Sean McDermott and the Buffalo Bills are now two games behind the New England Patriots in the win column following their ugly loss to said Pats on Monday night.
It’s hard to gauge where a team stands following a game of this ilk. After all, gusts of winds at Highmark Stadium in Western New York reached north of 60 miles-per-hour. In a setting of this magnitude, talent tends to even out with the better team being impacted the most.
So, we’re not going to blame the Bills too much for falling by the score of 14-10 in a game that Patriots quarterback Mac Jones attempted a mere three passes.
It’s what we heard from the Buffalo Bills after the game that has to be seen as concerning.
“Let’s not give more credit than we need to give credit to Bill Belichick in this one. Whether it was Bill or anybody else, they beat us, right? But you sit here and you tell me when we start with an average starting field position of the 40-yard line and he starts with the 23-yard line—I’m rounding up in both cases—and we were 1-for-4 in the red zone and they were 0-for-1 in the red zone? You give me that ahead of time, I’d say I like my chances. I like my chances,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters.
Let’s not give credit to a head coach who has won six Super Bowl titles since the last time the Bills even sniffed the big game?
Let’s not give credit to a future Hall of Famer who let his renowned offensive coordinator turn the clock back to the pre-modern era by calling 46 run plays compared to three pass attempts?
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Let’s not give credit to a head coach who opted to move off former NFL MVP Cam Newton for a rookie quarterback ahead of a season in which many believed .500 would have been seen as a success?
There is something to be said about being humble in defeat. Recognizing the greatness of those who bested you. All the while, striving for said greatness. At 7-5 on the season and still battling for a playoff spot, it appears that the Buffalo Bills are more than okay with existing in this mediocrity following an appearance in the AFC Championship Game last season.
Buffalo Bills losing mentality will not do the team any favors
In the very same post-game press conference, Bills defensive backs Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde went at local reporter Jerry Sullivan after he asked them if they were embarrassed by their performance against the run. Their responses were not only unprofessional, they pointed to a larger issue in Western New York.
“I mean, what kind of question is that?” Poyer asked. Meanwhile, Hyde continued with “What are we doing bro?” Hyde took to the next level by throwing more shade at the reporter. “That’s funny,” he said. “We’ll remember that. I’ll remember that.”
So it’s not fair to ask if they were embarrassed to lose a game in which New England attempted a mere three passes? It’s not fair to ask if they are embarrassed to be on the losing end of a game that had not happened around the NFL in four decades?
Buffalo’s defense yielded 222 rushing yards on 46 attempts. Everyone from Sean McDermott to the defenders on the field and their grandparents knew New England was going to run. They couldn’t stop them. That is embarrassing. Period.
Frustration is the name of the game. We get it. Losing for the fourth time in seven games isn’t fun. Having to play in those brutal conditions isn’t fun. With that said, taking your frustration out on a reporter after he asked a legitimate question is a losing mentality. Your head coach refusing to even credit a future Hall of Famer for his game plan is a losing mentality.
Buffalo must now get this straight with a Week 14 outing against the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the horizon. If not, its old rival in that of Tom Brady will play host to the death knell in the Bills’ championship aspirations.