Players and staff of the Buffalo Bills respond to the news of Tua Tagovailoa’s injury
The Buffalo Bills utterly destroyed their AFC East opponents from the South, the Miami Dolphins, on Thursday night at Hard Rock Stadium. A sense of gloominess pervaded the atmosphere when the clock struck 0:00, despite the fact that the many Bills Mafia supporters celebrated greatly.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was fumbling for a first down in the third quarter when he dropped his shoulder and made contact with Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Tagovailoa instantly fell to the ground as his head struck Hamlin’s torso, putting his arms in an unusual position known as the fencing response—typically a warning sign of a traumatic brain injury or concussion.
After Tagovailoa was declared out of the game with a diagnosed concussion after six minutes, observers, supporters, and others started to make assumptions about his future in the NFL. Tagovailoa, who is only 26 years old, has already experienced four concussions in his football career: three in the NFL and one while attending Alabama for college.
Following the game, Tua Tagovailoa received encouragement and well wishes from Bills players and staff on social media and in interviews. Some of the statements made are included below.
Josh Allen, quarterback
“You can’t help but feel bad for Tua if you know him outside of football, as I do. In addition to being a fantastic football player, he is a wonderful person. He is among the best people on the earth. I have a great deal of affection for him, and all I can do is hope and pray for him and his family. But yes, guy, it’s tough. There are highs and lows to the football game we play, and that is undoubtedly one of the lows.
Josh Allen 💯percent class talking about opposing QB Tua Tagovailoa. pic.twitter.com/AF1XsHB5TW
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) September 13, 2024
LT Dion Dawkins
It was truly heartbreaking. It was the saddest thing, I assure you. The game is moving so quickly that we’re all just watching him go and saying things like, “Slide bro, slide bro, slide bro, slide.” It’s an inch-based game. It’s very awful to think that he may have fallen even an inch earlier. My thoughts and prayers are with Tua, his family, and his parents. This is a violent game, and that shows. I hope he recovers quickly.
I’m sure that everyone in the locker room will be offering prayers for him. Despite the fact that we are rivals, we are still family. As fellow football players, we share a fraternity and honor Tua by tipping our caps to him. We will also join hands in prayer for Tua and his family. Still, it’s a sad affair.
The Bills certainly celebrated their win over the Dolphins
But Dion Dawkins says he and his teammates are thinking for and praying for Tua Tagovailova who went out with another concussion#BillsMafia@MiamiDolphins @DDawkins66 pic.twitter.com/8W5SdvCd9Z— Mike Catalana (@MikeCatalana) September 13, 2024
Social Networks
POWERFUL: #Dolphins & #Bills players kneeled midfield postgame with a prayer to God for the injured Tua Tagovailoa.
🙏🙏🙏
Tua is an extremely religious man, who prays before he goes out on the field every drive. pic.twitter.com/zYEIkVNlcO
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 13, 2024
Sean McDermott said that the Tua situation “didn’t look good” and that he is sending his thoughts and prayers
— Alaina Getzenberg (@agetzenberg) September 13, 2024
My love and prayers with @Tua fasho.. Sending you strength and healing for a speedy recovery. 🙏🏾 much love broski.
— 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧 (@HamlinIsland) September 13, 2024
All love from Von Miller to Tua Tagovailoa 💙 pic.twitter.com/A72kcIhF6o
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 13, 2024
1-0 🦬
Prayers up for Tua 🙏
— Reid Ferguson (@SnapFlow69) September 13, 2024
Bills HC Sean McDermott Announced Resignation.
When Sean McDermott, the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, arrived at Orchard Park in 2017, he brought with him a determined effort to create a culture that the Bills Mafia affectionately refers to as “The Process.” As Buffalo’s head coach for the first time, McDermott oversaw the results of a brave roster full of players who were determined to make the playoffs at last. In the process, the Bills made it into the postseason, ending a 17-year playoff drought that had befallen one of the most devoted fan bases in professional sports.
Under the leadership of Sean McDermott and franchise quarterback Josh Allen, the Buffalo Bills have emerged as a bit of a household name in football circles and regulars in the NFL postseason bracket since their first effort. But is their second act just getting started, or have they reached their peak with One Bills Drive? Let’s try to moderate McDermott’s expectations before the 2024 NFL season begins.
Situation at the moment
Prior to the 2024 NFL season, these are perhaps the most important questions surrounding the Bills: What precisely are the requirements for this squad to have a good or unsuccessful season? Is Sean McDermott preparing for his own future, or is he coaching for his job?
Anecdotally, it appears that Bills supporters do not believe the team will regress in the following season, since numerous local analysts and commentators on this website have Buffalo projected for a fifth consecutive division title, or at the absolute least, a season with 10 or more wins and a postseason berth.
Sean McDermott has led the Bills for seven seasons, amassing a 73-41 record (five-six in the playoffs), four division crowns, and an all-time win % that lands him between Andy Reid and Mike Tomlin. In a vacuum, these measures would be enough to satiate Bills Mafia and guarantee McDermott’s coaching job for years to come, but with a HOF talent at quarterback and limited postseason successes, McDermott has lost his benefit of the doubt in terms of evaluating his performance on a macro basis.
McDermott now has to balance overseeing a club going through a transitional stage with holding Super Bowl expectations after leading the Bills out of the drought era and making them perennial postseason challengers. Outside of Buffalo, expectations are at their lowest point since Josh Allen’s breakthrough 2020 season. The team has lost key players on both sides of the ball, and other AFC teams appear to be more competitive. It’s unclear, though, if a regression by the Bills would spare McDermott from punishment.
We need to look closely at McDermott’s surroundings, his peers, and the requirements for success in the NFL in order to properly assess his future.
The duties of a head coach who is “defensive-minded”
The belief that an offensive mastermind can better a club than a defensive head coach in the modern game is the foundation of a lot of the conversation around McDermott’s departure. The motto “run the ball, limit turnovers, play field position” is incompatible with success in the pass-heavy league we currently play in and has been permanently inscribed on the forehead of defensive coordinators who have transitioned to head coaches. But it’s evident that the head coach of the Bills follows winning tendencies, and his methods are designed to maximize Josh Allen’s gift.
Although McDermott is a defensive coach tactically, Buffalo has ranked second in early down pass frequency since the 2020 season began. They even went as high as first in 2021, with this past season’s rating being their lowest at eighth. The only other club that has outperformed the Bills in this run is the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills rank sixth in terms of taking a play when it’s appropriate on fourth-down choices over that same time period. A far cry from the man who, in the 2017 snow bowl game against the Indianapolis Colts, is unofficially credited with the third-most cowardly punt of all time (as of 2018 according to Jon Bois’ Surrender Index).
Although McDermott is delegating the play calling during this, a team’s identity and customs are shaped by its head coach. It would be foolish to think that an offensive coordinator would elevate this club to new heights given McDermott’s track record of successfully utilizing down-and-distance plays to maximize the potential of a strong attack.
