Open Letter: Time for the Bills to Move on From Sean McDermott

The Buffalo Bills lost yet another heartbreaking game yesterday.

The Bills fell to the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 37-34 in overtime. The loss drops Buffalo to 6-6, and with the upcoming toughest remaining schedule in the AFC, the playoff chances are as low as they have ever been since 2019.

What makes yesterday's loss more frustrating is how well Josh Allen played.

Outside of one interception by James Bradberry, Allen played a phenomenal game. He made incredible throws and vintage Allen runs for first downs, including one for a touchdown that was arguably his best play of the season.

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The offense looked in-synch. Interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady called a great game, as the Bills put up 34 points on a great Eagles defense.

The Bills defense played a great first half, making Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts look downright awful. Unfortunately for the Bills, the Eagles found their groove in the second half and got back in the game. The Bills defense let up 30 points in the second half and overtime.

The Bills had a touchdown drive which ended with a Gabe Davis touchdown catch, with less than two minutes left. The Eagles then kicked a game-tying, 59-yard field goal with 20 seconds left. Instead of allowing his offense (which had been dominating most of the game) to try and get into field goal range with one timeout left, head coach Sean McDermott decided to kneel the ball and get to overtime.

The Bills only kicked a field goal after a miscommunication by Davis and Allen, then the Eagles marched down the field for a game-winning Jalen Hurts 12-yard touchdown run.

This is a game the Bills should not have lost. They gained over 500 yards of total offense, converted 10 third downs and won the turnover battle. They are the first team in NFL history with all those statistics and lost.

The time has come for the Bills to move on from McDermott.

I know, in a way that feels crazy to say, because McDermott has led the Bills to four straight playoff appearances and five of six seasons with a playoff appearance. He broke the 17-year playoff drought and was absolutely the right coach and the right time in 2017.

But the Bills have reached their limit with him as head coach.

The loss against the Eagles on Sunday is the latest in a troubling pattern of ridiculous losses that defy explanation.

• Houston Texans Wild Card (2019)
• The Hail Murray loss in Arizona (2020)
• Pittsburgh Steelers opener (2021)
• Wind game vs the Patriots (2021)
• 13 seconds vs the Chiefs (2021)
• Minnesota Vikings loss (2022)
• No-Show in the AFC Divisional round vs the Bengals (2022)
• New York Jets opener (2023)
• Losing to Mac Jones and the Patriots (2023)
• 12 men on the field vs. the Broncos (2023)
• Eagles loss (2023)

Some of those games are on the offense, some are on the defense, while some are equal blame. One constant has been McDermott.

Josh Allen has had turnovers and yes, has not been perfect...but he's been great far too many times where it should have been enough to win the game and to advance to the Super Bowl (13 seconds). You're obviously not going to get rid of Allen.

McDermott's decisions vs. the Eagles were very troubling. He called a timeout to ice the kicker who was staring at a 59-yard field goal in downpouring rain. If he had kept the timeout, the Bills would have had two timeouts and 20 seconds to try and win the game before overtime. The Bills should know better than anyone that 20 seconds with a timeout or two is plenty of time to try and win the game.

It feels as if McDermott tried to rely on his defense, who was getting gashed in the second half, to win him that game, instead of entrusting the offense and a red hot quarterback. It was a decision that could have cost Buffalo the game.

This comes two weeks after he allowed his team to have 12 men on the field, which lost them the Broncos game on Monday night.

At some point this cannot continue. The Bills need better. The argument against moving on from McDermott is "who else are you going to get?"

If you're worried that the next head coach won't be as good as a head coach who cannot get you past a certain point, then we have a real problem here. That can't be a reason to keep him. The Bills need a new voice. This keeps happening time and time again, the Bills cannot win these "game of the year" contests. They're 0-6 in overtime since 2019.

The Bills and McDermott are literally wasting away the prime years of Allen's career. He will not be any better than right now, which is level of frustration I did not know even existed.

McDermott has fired his offensive coordinator, special teams coordinator and safeties coach since 13 seconds. The next logical move would be to make a move at head coach.

If the Bills miss the playoffs, this team will not look the same. Many veterans will be gone and so should the head coach.