Stefon Diggs defends behavior following Bills’ season-ending loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
One of the quickest routes Stefon Diggs ran on Sunday might have been during his early exit out of Highmark Stadium.
Shortly following the Buffalo Bills‘ 27-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC divisional round, the All-Pro wide receiver reportedly sprinted out of the locker room with his possessions. His departure came after he expressed his frustration on the sidelines with quarterback Josh Allen.
Diggs defended his behavior with a series of tweets on Monday.
“Want me to be okay with losing? Nah,” Diggs wrote in the first of three tweets.
“Want me to be okay with our level of play when it’s not up to the standard? Nah,” he added.
“It’s easy to criticize my reaction more than the result,” he wrote.
The three-time Pro Bowl wideout was limited to four passes for 35 yards on a team-high 10 targets on Sunday as the Bills were eliminated in the divisional round for the second consecutive season.
With the Bills trailing by 14 midway through the fourth quarter, Allen’s pass on fourth-and-6 to Gabe Davis in the end zone was incomplete. After the drive, while Allen was seated on the sideline looking at a tablet, he was approached by Diggs, who repeatedly threw his hands up while expressing his frustration.
“Guys are competitive,” Allen told reporters. “We don’t want to lose. It’s not fun losing. It’s not fun losing that way. So, it’s all understood. End of the day, we’re gonna be there for each other and keep pushing forward.”
Diggs, according to Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic, sprinted out of the locker room with his possessions before the coaching staff reached the Bills’ tunnel. He was retrieved by veteran running back Duke Johnson — and Bills coach Sean McDermott later clarified that Diggs was present for his postgame address of the team — before leaving the stadium for good.
“That’s what makes him good is what you saw,” McDermott told reporters. “He’s very competitive, like we all are. We work extremely hard at these jobs to be the best that we can possibly be, and it hurts. I wouldn’t want a guy that doesn’t hurt, right? So, he put it all on the line out there. We put it all on the line and tonight it wasn’t enough. That’s the part that stings.”
The 29-year-old Diggs, a team captain for the last two seasons, had 108 catches for 1,429 yards and a career-high 11 touchdowns this season while being named second-team All-Pro. He signed a four-year, $96 million extension with the Bills in April.