The Buffalo Bills’ Sean McDermott said he warned his players not to expect calls to go their way against the Kansas City Chiefs at the Arrowhead Stadium as they controversially crashed out of the NFL Playoffs.
A decision to deny Josh Allen a first down in the fourth quarter helped the Patrick Mahomes‘ team ride out the storm from the New Yorkers to book their place in Super Bowl LIX, against the Philadelphia Eagles.
However, whilst it was a tight call, later analysis appears to show the Bills quarterback did manage to get the ball over the line and thus, he and his time should’ve retained possession of the ball.
Fans have been left incensed at the decision and McDermott admitted he was prepared for it, although the 50-year-old head coach stopped shy of blaming the referees for their AFC Championship game exit.
“We went into the game and one of my messages to the team, and this happens from time to time, is you’re not going to get calls,” McDermott told media. “We’re not going to get calls.
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“And I think when you prepare a team, you prepare them ahead of time, mentally, for this is the way it’s going down. And you live with that. That’s not the reason why we lost. You start looking at that, you lose sight of all the things.
“All the adjustments you can make as a team, or as a person, coach, player, what have you to improve who we are and how we do things. So, there’s going to be some of that, and you have to be above that and play above that.”
Bills can’t blame the refs
It was not only Allen’s called incomplete fourth-and-one that caused a stir either. Moments later, the Chiefs’ Xavier Worthy had a catch rule complete despite the youngster appearing to struggle against dropping the ball before hitting the ground.
But the Bills must also blame themselves too. Dalton Kincaid, tight end, dropped a key catch and allowed the Chiefs to escape once again, before Allen could later fail to be unable to find the points needed.
“Should be a catch,” Kincaid said, aer per Alex Brasky. “I believe you grow from this, but for the time being it hurts a lot.”