The Buffalo Bills beat the Indianapolis Colts at home 23-19 in their preseason opener.
The game was the first of the preseason for the team and head coach McDermott, who made his return to defensive play calling in the contest. The last time that McDermott was a defensive coordinator was with the Carolina Panthers from 2011 to 2016 prior to becoming the Bills head coach.
He is known for being an aggressive play caller as a DC, which was noticeably on display during Saturday’s game.
The Bills defense mirrored that aggressiveness on the field, attacking the pocket and logging six quarterback hits and three sacks on the day in a strong showing despite a high number of penalties.
McDermott spoke after the game about those strengths, the need for consistency, and clean play.
“I thought there were some good things, we showed moments of our standard that we hold ourselves to, but not enough though,” The head coach said to the press. “We have to be more consistent starting with penalties, more discipline on pre-snap penalties because it hurts you.”
McDermott’s playcalling on defense helped make a difference early, opting to blitz on a second down play during the game’s first series in which defensive back Saran Neal forced rookie Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson to throw an interception that set up the Bills’ first touchdown.
“I’m still working through the communication piece,” McDermott added. “A preseason game is a little bit different than a regular-season game. We’ll go back, just like we do with the players, and evaluate that and talk about some areas that we’ve got to improve on. It was just kind of getting on the same cadence, when I’m going to be in certain spots and when I need information at times, and make sure that information is readily available when I need it.
Still, the coach noted, “It was a pretty good first game.”
The Bills defense is aiming to bounce back from last season’s injuries and return to the upper ranks of the NFL once again under McDermott and the teams’ coaching staff.
“It was fun to be back out there, rolling up my sleeves a little bit but still working through the communication piece.”