ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — And just like that, another season of Buffalo Bills football has ended.
On Thursday, general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott had their season-ending press conferences following the team's 32-29 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Beane spoke for nearly one hour and 15 minutes about why the team fell short yet again and where they go from here. McDermott also spoke extensively, but the more notable information came from the general manager, who now must shift his focus to free agency and the NFL Draft.
5 Observations from Thursday's press conferences:
Keep kicking at the door:
This was the most general observation from Thursday afternoon. The Bills are close and they know if a few plays went a different way they could be in the Super Bowl. But they don't know what they can specifically change to get over the hump. If they knew how to do that, they already would have.
"This team did a lot of really good things this season," Beane said. "And when you look holistically at what we've done year after year after year, I think a lot of people would sign up for that. Is it what we want the final result? No. But I've heard it told to me by multiple people who have been in this league longer than I have to keep kicking the door, keep kicking the door, and you're going to knock it down. And that is my mentality. That is our mentality. We are not giving in. We're not."
Beane had a similar answer when asked about the Bills' inability to get over the hump. He said until you do it there will always be questions and they understand that's the position they have put themselves in. McDermott agreed and explained that the foundation for success has been laid, but now they need to do what they can to achieve their ultimate goal.
"Does that mean that you feel completely comfortable with where we're at and where we want to get to? No, not at all," McDermott said. "There's a lot of success in a lot of big games. But what's left is to go win a world championship. Which is a lofty goal, but one that we pursue relentlessly.
Keon Coleman's second-half struggles:
Both Beane and McDermott suggested that Keon Coleman wasn't the same player after he returned from injury. The numbers back up their observation, and in crunch time, Coleman's contributions were scarce.
In three playoff games, Coleman was targeted eight times and caught three passes for 22 yards. In his final four regular-season games after returning from injury Coleman was targeted 21 times and caught just seven passes for 139 yards and a touchdown.
"I did not see the same player down the stretch from a physicality and some of the things when he needs to use his size," Beane said. "Some of that is youth, some of that is I'm not sure how many injuries he's had to overcome in season and then come back. That takes a certain experience level, maybe. How to deal with an injury, how to return, and how to work your way back into the lineup, because we keep playing games whether you're out of the lineup, four weeks, five weeks, or whatever it was for him."
Beane said the front office had honest and direct conversations with Coleman at the end of the season and is confident his career won't be defined by one season.
Dalton Kincaid's decline:
Kincaid's drop against the Chiefs will be played over and over for the next several months but both McDermott and Beane were clear, the Bills didn't lose to the Chiefs because of one play.
That said, they also need Kincaid to improve physically moving forward to ensure that he's the best version of himself on a more consistent basis.
"Dalton didn't have the year that he or we expected, not for any particular reason that I can say other than some durability things," Beane said. "We believe in Dalton, he's a big part of our plans going forward, nobody in here has last confidence in him."
As a rookie, Kincaid caught 73 passes for 673 yards and two touchdowns. This past year, Kincaid brought in only 44 passes for 448 yards and two touchdowns. Kincaid caught one less pass and averaged nearly eight fewer receiving yards per game. If the Bills offense is going to play to its full potential next season, they will need more from Kincaid, especially in the playoffs.
Big praise for James Cook:
It's not often that we hear Sean McDermott praise a player to the extent that he did about James Cook to close out the season.
You don't often hear this level of praise for Sean McDermott about a specific player.
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) January 30, 2025
It's clear how impressed this team was by James Cook's growth this season. pic.twitter.com/xkCg5r72er
To me, this hints at the possibility of an extension for the Bills' top running back after a historically impressive season.
In the regular season, Cook surpassed 1,000 yards and averaged 4.9 yards per carry. What's even more impressive is that he saw his rushing total jump from two touchdowns in 2023 to 16 touchdowns in 2024. He continued his dominance in the playoffs, averaging 5.1 yards per carry and rushing for three touchdowns.
So what does this all mean? I'm not fully expecting a contract extension for Cook, who has become one of the top running backs in the NFL.
Don't read into the "not big spenders" comment.
I don't remember an end-of-season press conference where Beane didn't say he doesn't expect the Bills to be big spenders in free agency. I don't think the Bills will go after multiple big-time additions, but I can absolutely see a world where they try and target a game-wrecking defender. That could also come via trade, but I got the sense from both McDermott and Beane that the defensive line needs to improve if the Bills are going to get to where they are trying to go.
You can watch Beane and McDermott's full press conferences below.
