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Alaina GetzenbergESPN
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A day after Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey’s emotional reaction to his team’s 21-19 loss to the Miami Dolphins went viral, he said he would “learn from” his response and “correct” it moving forward.
The Bills (2-1) suffered their first loss of the year in Miami despite having the ball at their own 23-yard line down two points with 1:33 remaining in the game. Time, however, ran off the clock when quarterback Josh Allen connected with wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie, who appeared to have the opportunity to run out of bounds but said after the game he was trying to reach kicker Tyler Bass‘ range and pick up yardage when he was tackled.
“If I could take it back,” McKenzie said, “I would probably just go up field, get down, put it on the hash myself and live to fight another down.”
After time expired, Dorsey was shown on the CBS broadcast slamming his headset, hat and tablet into the desk and crumpling the papers in front of him.
“I’m up in the box, I’m watching my guys down there just give us everything they possibly have in ’em with effort and from start to finish, playing 90-something snaps in the game,” Dorsey said Monday. “And it was a playoff atmosphere, a lot of credit to the Miami Dolphins, and obviously we weren’t on the winning end of it so it’s frustrating that I reacted that way, and obviously that’s something that I’m definitely going to learn from.
“And I don’t ever want to take the passion out of the game, we’re all in this to win football games obviously for the Bills, for our fans, and we’re going to give them everything we got, but it’s something I’m gonna learn from and make sure let’s correct moving forward.”
Dorsey is in his first season as an offensive coordinator after taking over for now-New York Giants coach Brian Daboll. The former University of Miami quarterback spent the previous three seasons as the Bills’ quarterback coach and 2013 to 2017 as the Carolina Panthers‘ quarterback coach.
Bills coach Sean McDermott said he spoke to Dorsey about his reaction Monday.
“I think it’s something that a) we’ve got to keep our poise and he’s well aware of that and knows that and b) I love the fact that he cares that much about doing his job and putting his players in a position to be successful,” McDermott said. “I think that says a lot about him as a coach and how hard he works at it and how important it is to him. But again, that said, it’s important that we as leaders keep our poise and that we model that to our players.”
The last drive of the game followed Dolphins punter Thomas Morstead kicking the ball into his own teammate, which resulted in a safety, giving the Bills the ball back after a free kick. The Bills were unable to come away with a win despite running 90 offensive plays, winning the time of possession battle 40:40 to 19:20 and picking up 31 first downs to Miami’s 15. Finishing drives was a problem (2-of-4 in the red zone, including kicking a field goal after a 20-play drive) and mismanaging offensive drives at the end of both halves proved crucial.
“Look, we’re all human, I’m human, as we saw,” Dorsey said. “I’m human, I’ll make mistakes, just like those guys. The key is hey, how do we learn from those mistakes? How do we move on and make sure that we continue to progress and grow as a team.”
Injuries also played a major role in the loss. The Bills went into the game against Miami down starters due to injury, and at least eight additional players suffered some sort of injury during the contest, which saw multiple Buffalo players dealing with heat-related issues.
The secondary has been hit especially hard with starting rookie cornerback Christian Benford breaking his right hand in the game. McDermott said the sixth-round pick will have surgery Tuesday and miss a couple of weeks “give or take.” Practice squad cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram, an undrafted rookie out of Buffalo, came in for Benford, who still helped on special teams despite the injury.
Bills top cornerback Tre’Davious White remains on the reserve/PUP list through this week at minimum with a torn ACL in his left leg. Buffalo’s need at cornerback could lead to additions to the roster.
“We always like to start inside the building,” McDermott said. “In terms of the guys that are here working and working hard and developing. If we need to, though, we will go outside the building … the numbers may call for that. We will see.”
Safety Micah Hyde (neck) was placed on injured reserve Saturday and is out for the season, while All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer missed Week 3 with a foot injury, but his injury is one of many McDermott said the Bills are taking “one day at a time.”
Allen did visit the X-ray room at Hard Rock Stadium, but McDermott reaffirmed that he is “fine” outside of some soreness. The quarterback was sacked four times and contacted overall 17 times, second-most in the NFL this week, only less than Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz (19). The offensive line is also dealing with a variety of injuries, which didn’t help Allen on Sunday.
Starting right guard Ryan Bates is now in concussion protocol and backup offensive lineman Tommy Doyle suffered a season-ending torn ACL. Starting center Mitch Morse missed the game against the Dolphins with a right elbow injury, and right tackle Spencer Brown (heat) and backup center Greg Van Roten (cramping) both left the game early.
Wide receiver Jake Kumerow is week-to-week with a high ankle injury.
Source: www.espn.com