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The Buffalo Bills' wait for a Super Bowl title goes on as they fell short yet again in the AFC playoffs, despite having Damar Hamlin in the house to cheer them on. With players like Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs on offense, the Bills were many people's prohibitive favorites to lift the Lombardi Trophy this season.
However, they will watch from home as the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. There are many reasons why it didn't work out, but NFL analyst Albert Breer believes that it was mental exhaustion as much as anything that stopped them short.
Speaking on the two-time Emmy-nominated sports show, "The Rich Eisen Show," Breer cited the effect Damar Hamlin's tragic cardiac arrest on the field had on the group. He also noted the shooting in Buffalo last year and a few debilitating snowstorms that saw the Bills play their home games at other stadiums. Breer believes all of that caught up eventually:
"I also think there's something to be said for the fact that this is probably a pretty worn-out group, you know, and, and what they went through all the way back to the tragedy and their area at the supermarket last spring to the two snowstorms that debilitated their area to the Damar Hamlin thing added on to like the football stuff, like the injuries, you know, guys like Von Miller and Micah Hyde. That's the other part of it.
"I just, you know, I do. It almost seemed like a team that was a little worn down and lacked spark, you know, on Sunday. So those are the two things that stick out."
Were Damar Hamlin's issue and mental exhaustion the prime reasons the Buffalo Bills fell short?
Despite highlighting Damar Hamlin's tragedy and other extraneous issues as the main reason, Breer also said that there are some tweaks that the Bills may have to make. He pointed out coaching issues and having some playing spots the team has to strengthen, despite having good players in the most important positions.
Breer said:
"And, look, I think they have some work to do. You know, I think they've got some hard questions to ask themselves, you know, about the way they coached that game, and then you know, where they are at certain spots on the roster. The good news for them is the hard part's taken care of, like they've got premier players at premier positions. And so they should be good for the foreseeable future."
One of the central things that the Bills should look at is their redzone defense. Out of all the teams in the playoffs, they allowed the third-fewest yards per game at 321.5 in the postseason, but their points allowed per game was 29. That puts them in the bottom half of the playoff teams.
That is hurting them at crucial junctures, and it was also an issue last season when they could not stop Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in overtime. Having Damar Hamlin and Von Miller healthy and playing would have certainly helped matters this time, but the Bills should also look at improving their coaching in that section.
