Getty Bills head coach Sean McDermott.
The outcome may not count toward their final record, but Sean McDermott’s unhappiness with how the Buffalo Bills performed in a preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday was very real.
The Bills struggled on both sides of the ball in the 27-15 loss on August 19, with the Steelers jumping to a big early lead while the Bills still had starters playing on offense and defense. The Bills were plagued by penalties and miscues, and after the game McDermott took his team to task for the performance.
“Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable. Point blank,” McDermott told reporters in a postgame interview. “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.”
The game raised concerns about some roster positions, with one injury that could force the Bills to look for more help at offensive line.
Sean McDermott Sounds Off After Loss
The Bills were sloppy from the outset of Saturday’s loss, committing 12 penalties in the first half and turning the ball over four times total in the game. McDermott said the team had been struggling with penalties during practices, leading the Bills coach to pull some players out of drills in hopes of correcting the problem.
As McDermott said after Saturday’s game, there is still more work to be done.
“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.”
After keeping Josh Allen out of their preseason opener, the Bills played him and the rest of the offensive starters in the first quarter of Saturday’s game, but it was to no avail. The Bills struggled to move the ball and went punt-punt-punt-interception-interception on their five first-half drives.
Allen was pulled early in the second quarter and relieved by veteran Matt Barkley, who had a strong showing in the team’s win over the Indianapolis Colts on August 12 but failed to replicate the performance against the Steelers. Barkley went 7-for-12 passing for 93 yards with three interceptions and one lost fumble.
#Bills Matt Barkley R elbow injury.
Reports confirm this is a R elbow injury.
Can see Steelers face mask hits Barkley’s elbow on the outside before he goes down.
Arm was cocked & hit which always worries for UCL, but appears to be nothing more than just bruising & swelling.
Barkley later left the game after suffering an elbow injury.
Another Costly Loss for the Bills
The Bills may have suffered another major loss within the game when offensive lineman Tommy Doyle went down with an apparent knee injury. Doyle has been working his way back from an ACL tear that ended his 2022 season and has been slated as a reserve lineman.
The Bills were already thin at offensive line after veteran Brandon Shell’s unexpected retirement earlier in the week, and now could be forced to seek a trade or free agent to help fill the void. The team held workouts with free-agent linemen Quinton Barrow and Garrett McGhinn after Shell’s retirement, but both left without a contract.
Some have suggested giving a look at veteran left tackle Jason Peters, who plans to play another season at the age of 41. Peters broke into the NFL with the Bills in 2004, signing as an undrafted free agent tight end before the team converted him to left tackle.