Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

It's time for Bills WR Stefon Diggs to mature

By Alex Lang | Last updated 1/24/23

It’s one thing to pout and throw a tantrum after losing when you’re 8 years old. When a 29-year-old Pro Bowl wide receiver does it, it's embarrassing.

But that's what Buffalo wide receiver Stefon Diggs has been doing for the past two days.

Following the Bills' 27-10 playoff loss to Cincinnati on Sunday, Diggs reportedly had to be persuaded to return to the locker room. Running back Duke Johnson took the WR back for head coach Sean McDermott’s address to the team.

The move drew the ire of fans and analysts on social media. Many were quick to criticize the wideout for leaving his teammates in the cold, literally and figuratively.

Diggs then took to Twitter.

“Want me to be okay with losing? Nah,” he wrote. Then he followed up with another tweet: “Want me to be okay with our level of play when it’s not up to the standard? Nah.”

Want me to be okay with our level of play when it’s not up to the standard ? Nah
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) January 23, 2023

“It’s easy to criticize my reaction more than the result,” he wrote in a third tweet.

Video from the sidelines during the game showed Diggs upset with his team, including quarterback Josh Allen. Diggs finished with four catches for 35 yards.

After two consecutive 100-yard games, Diggs essentially was non-existent. The lack of production, coupled with the loss, led to Diggs’ emotions boiling over.

Let’s call his reaction what it was – a tantrum. His leaving the locker room and his team while others waited for their coach is shameful for a professional. Losing is tough. Most players, however, respond professionally without storming off.

Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady took questions from the media after his team’s playoff exit. Allen addressed the media, too. So did Dak Prescott after the Cowboys' excruciating loss to the 49ers on Sunday.

Johnson and McDermott said Diggs is an emotional person, according to ESPN.

"Stef's a highly competitive individual, as we all know, and that's part of the reason why we all love him," McDermott told the media Monday. "And he's frustrated like we all are. He was in today, and he and I spoke, and I'll leave it at that."

Perhaps McDermott blasted Diggs in private. But this public view smacks of enabling, and it's a bad look for the team and Diggs.

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