Buffalo Bills vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3 pregame thoughts for Week 14

Is Sean McDermott capable of getting out of his teams’ way?

On many occasions, Sean McDermott has flirted with questionable decision making: His punts in opponents’ territory, the futile 4th and 5 and let’s make the defense jump offsides attempts, the benching of his speedsters because of muffed returns, the stubbornness to attempt an extra point when his team trailed 6-8 instead of going for two against the Patriots. The list goes on.

Amid these decisions, when the math explicitly says otherwise, McDermott believes he’s doing what’s best for his team.

It is well known that Sean McDermott comes from a defensive background. But it’s not the 2000s anymore. Teams are a lot more aggressive in go-for-it situations and the Bills consistently fall short.

There have also been times when McDermott decides to designate a player inactive on game days because of the costly mistakes they’ve made on the field. Isaiah McKenzie is one of those players. McKenzie has not played a snap since Week 11, where he fumbled away, his only lost fumble of the year, on a kickoff in Buffalo’s territory, which set up the Colts for an easy score.

McDermott has also made Matt Breida inactive even after he’s proven to be one of Buffalo’s most electric running backs.

The most confusing element to benching players as a form of punishment is losing the talent they acquired to create the team in his image. By benching some of the most gifted players on the team, McDermott is simply cutting off his nose to spite his face. The Bills should probably employ their speedy weapons this week in Tampa. Because if things don’t change soon, the postseason could disappear, as the Bills are already holding on by a thread to the final Wild Card position.