Lance Lysowski: Bills didn't need Keon Coleman vs. Bucs, and another benching makes WR look like a whiff
Apparently, Sean McDermott's previous messages didn’t sink in, because Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman slipped up again this week. This time, McDermott dropped the hammer Sunday by making Coleman a healthy inactive for the Bills’ 44-32 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Lance Lysowski...
Sean McDermott tried to teach Keon Coleman a lesson last season by benching the Buffalo Bills’ then-rookie receiver for the first quarter in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
When the second-year receiver made another mistake last month, McDermott kept Coleman on the sideline for the first series in a crucial three-point loss to the New England Patriots.
Apparently, the message didn’t sink in, because Coleman was late to a meeting this week, and this time McDermott had enough. He dropped the hammer Sunday, making Coleman a healthy inactive for the Bills’ 44-32 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Highmark Stadium.
“I try to give the guy a strike approach,” McDermott said. “You get a chance to to show your teammates that’s not really who you are and when it happens again, then I step in. I believe he will learn from it. He takes it seriously, and he will move forward in a way of growing from this. That’s the whole goal.”
Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman looks on from the sideline before the game against the Buccaneers. A second-year pro, Coleman was a healthy scratch for the first time.
Derek Gee, Buffalo News
Coleman’s tardiness Friday forced Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady to make last-minute changes to the game plan. A different receiver had to dress for the game. Coleman wasted the time and energy of coaches and teammates while they were trying to fix an offense that struggled to throw the ball during a 30-13 loss at Miami the week before.
The Bills didn’t need Coleman to improve to 7-3.
Josh Allen completed passes to nine different receivers Sunday, totaling 317 yards and six total touchdowns (three passing, three rushing). He had eight completions of at least 20 yards.
Tyrell Shavers, a third-year undrafted receiver, got open during a scramble drill to catch a 43-yard score in the second quarter. He had a team-high 90 yards on four catches. Ty Johnson, their third-down back, turned a short catch into a 52-yard touchdown. James Cook caught a 25-yard pass for a go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter.
The passing attack’s success against the Buccaneers (6-4) needs to be a wake-up call for Coleman. Teammates were encouraging. They repeated Sunday night that they still believe in Coleman. But the Bills also told Coleman it has to be the last time.
“Keon knows,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “Now he’s in the hot seat, and he needs to come on and show up for us. Pats on the back are over with, and it’s time for him to grow up and he knows it. ... Being great is hard. Pushing for greatness is hard. We’ve got his back, but the time is now.”
If Coleman hasn’t learned his lesson this time, he may never realize the potential he showed at Michigan State and Florida State. Coleman isn’t the only one who deserves scrutiny. The Bills’ decision to trade out of the first round in 2024 with the AFC powerhouse they’ve failed to dethrone, the Kansas City Chiefs, may go down as Brandon Beane’s worst gamble as general manager.
Beane not only giftwrapped Patrick Mahomes a more productive, field-stretching receiver in Xavier Worthy, who helped the Chiefs reach another Super Bowl. He and the Bills also picked Coleman early in the second round over Georgia’s Ladd McConkey, who has played in the slot and on the outside while becoming the top target for Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
Spending on free-agent receivers hasn’t worked, either.
In 2024, the Bills gave veteran receiver Curtis Samuel a three-year contract with up to $15.01 million in guarantees because of his history with Brady, but Samuel has just 38 catches in 22 games.
After it became clear Coleman wasn’t going to take the top off a defense, Beane signed veteran Joshua Palmer, who has 15 catches and zero touchdowns through seven games. Beane chose Palmer over re-signing Mack Hollins, who’s been an invaluable role player for the AFC East’s first-place New England Patriots. Palmer’s injury, Samuel’s ineffectiveness and Coleman’s lack of consistency prompted Beane to sign speedster Mecole Hardman this week and elevate Gabe Davis from the practice squad.
Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis makes a catch against Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum during the first quarter Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
Davis had three catches for 40 yards. Derek Gee, Buffalo News
On Sunday, Davis, Shavers and the Bills’ running backs were more effective targets for Allen than Palmer and Samuel. To his credit, Coleman agreed to speak to reporters after the win, but he wouldn’t say why he hasn’t corrected the bad habits that caused him to get disciplined for a third time in his short NFL career.
“Mistakes happen,” Coleman told reporters after the win. “Things happen. But again, I’ve got to be better.”
The Bills have relied on Brady’s scheme and Allen’s remarkable talent to try to compensate for the lack of a No. 1 perimeter receiver since they traded Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans. And last season, the plan mostly worked. Buffalo scored at least 30 points in 12 games while it went 13-4. Allen was named NFL MVP.
But it became clear in the AFC championship game that the offense needed a second reliable receiver to complement the damage Khalil Shakir can do after the catch.
The Bills were willing to be patient with Coleman, who is physically gifted but raw. Some draft analysts cited concerns about his ability to separate against NFL cornerbacks, but Coleman was a prospect Allen coveted because he had the strength to work through press coverage and the athletic ability to pluck the ball out of the air for a contested catch.
McDermott and Beane expressed frustration in January with how Coleman returned from a wrist injury that kept him out four games. He had just 10 catches in the final seven games, including three catches on eight targets in three playoff games, to finish his rookie season.
Teammates and coaches lauded Coleman’s improved physique, route-running and professional approach this summer. He seemed primed for a breakout season, and he delivered in the opener with eight catches for 112 yards and a touchdown during the Bills’ come-from-behind win over the Ravens.
In that game, Coleman looked like a receiver Allen could rely on. He hasn’t done the same since. In his last eight games, Coleman 24 catches for 218 yards and two scores.
After the Bills did not add help for Allen before the Nov. 4 trade deadline, Beane told reporters Coleman had to emerge as a difference-maker if Buffalo is going to contend for a Super Bowl. Coleman caught a 35-yard touchdown pass in the loss to Miami, but there were also several plays for which his effort was rightly called into question by a fan base that’s fearful this franchise will fail to win it all with Allen.
Once defenses game-planned to stop Cook this season, the Bills couldn’t throw the ball to win games. Opponents blitzed Allen on third-and-long because they weren’t afraid of his receivers. Shakir is stellar on short and intermediate passes, but he doesn’t strike fear in defensive backs on third-and-long.
Coleman was supposed to be the second option Sunday because tight end Dalton Kincaid, perhaps this offense’s best passing weapon this season, could not play through a hamstring injury.
”I thought Joe, the offensive staff and the players did a really good job of – most (of) the game plans are already in with players playing in certain spots, so their adaptability was very impressive as well as Joe’s,” McDermott said.
We’ll find out if Coleman has the self-awareness to stop getting in his own way. There’s time. He doesn’t turn 23 until May, and he has played in just 22 regular-season games. But Coleman hasn’t justified Beane’s controversial draft-day decision, which forced the Bills to keep looking for weapons to lift the Bills’ ceiling.
