ORCHARD PARK – In the first three quarters last Sunday against Baltimore, Keon Coleman played the way he played throughout his uneven rookie season for the Buffalo Bills: Inconsistently.
There was an early drop which has been a nagging problem for him, he made a mistake on a two-point conversion where he stepped out of the back of the end zone (though he was nudged by the defender) which rendered his eventual reception illegal, and he wasn’t giving Josh Allen much to work with which is why he had just one catch for 17 yards.
And then the crazy fourth quarter began and Buffalo’s 2024 second-round draft pick went off. Suddenly, the Ravens couldn’t cover him and he caught seven passes for 95 yards, one that went for a lucky touchdown (right place, right time) and another where he hauled in a quick slant over the middle in the final minute of the game and took it 25 yards to set up Matt Prater’s game-winning chip shot field goal.
“I think this is one of the craziest games,” Coleman said. “Felt like the longest fourth quarter ever. We had a chance and we just had to keep capitalizing. … We knew what we had to do to win it.”
Obviously, Allen’s otherworldly performance – 251 yards passing the fourth quarter – was the key to the comeback, but Coleman played a major role in the offensive resurgence because after not winning enough routes in the first three quarters, he began to find success whether he faced man or zone and Allen took full advantage.
“He stepped up for us,” Allen said. “Made some good plays. Proud of him.”
Coleman had a tough rookie year which was derailed midway through by a wrist injury. In an unusual bout of critical candor, both coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane made it perfectly clear that they were unhappy with how Coleman responded after returning from the injury and they put it on him to improve his game.
Coleman put in the offseason work, but still, in training camp there were times when you scratched your head because he’d drop a ball here, or fail to get separation there, and the same thing was happening in the opener until the light went on.
Sean McDermott says hard work is evident with Keon Coleman
Wide receiver Keon Coleman had a big opener for the Bills, and Sean McDermott said hard work in the offseason was critical for him.
“Nobody wants to watch anybody kind of go through some adversity or experience some bumps in the road, but it does build resiliency and when you can push yourself through it, through hard work and perseverance and mindset, you see the results like (Sunday) night,” McDermott said.
“I’m extremely proud of him. He competed. When you continue to compete, the ball will find you and that’s what happened the other night and he was productive through those key moments for us, in particular at the end. You get open, usually Josh can see you and put the ball where he needs to put it.”
The Bills need Coleman to be the player he was in the fourth quarter. Too much of their passing game last season was predicated on throws between the numbers to Khalil Shakir, the tight ends and the backs. They didn’t get nearly enough on the outside, and that’s where Coleman and free agent signing Joshua Palmer have to change the calculus.
Palmer also had a sluggish first three quarters as he had just two catches for 12 yards, though he did draw a 27-yard pass interference penalty that set up James Cook’s TD run that cut the Bills’ deficit to 27-19. But like Coleman, Palmer came alive in the fourth with three catches for 49 yards, the last a pretty 32-yarder on the final drive that got the Bills into reasonable field goal position just before Coleman’s 25-yard reception that moved the ball to the 9.
“It means a lot,” Allen said of getting both Coleman and Palmer going. “Anytime that we can get the ball into our playmakers hands, especially down the field, it’s good things for us. So again, we got to keep working hard, keep finding ways to get the ball to them and start faster.”
Specifically on Coleman, Allen said he has noticed a more focused and mature player.
“I think just his growth, not just as a player but as a person, learning how to be a professional football player,” Allen said. “He’s in here as early as anybody, getting rehab and work done on his body and doing all the little things right. So I think when you got guys that care about their job, do the little things right, they’re where they’re supposed to be, typically good things happen, and that’s just what we saw this game.”
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.