Bills' Dion Dawkins shares admission about playoff loss to Bengals

Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins acknowledged the team wasn't the same force that earned a 13-3 regular-season record during its home playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 22. 

"That Cincinnati game was definitely weird," Dawkins said during an appearance on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "You go through your ups and downs and it’s sad that we go through a down at a time like that. But we just hit a down at the wrong time. And I think with the journey that we’ve been on, we have been through every phase of football that can happen — which would be the recipe for the creation of this season." 

Shortly after the defeat against Cincinnati, guard Rodger Saffold admitted the 2022 season was "emotionally draining for obvious reasons" that included Bills safety Damar Hamlin going into cardiac arrest during a "Monday Night Football" game at the Bengals on Jan. 2. Veteran pass-rusher Von Miller added at that time that he never before "had to deal with so much on and off the football field" during a single season, and star quarterback Josh Allen later remarked that Hamlin's medical emergency "took an emotional toll on us throughout the season" and into the playoffs. 

"But Cincinnati, it was just a different feel," Dawkins continued. "Everything just felt weird. I don’t want to blame it on anything, but from the first time we met (the Bengals), we had a tragedy happen. And then the second time that we played them, it was just like, that energy — it was just very, very weird. I don’t even know how to explain it. It was just a very, very rare feeling. And I think it was felt through the entire locker room, through the coaching staff, through everything. It was just a very unique situation." 

While Saffold said in January that the 2022 Bills ran "out of gas," Dawkins noted that Buffalo was "flat" during the postseason game against Cincinnati. Those who were with the Bills on Jan. 2 and who remain with the organization today will now look to use Hamlin's ongoing recovery and a possible return to the playing field as motivation heading into the 2023 campaign. 

Buffalo plays at the New York Jets in Week 1 on Sept. 11.