Buffalo Bills guard Rodger Saffold. Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

OL Rodger Saffold says Bills ran out of gas ahead of loss to Bengals

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 1/23/23

Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Rodger Saffold said the team ran out of gas at the end of the season, contributing to their playoff loss against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Bills safety Micah Hyde echoed Saffold's sentiment that all the organization, and the city, went through since last offseason created an emotional drain on the team.

"We haven't been able to take a breath since the Damar situation" Roger Saffold says he feels like the #Bills ran out of gas.
— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) January 23, 2023

...I have to kind of put that into effect and not as an excuse just this team has been fighting for so long and fighting through all of this adversity you almost run out of gas at some point."
— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) January 23, 2023

Saffold specifically said they were emotionally exhausted after NE game (week after Hamlin injury) and needed a break, but obviously had to play a playoff game right away. Said mindset was fight as best they could through the next two weeks and hopefully get that break before SB https://t.co/3gdamnIxc9
— Sal Capaccio (@SalSports) January 23, 2023

In May 2022, there was a mass shooting at a Tops Friendly Markets grocery store in Buffalo that killed 10 people, all of whom were black. In late December, a crippling winter storm hit Western New York and, according to weather.com, killed dozens of people.

The most recent -- and close to home -- event to impact "Bills Mafia" came in early January when safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during the team's Week 17 "Monday Night Football" game against the Bengals. Fortunately, Hamlin has continued to recover and was even in attendance for the Buffalo's playoff loss against Cincinnati on Sunday.

Professional athletes often mention their team overcoming "adversity" throughout a season when talking to members of the media, but there are few, if any, other NFL groups who overcame more than the Bills during the 2022 campaign.

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