Isaiah McKenzie is still working through the stages of grief after the abrupt and shocking ending to the Buffalo Bills‘ season — and apparently pointing fingers at where it all went wrong.
The Bills wide receiver and kick returner opened up about the heartbreaking end to the season on Thursday’s episode of the Isaiah McKenzie Show, saying his emotions are still very raw after the overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Everytime I see it I just get sad,” McKenzie said. “I get mad.”
McKenzie had been working through some of that grief on social media, taking to Twitter earlier in the week to admit that he still was in denial over the rough loss. In his appearance this week, McKenzie shared more insight into the shocking ending and why he thinks the team lost.
I’ve entered the 5 stages of grief. Currently in denial and a lil bit depressed.
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McKenzie Shares His Emotions
McKenzie recalled the frantic final two minutes, when the Bills took the lead just after the two-minute warning only to see the Chief strike back quickly on a touchdown to Tyreek Hill. When the Bills responded with a touchdown with just 13 seconds left, McKenzie admitted that he started to think the Bills had the game won.
“I was on the sidelines screaming, we might have just won this game,” McKenzie said. “What can you possibly do in 13 seconds? I couldn’t even shower in 13 seconds.”
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But the Chiefs raced down the field again, using two quick plays to get into field goal range for the game-tying kick. McKenzie seemed to place blame on the defensive call for the Bills, which allowed the easy catch-and-runs from Hill and Travis Kelce.
“I’m thinking in my head, how did they get down there so fast? Then I looked at the defense and saw, oh yeah, that’s why,” McKenzie said.
Others Share McKenzie’s Assessment
The Bills receiver is not alone in blaming the Bills’ defensive scheme for allowing the Chiefs to score in the final 13 seconds. ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said he studied the video of the final two plays and pushed back against those who claimed that Buffalo’s defense was just too tired and worn down from facing the Chiefs defense all game.
“Watch All-22 of the last KC offensive series in regulation/Q4 with 13 seconds on the clock, and tell me with a straight face that Buffalo allowed Kelce and Cheetah the two big completions because they were ‘gassed’ …WRONG,” he tweeted. “It was poor strategy/scheme on Buffalo’s part. Period.”
The loss seemed to hit everyone in the organization hard. General manager Brandon Beane admitted in his season-ending press conference on Wednesday that he was still depressed over the ending to the season.
Bills GM Brandon Beane’s message to #BillsMafia
“I haven’t watched the film, to be honest with you,” Beane said, via SI.com’s Bills Central. “I watched a little bit of the last play, but I can’t watch it right now. I’m not in a good spot. But I will. We’ll review it and we’ll learn from it. I promise you that. There’s a lot of pain in this city and there’s a lot of pain in that building over there, and we’re going to do everything in our power to not let that happen again.”
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Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie Appears to Cast Blame for Late-Game Meltdown