Stefon Diggs' emotional reaction draws criticism on Twitter but his play speaks for itself

ORCHARD PARK - Let me start by saying this: Should Stefon Diggs have stayed in the Buffalo Bills locker room Sunday with the rest of his teammates and faced the music if reporters wanted to hear his thoughts about what happened in the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals?

Yes, he should have. All players should be in there because it states right in their contracts that they have an obligation to speak to the media, though believe me, many of them ignore that clause.

Which brings me to this point: Was Diggs the only player who bolted before the media was even allowed in the room, or made sure they were nowhere to be found, or simply declined to say anything when approached?

No, he was not.

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Diggs just so happened to blow off the media in the most public way, plus was caught on camera during the game being visibly upset on the sideline after yet another fruitless Bills possession so he’s getting lambasted in some corners.

Monday, Diggs was again a ghost as he did not appear in the locker room while the media was there for cleanout day, though Sean McDermott confirmed that he was in the building and had his exit meeting with the head coach like all players did.

“Stef is a highly competitive individual as we all know,” McDermott said. “That’s part of the reason why we all love him, and he’s frustrated like we all are. He was in today, and he and I spoke. I’ll leave it at that.”

Personally, I didn’t have a problem with Diggs storming out of the room because honestly, I never expected him to be in there in the first place. Diggs has rarely spoken after games since he arrived in Buffalo in 2020. There have been a few occasions, some of those this season, and I’m pretty sure those were all after Bills victories. Any reporter who thought he would speak Sunday was mistaken.

He usually talks to the media just once per week, on Wednesdays, and even then, he wasn’t doing that late in the year. To my recollection, the last time Diggs talked to local reporters, at least in an official capacity, was the week leading up to the Chicago game.

As I said, he’s not the only guy who makes himself scarce, though he’s certainly the most important player among those who prefer to do their communicating not through the media, but through Twitter or Instagram or whatever else is out there on the social media landscape.

And sure enough, Diggs was on Twitter Monday night firing off a few tweets as a way to defend his actions. “Want me to be okay with losing? Nah,” Diggs tweeted, then followed up with. “Want me to be okay with our level of play when it’s not up to the standard? Nah. It’s easy to criticize my reaction more than the result.”

Here’s the point that needs to be made about all of this: Diggs, as McDermott said, is a very emotional player. He wears his heart on his sleeve and if he’s mad about something during the game, he lets his teammates - including quarterback Josh Allen - know all about it.

There’s nothing wrong with that, so long as it doesn’t affect his performance and with Diggs, can anyone argue about his performance? He’s been one of the best receivers in the NFL during his three years in Buffalo. He’s the only Bill to ever have three consecutive 100-catch seasons, his 11 TDs in 2022 tied a Bills single-season record, and going back to his last two seasons in Minnesota he now has five straight 1,000-yard seasons.

With Buffalo, he has caught 338 passes for 4,189 yards and 29 touchdowns, and in seven postseason games, despite his clunker Sunday, he has 37 catches for 527 yards and two TDs. Without Diggs, you shudder to think where the Bills passing game would be.

Diggs’ petulant behavior after the game is not going to be an issue moving forward. There’s no discontent between him and Allen, or any of his other teammates, though many will try to make a case that there is.

“Stef is a great person and a great leader on this team,” fellow receiver Isaiah McKenzie said. “He works hard and what we see on Sundays is him being competitive, being the fiery player he is. He’s one of the best receivers in the league or the best receiver in the league and when he’s asking for the ball, he looks at me sometimes and says, ‘Why am I not getting the ball?’ And I’m like, ‘Hey, you deserve it. You’ve put in all this work, you’ve become a star in this league and possibly one of the best receivers in this league. You deserve to get the ball and if you’re not getting the ball and you’re complaining, there’s a reason.’

“He says a lot, but he also does a lot and I feel like for him, he’s just a fiery player and I respect him for everything he does. Sometimes, he can get a little overboard, but I feel like sometimes, it’s relevant and he can do it because he deserves the ball.”

Allen has been asked several times in the past about Diggs’ fiery nature because Sunday wasn’t the first time Diggs has barked at Allen or others on the sideline during the heat of the battle.

“I just feel like sometimes there weren’t that many opportunities,” Allen said about Diggs’ lack of targets against Cincinnati. “Again, defenses can game plan and try to take away your No. 1 receiver. That’s just the fact of it. Those guys on the other side of the ball get paid, too.

“Guys are competitive. We don’t want to lose, it’s not fun losing, not fun losing that way. It’s all understood. At the end of the day we’ve got to be there for each other and continue to keep pushing forward.”

Diggs’ was upset Sunday. He wasn’t the only one. The way he reacted and then acted is nothing new for Diggs, but it should not be something that festers in the offseason.

Would you rather that players just shrug their shoulders after a galling playoff loss, pack their bags and head to their beach homes seemingly without a care in the world?

And let me ask you this: Do you think Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and so many others from the Super Bowl glory years didn’t act this way after losses, especially playoff losses? Of course they did, and as I recall, fans loved them for it.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Stefon Diggs' reaction draws criticism but his play speaks for itself