Sean McDermott says Bills have 'a ton of work to do' following ugly preseason loss

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott was not at all pleased with his team's performance in its preseason loss to the Chicago Bears.

Kyle Silagyi | Aug 10, 2024

Aug 10, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott looks on from the sidelines against the Chicago Bears during the first half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

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The Buffalo Bills have spent the last several weeks—nay, months—gearing up for their August 10 preseason opener against the Chicago Bears. The game would serve as the first recognized bout of the team’s 2024 campaign, its first opportunity to put its revamped roster on display in front of the Buffalo faithful against an actual opponent.

They’ll now want to forget the game as quickly as possible.

Buffalo was thoroughly outplayed throughout its preseason opener, looking generally uninterested as Chicago got out to an early lead and continued to pile on as the contest progressed. The game ultimately ended 33-6, with few Bills players constructing overwhelmingly impressive performances as the entire team looked apathetic.

The offensive line consistently struggled to create time for the quarterbacks and space for the running backs. The defensive line failed to consistently generate pressure. The defense as a whole looked disinterested in tackling late in the game. It was a generally underwhelming and uneventful game that even the Bills looked bored playing; head coach Sean McDermott was not at all pleased with the performance, critiquing his team after the ugly loss.

“Maybe the red zone defense early in the game kept us in it a little bit, but outside of that, a ton to work on,” McDermott said in his post-game press conference. “A ton to work on. Our standard was not out there today, that’s not how we play. There’s a lot that we need to do to get ourselves ready to go here.”

Aug 10, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

A reporter then asked McDermott if it was safe to assume that he wasn’t happy with much of what transpired on the Highmark Field turf on Saturday, to which the sideline boss concisely responded: “You’re correct.”

Chicago totaled 140 more net yards than Buffalo on 13 fewer plays, an indication of the energy and fervor with which each team played. The Bills also took 11 total penalties throughout the game, something that McDermott feels had a significant impact on the result.

“We’ve got to learn from it,” McDermott said. “We have to be truthful about what we saw out there, and really it started with, I felt like, beating ourselves quite a bit with pre-snap penalties. I think eight of the 11 maybe, I think we had 11 total penalties, eight of which were some form of pre-snap or post-whistle, in this case, pre-snap. Let’s just start there, right? Self-inflicted wounds are hard to overcome, and then you need to play an opponent on the other side.

“Give them credit, they played well. There’s a lot we can learn from, I’m confident we’ll do that. Also happy to see a lot of guys, I’m hoping, the goal is at least, is to get everyone in in some capacity, so I’m happy for those players that had never played before in an NFL game that they got in and were able to get out there and see some work.”

This preseason loss fortunately has no lasting impact on Buffalo’s 2024 campaign; in fact, the ugly result may actually benefit the team should it deduce and learn the correct lessons from it. The Bills will have their next opportunity to put better reps on film in their Week 2 preseason clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers next weekend at Acrisure Stadium.

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