Bills’ Dion Dawkins pulls no punches with frustrating postgame message after loss
Dion Dawkins had a heck of a response immediately following the loss.
It was an ugly showing from the Buffalo Bills against the Atlanta Falcons in all three phases of the football game. The first half was marred by missed tackles and running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London running (and catching) roughshod on the Bills.
If the first half was about defensive issues, the second half was about offensive ones. Having the reigning MVP in quarterback Josh Allen didn’t matter, as the Falcons brought heavy pressure all night. Immediately after the game, one of Allen’s biggest protectors, Dion Dawkins, opened up about the loss.
Dawkins didn’t pull any punches, he fully understands the team needs to be better moving forward, but he’s not hitting the panic button on the season.
“We lost. We could’ve handled it better,” Dawkins said. “I’m a competitor, and I speak facts; they beat us. The good thing is that it’s bye week, we don’t have to win them all. I know it sounds cliché but we really don’t have to win them all. I like that we have the opportunity to get better.”
Dawkins sent a strong message to the locker room
The talented offensive lineman always keeps things real and that’s exactly what he did after the contest. Dawkins was asked how he rallies the troops after a loss, especially with the younger guys on the roster. Dawkins was quick to point out it involves everyone, not just the new guys.
“The older guys, too, football weighs on you hard, especially when you’re a good team and you want to win them all,” Dawkins said. “Keeping the guys into the mindset of ‘don’t overly beat yourself up. Stay who you are, go back, watch the film, we got a bye week, rewatch the film, learn from it, and come back ready.’”
“We don’t have to win them all and we’re blessed that we can stay that right now,” Dawkins said. “Not that it’s still early in the season, but we still haven’t played our best ball yet. We got guys that went down, we got guys that stepped up, we’ll keep moving forward.”
Josh Allen couldn’t stay upright all night
The heavy pressure forced by the Falcons made things difficult for Allen and the offense all night. Allen was beaten up throughout the contest, shaking off what looked to be a hand or arm injury in the early stages of the contest.
Allen was quick to point out that he wasn’t hurt, but he was getting attacked in the backfield relentlessly, something Dawkins wants to avoid moving forward.
“I hate when guys touch Josh. It’s just what it is,” Dawkins said. “We just have to keep doing a good job and keep doing a better job of protecting him and understand that that’s our guy, we don’t want nobody touching him. That’s what defense does, I think they were ranked one coming in. They were a good team, they’re a good defense, and we knew. Good luck to the rest of their season.”
The Bills enter their bye week searching for answers, but not without perspective. Dawkins’ message was clear: this team still believes its best football is ahead.
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