Bills coach Sean McDermott is facing plenty of criticism for the decisions he made late in the fourth quarter of the Bills’ overtime loss to the Eagles on Sunday.
The most questionable decision was to play for overtime and have Josh Allen kneel down and run out the clock when the Bills got the ball at the 25-yard line with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Bills had an opportunity to get into range for a game-winning field goal in regulation, but McDermott said he worried about Allen taking a sack, and didn’t know if 20 seconds would be enough time.
“I thought about it. I thought about going for it. It’s just with their pass rushers and 20 seconds,” McDermott said.
The Bills were down to one timeout at the end of the fourth quarter after using one to get their defense called before the Eagles’ final offensive play of regulation, and another one to ice Eagles kicker Jake Elliott before he hit the game-tying 59-yard field goal. Asked why he didn’t save his timeouts for a final offensive drive, McDermott suggested that’s the kind of question people ask after a loss — but he also admitted he’s asking it of himself.
“Hindsight’s always 20/20. Believe me, it’s gone through my mind more than once,” McDermott said.
It isn’t just hindsight, though, as plenty of people were criticizing McDermott’s decisions in real time. McDermott didn’t give his team the best chance to win in regulation, and that cost them in overtime — cost them in what could prove to be a very costly loss if the Bills find themselves just outside the playoffs.
