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The football gods sent the 2022 Buffalo Bills some of their toughest battles this season. A team who's offense and defense had been a juggernaut in the NFL for years prior dealt with injury after injury to key players. And while Josh Allen and the Bills still ranked second in the NFL in team total offense, key season ending injuries to the defense such as Von Miller and Micah Hyde, and obviously Damar Hamlin, mixed with small stinging injuries like Josh Allen's throwing elbow, Matt Milano and Jordan Poyer suffering similar knee ailments, Jordan Phillips playing through a torn rotator cuff and needing offseason surgery, and a Mitch Morse concussion meant that the Bills gave the phrase "next man up" a whole new meaning, as Buffalo still managed to finish the regular season with a 13-3 record and win their third straight AFC East title.
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While Buffalo was still able to put together a regular season that fans of most other teams would kill for, their injuries proved too big a feat for them to overcome in the postseason, as they were thrashed by the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday's AFC Divisional round. Both the defense and the offense decided to take the day off in one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the playoffs this year.
Bills Twitter has spent the last 24 hours trying to figure out who to point fingers at. In a poorly coached game, who's to blame? Head coach Sean McDermott? Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey? Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier? Was it Josh Allen himself? While the fans are having varying discussions on who's most at fault, it seems as if Stefon Diggs also had an opinion on the matter.
Cameras caught a headed exchange on the Bills sideline late in the game, as Diggs seemed to be jawing at Allen. Diggs was clearly upset over the fact that Dorsey schemed up nothing for the star wide receiver, and Josh Allen refused to involve him in a win-or-go-home game.
It was also reported that Diggs was seen storming out of the Bills locker room with all of his belongings after the game was over.
The sting of the loss obviously still remains, for players more than fans. I'm going to refrain from writing my thoughts down here, in fear of saying something out of disappointment that I might later regret. So I'll probably wait until after the Super Bowl to let things cool down before I really get into it.
One thing is for sure; the Buffalo Bills championship window will never be more wide open than it is right now. There needs to be serious changes made in the offseason to ensure that the Bills return to top dog of the AFC next year and that these prime years are not wasted.