Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott is one who will often beat around the bush keep his cards close to the chest.
When it came to the penalty problem his team had against the Pittsburgh Steelers in an ugly 27-15 loss? He couldn’t have been more direct.
“Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable. Point blank,” McDermott said via video conference. “Guys have got to take ownership of it and responsibility for it. It’s not like we don’t talk about discipline. That’s a part of our environment but obviously we’ve got more work to do there.”
In total, the Bills had 13 flags go against them. All but one came in the first half. It looks like the referees ended up swallowing their whistles after halftime, but it was not pretty regardless.
And it’s not like this was something new. Penalties popped up against the Indianapolis Colts last week.
McDermott said it was a point of emphasis during practice prior to traveling to Pittsburgh. According to the coach, penalties committed would lead to players being pulled off the field in the middle of drills during workouts.
That didn’t work and McDermott admitted it.
“We’re pulling guys out and it’s still not getting done,” McDermott said. “We’ve got to go back to the drawing board there. I’ve got to figure out something there in the next couple of days, it’s my responsibility.”
Ever the optimist, maybe more so than McDermott even, quarterback Josh Allen downplayed his team’s terrible game a bit post game. But even Allen to note the penalties were an issue.
But he had a good point, too.
“On offense, we had a lack of detail,” Allen said. “I’m glad we’re going through it now rather than the regular season.”
That’s fair, Josh. That’s fair.
But only one more game until there flags hurt for real.
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