Former New England Patriots linebacker and current ESPN analyst Rob Ninkovich had nothing but criticism for Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott after a brutal loss in Week 13,
The Patriots ran the football to the tune of 222 rushing yards, while relying on the defense to stop a Buffalo offense full of playmakers. Coach Bill Belichick adjusted accordingly, while on the other sideline, Buffalo could not seem to make adjustments of their own.
Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up Wednesday, Ninkovich called out McDermott for his in-game decision-making and his postgame comments where he downplayed Belichick’s impact on the game. As transcribed by Adam London of NESN.com, Ninkovich was clearly bewildered:
“Their mind is gone,” Ninkovich said on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “They’re not going to win this next game. It’s over with. What are we doing? What are we doing, head coach? C’mon. What are we paying you — I don’t know. A lot of money. These head coaches, I’ll let ya. Let’s challenge another QB sneak and see if we get the turn. Like, what are we doing? How about I question your playcalling? How about I question a lot of things you did? Yeah, let’s challenge a muddle of a first down by the Patriots to see if they didn’t get the first down. That’s a terrible challenge. The head coach messed up. Give Bill the credit. He actually told you what he was going to do all day. OK, we’ll run the ball. Can you stop us? No. Guess what? In Foxboro? One hundred to nothing.”
The Patriots and the Bills will meet again on December 26. Depending on the outcome of these next couple of weeks, it could be a big matchup, with playoff pictures coming into focus.
Buffalo will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers on December 12 and 19th. New England has a bye week before taking on the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, December 18. Depending on how those games go, there could be a lot on the line when the two teams meet at Gillette Stadium.
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