Bills coach Sean McDermott clarifies comments about Bill Belichick following loss to the Patriots

Bills coach clarifies comments about Bill Belichick following Patriots loss

“A hundred percent respect for Coach Belichick. It was really just focused on us.”

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott attends a news conference after an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers. AP Photo/Joshua Bessex

On Monday, Bills coach Sean McDermott clarified his postgame comments about Bill Belichick, saying he has “100 percent respect” for the Patriots coach.

Following the Patriots’ unique 14-10 victory over the Bills on Dec. 6, McDermott made headlines when he seemed to suggest Belichick was getting too much credit for his team’s success on a night when the Patriots ran the ball on all but three of their plays from scrimmage.

“Let’s not give more credit than we need to give credit to Bill Belichick in this one,” McDermott said at the time. “Whether it’s Bill or anybody else, they beat us. When we start with average field position of the 40-yard line and he starts with the 23-yard line and we were 1-for-4 in the red zone and they were 0-for-1 in the red zone. If you give me that ahead of time, I like my chances.”

On Monday, McDermott said he meant no disrespect to anyone, except perhaps his own team.

“A hundred percent of where we fell short, what we could have done better,” McDermott said. “A hundred percent that, and that’s really it. A hundred percent respect for Coach Belichick. It was really just focused on us and that was the intent.”

McDermott was asked about Mac Jones, who the Bills only got a cursory look at earlier this month.

“He’s a good young quarterback,” McDermott said. “I thought he executed well the other night [against the Colts], particularly when they got behind. I thought that was impressive what he was able to do in bringing their team back. It’s clear they have a lot of trust in him.”

Jones’ 2-for-3 performance throwing the ball kept the Bills from getting a closer look at the rookie. That complicates McDermott’s job a bit this week.

“I think both are good teams,” McDermott said. “Certainly they have a really good team, well-coached, they have players who have been in that system for a long time, particularly on the defensive side. So I don’t know, it’ll just be part of that chess match.

“At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to fundamentals and technique like it normally does.”