Sean McDermott is turning heads with 2 huge admissions at once after the Bills’ impressive win over the Panthers
Sean McDermott wasted no time with his postgame comments.
The Buffalo Bills dominated from start to finish, defeating the Carolina Panthers 40-9 in a thrilling Week 8 victory. It was a bounce-back game for the Bills, who suffered consecutive losses to the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons heading into the bye week.
Head coach Sean McDermott spoke to the media and offered two huge admissions. First, McDermott confirmed that he was calling plays alongside defensive coordinator Bobby Babich. Second, McDermott said he decided to sit linebacker Terrel Bernard, and it was his decision alone.
McDermott was asked point-blank after some eagle-eyed members of the Bills Mafia saw that the head coach might have been calling plays on defense.
“Bobby and I have done it together, we really have, and that will continue,” McDermott added. “Bobby is a great coach, we’ve done it together, and we’ll continue to do it together.”
Defense shone in the victory over the Carolina Panthers
The defense came to play and made life difficult for quarterback Andy Dalton. It had multiple sacks and forced turnovers, thanks in large part to the stout defensive line performance.
McDermott was quick to give defensive end Greg Rousseau his flowers. Rousseau forced a critical fumble early in the contest, swinging the momentum in the Bills’ favor.
“Huge, when Greg plays nasty football, man, he’s really good,” McDermott said. “And then our defense goes up a level. That was a big-time play right before the half there [ . . . ] big time swing in momentum for sure.”
That’s when the topic of Bernard came up, with a shocking admission from McDermott. Bernard wasn’t ruled inactive, but was sidelined while dealing with a nagging injury. McDermott made it clear that it wasn’t performance-driven, simply injury-related.
“It just kind of was where we were and trying to get him freshened up,” the coach added. “It wasn’t at all, it was more medically where he was, versus anything to do with him not performing or anything like that. It was my decision, my decision only. Just felt like we needed to get him freshened up a little bit.
“And then the linebacking room overall had some ‘Can they play, can they not play,’ and it came down to the wire there on who was going to be fully dressed and those that we didn’t, and some of that was medically as well,” McDermott said. “Kind of forced our hand, too.”
McDermott clarified that Bernard would have played if an emergency arose, saying that was the plan all along, with the team sitting the linebacker.
“That was kind of the deal if we had to, to get him in there,” McDermott said. “We got some guys nursing some injuries.”
Sean McDermott is 9-0 after the bye week
With the victory, McDermott remains undefeated with the Bills following a bye week. The head coach was asked what it takes to pull off such a feat, and McDermott gave a brutally honest answer.
“Luck, it’s luck. I don’t know. If I knew, I would do that every game,” McDermott said. “Lord’s will, I guess.”
Of course, McDermott was asked about James Cook’s performance, along with some issues in the passing game in the first two quarters. Once again, the head coach didn’t hold back about the offense and quarterback Josh Allen after the win.
“It just looked like we were just a little bit out of rhythm a little bit,” McDermott continued. “I felt Josh really caught fire after that. The value of a competitor at a high level to be able to do that is impressive. Josh is wired that way. It was good to really see him come out after half and really get into a rhythm.”
Even with key injuries and tough coaching decisions, McDermott once again pushed the right buttons after the bye. The defense played with fire, the offense found its rhythm, and the Bills looked like a team that’s heating up at just the right time.
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