Stefon Diggs: End of Buffalo Bills' season 'just didn’t make any sense to me

The Buffalo Bills’ season had just come to a gutting halt, after a grueling few weeks. A 27-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC divisional playoff game had dashed their dreams.

Diggs needed to understand why.

“I watched the game after the game on my iPad,” Diggs told The Buffalo News on Friday. “I watched the game like five times, just to see what kind of really happened, and I still didn’t draw an answer as to why it happened the way it did.

“We just didn’t look like a team, we didn’t look like we had any juice. It just looked like a different team, and it just didn’t make any sense to me.”

Seeking some sort of insight or closure, Diggs began to watch almost immediately.

“Yeah, right after the game,” Diggs said. “I gotta see what happened.”

Now, nearly three weeks later, the wide receiver knows he still has a bit more to process when it comes to looking back on the year, but he’s balancing his feelings in the interim.

“I’ve been good,” Diggs said. “I kind of compartmentalize it for right now, until like work’s done. So, I’ve just been working my tail off, just to stay focused on that and try to get it off my mind. But, you know, I definitely was disappointed just to see how everything shook out, and we kind of got to figure it out.”

Eventually, he’ll turn to get ready for next season, but that day is still a bit off.

“I’m gonna wait a bit,” Diggs said. “See how it is. I don’t know how I feel.”

Diggs, who is often candid about the importance of mental health for players, knows this year brought plenty of challenges outside of football. The end came less than three weeks after Diggs had taken an Uber to the hospital in Cincinnati, desperate to be there for Damar Hamlin after his collapse. 

Diggs said some teammates have talked about the season ending more than others. He hasn’t talked a ton about it since the year ended, though he did debrief the night of the loss with wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie. 

“He was just talking and was like asking the same questions (the media is asking) like, ‘How? Every year, it’s the same thing. How? What do we need to do?’” McKenzie said on the day the Bills cleaned out their lockers.

While the Bills will of course see what else they can still learn, Diggs indicated that players also don't want to get wrapped too deep in a game that has passed. 

“I don't know how much we will talk about it, or how much we will visit it,” Diggs said. “But it was just like … it was rough.”

Some of the lasting images of Diggs from the season-ending loss were his more emotional moments, as his frustration in a looming loss came through. He gestured with his arms out to both sides toward quarterback Josh Allen on the bench as the offense couldn't sustain drives. The day after, Diggs took to social media to say he would never be OK with losing or with playing a level below the standard. His reaction was less notable than the result, he said.

Coach Sean McDermott, General Manager Brandon Beane and Bills players all backed Diggs’ emotions, saying they reflect a necessary passion.

“Stef is a highly competitive individual, as we all know,” McDermott said the day after the season ended. “That's part of the reason why we all love him, and he's frustrated like we all are. He was in today, and he and I spoke. And I’ll leave it at that.”

Even when fiery on the field and in games, Diggs continues to show care for those around him.

In Phoenix, Diggs and Hamlin attended the NFL Honors show on Thursday. Diggs presented an award, and Hamlin, surrounded by medical personnel and athletic training staff from the Bills, the Bengals and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, gave a moving speech. It was delivered well, to a standing ovation, despite some light ribbing from Diggs.

“I was trying to get him to be nervous,” Diggs said. “He was like, ‘Nah, I practiced, I practiced.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, don't get out there and get to stuttering and (expletive), because I don't want your first time to be speaking to the world, you stutter.’ And we were just talking mess.”

But jokes between the two close teammates aside, Diggs was thrilled to see Hamlin take the stage for a powerful moment.

“It was exciting,” Diggs said. “Definitely a good boost of energy for the world and for us. We’re always in a good place just to see him and just to hear his voice. That was a first time for a lot of people to hear him – wasn't ours. I was talking to him backstage a little bit before, so I was just happy for the bro.”