
Flores was an assistant under Bill Belichick for 14 years, who knows a few things about culture.
Allen has proved that he can get it done with whoever calls plays on offense.
Defense has been the reason you lost in almost every playoff game. Get a guy who won’t allow that to happen.
The next guy is Webb, who couldn’t be more different from Flores.
Webb has only been coaching for two seasons, starting his career in 2023 as the quarterbacks coach for the Broncos.
He also has never called plays, which is a bit worrisome as you don’t have a ton of time for him to learn.
He has had two years of learning under Sean Payton, one of the best offensive minds of this generation of football.
He’ll need to hire good coordinators to help him out, and for this I’d bring in Kliff Kingsbury as the offensive coordinator.
He’s only 31 and a big question mark, but he’s played alongside Allen, worked under a great offensive mind and seems to have interest around the league.
If Allen wants him, I’d hire him.
Some of the candidates I wouldn’t hire are Brian Daboll, Joe Brady and Philip Rivers now, who got an interview.
Finishing off with the games this weekend, the NFC Championship should be great, but I’m not sure the same can be said about the AFC.
Starting with Broncos-Patriots, the Bo Nix injury is one of the most interesting injuries I’ve seen.
The way it was announced by Payton, along with no clear look at where or how the injury happened, is something I haven’t seen before.
Even with Jarrett Stidham starting for Denver, I think they have a chance.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has not played great in these playoffs, with five turnovers and just a 58% completion percentage.
He’s also been sacked 10 times in his two playoff games.
If the Broncos can get after Maye, which they likely will, they can steal a few possessions and keep the game close and low scoring.
On offense, I assume Payton is putting together a great game plan to get Stidham easy, high percentage throws to move to ball without putting it in harm’s way.
The run game will also need to come to play if they want a chance.
In the NFC, we may be in for a classic.
The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks will meet for the third time, with the season series split at one.
Their two games this season have been decided by a combined three points.
If the Seahawks want to win, Sam Darnold cannot turn the ball over like he has against the Rams this season.
Losing Zach Charbonnet is huge, but I still have faith that Kenneth Walker can carry the run game.
Playing in Seattle is not easy, especially with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
I think Matt Stafford is too banged up and will get hit a lot by this Seahawks defense.
The first two games were awesome, which gives me hope that the third can be an iconic game.
5th Quarter Predictions:
Standings:
Mitch: 7-3
Matt: 6-4
Jack: 8-2
New England vs Denver, Sun. Jan. 25, 3 p.m. on CBS
Favorite: New England –4.5
Mitch: 19-17 New England
Jack: 30-10 New England
Matt: 23-17 Denver
Los Angeles vs Seattle, Sun. Jan 25, 6:30 p.m. on FOX
Favorite: Seattle –2.5
Mitch: 34-31 Seattle
Jack: 37-34 Seattle
Matt: 31-27 Los Angeles