Sean McDermott: There are no moral victories
The Bills fell to the Eagles 37-34 in overtime on Sunday to head into their Week 13 bye at 6-6.
That puts Buffalo at No. 10 in the AFC — behind No. 7 Indianapolis, No. 8 Houston, and No. 9 Denver for the conference’s final postseason slot.
Buffalo has certainly played better on offense since the team fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and promoted QBs coach Joe Brady to the role. But that doesn’t help when the ultimate result is a disappointment like it was on Sunday.
“There are no moral victories,” head coach Sean McDermott said of his message to the team in his postgame press conference. “I am encouraged by the direction of our offense the last two weeks. I think holistically as a team, I will assess where we are at. I am going to do some self-scout this week and get ourselves ready for the Kansas City Chiefs.”
Buffalo will head to Kansas City for its first game after the bye and the team’s schedule remains tough down the stretch. The Bills host the Cowboys in Week 15 then head to Los Angeles for a Saturday matchup against the Chargers in Week 16. The Week 17 game against the Patriots doesn’t necessarily look too tough on paper, but then the club ends the regular season with a trip to Miami.
McDermott said the team must “stand up” after taking Sunday’s gut punch.
“This is the league we are in,” McDermott said. “We came in here, fought our [tails] off. We didn’t make enough [plays]. We didn’t do enough or make enough plays and do enough on the coaching end.
“At the end of the day, there is a tough group of guys in that locker room. A tough group of coaches. We are a good football team and just came out on the short end here. There are no moral victories. Each and every one of us has to look at ourselves. Like I told you, that starts with me. That is what you do. That is what the best do, and I know our football team is a darn good football team.”
The Bills will get a week to recuperate before looking to prove McDermott right over the season’s last five weeks.
