When the Bills lost to the Dolphins on Sunday 21-19, it may have had the appearance of a close game. But the tape and stats tell a different story, one that shows that Buffalo had multiple chances to take a lead that could have led to a victory had they stopped the Miami offense.
One of those chances was their last one of the game.
With only seconds left to play, Isaiah McKenzie failed to get out of bounds to stop the clock following a pass reception. Then Josh Allen and the offense were unsuccessful in getting to the line of scrimmage and spiking the ball to give Tyler Bass a chance to go for the win on a field goal.
While coaches and players alike were visibly upset, offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey took it to the max.
Dorsey took out his frustrations on an iPad, in an on-camera video
“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 to the press on 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.”
In his first year as the Bills OC, Dorsey is settling into the role and growing into some of its responsibilities. All while maintaining his signature fired-up attitude.
“And I don’t ever want to take the passion out of the game,” he added. “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.”
His head coach both recognized him for his passion while pointing toward some of those responsibilities that come with being the coordinating offensive coach.
“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 to the media the next day. “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.”
A former coordinator himself, McDermott knows just what it’s like to feel frustrated in the booth. A lesson he himself can relate to.
“Look, we’re all human, I’m human, as we saw,” Dorsey added. “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.”
According to the Buffalo News, Bills QB Josh Allen and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier shed some light this year on Dorsey’s competitive nature and how he also balances that with building players up.
“(We’re) talking about a guy that doesn’t want to lose, that hates losing,” said Allen said in July. “He absolutely hates it, and that’s why he was 38-2 in college.”
That balance of passions has made an impact on those players, including Allen.
“It’s in the flip of a light switch, like he can turn it on and off very quickly,” Allen added before the Miami game. “But he’s never done anything like out of malicious intent or hate – he’s always done it because he cares so much. And he loves the game. He loves these players. He’s just trying to put us in the best positions to be successful.”
“He wants to win every situation,” defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said at the time. “Our players seem like they feed off of it.”
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