Bills’ Josh Allen and Sean McDermott send entire team a clear message after preseason blowout loss

For the Buffalo Bills, game one of the preseason didn't exactly go as well as it could have. After taking a blowout 33-6 loss at home to the Chicago Bears, Josh Allen and Sean McDermott were in lockstop in their postgame press conferences in terms of where things stand, and where things need to go.

Josh Allen commented on the standard that they have

Allen was the first one to take the mic after the rough loss, and began by saying that, by design, they didn't go into this game accounting for anything having to do with the team they were facing.

"We didn’t gameplan at all for what they were going to do on defense. You know, we were just trying to trot out some of the runs that we've been working on and practicing, and I know we got a lot of different stunts, a lot of different pressures into those, so it's all good work," Allen said.

It makes sense. The Bills were more focused on handling their own business and on the fundamentals of what they were implementing than on trying to gameplan for what the Bears might be bringing on defense.

From there, Allen was clear about the expectations for this roster.

"Coach McDermott is preaching to the room right now that we hold ourselves to a very high standard. And you know, whether that was met today, I guess we'll find out on film, it didn’t really feel like it was stepping out of that locker room," Allen said.

Sean McDermott: "The standard is the standard."

McDermott wasted no time when he took the mic.

"Maybe the red zone defense early in the game kept us in it a little bit, but outside of that, a ton to work on. Our standard was not out there today. That's not how we play. There's a lot that we need to do to get ourselves ready.

We've got to learn from it. I think we have to be truthful about what we saw out there. And really it started with, I felt like, beating ourselves quite a bit, just with pre-snap penalties. I think it was eight, eight of the 11 maybe, 11 total penalties, eight of which were some form of pre snap, or post-whistle. So let's just start there. Self-inflicted wounds are hard to overcome, and then you’ve got to play an opponent on the other side."

"There's a lot we can learn from, and I'm confident we'll do that," McDermott said

After going into details about some positives, namely that rookie Keon Coleman looked comfortable and carried himself with poise and energy in his first preseason game, McDermott continued with issues that need addressing, namely the line of scrimmage, which he said wasn't up to par.

"When you don't control the line of scrimmage, it makes it hard to win," McDermott said.

After going into the details of what he would like to see, McDermott continued to set the expectation and the tone for this team going forward.

"I think some of the younger guys who haven't been in our locker room, and some new guys who haven't been in our locker room, our veterans, they start to understand that the standard is the standard. It's the standard even in a preseason game, preseason week one. That's probably one of the more irritating things of this is, I don't care who it is, where we're playing, what time of day we play, or in this case, preseason game number one, there is a standard and expectation, when you put on the colors of the Buffalo Bills, to come out and play a lot better than we did, and coach a lot better than we did. So that's important," McDermott said.

Allen and McDermott both made it clear that it's important not to overreact

This is just the first preseason game, Bills fans, so take a breath. What's noteworthy is that the leaders, both the franchise quarterback and he head coach, are holding the players on the roster accountable to living up to the standard of the Buffalo Bills. That expectation, that tone, is what breeds success. It's noteworthy.

Equally noteworthy, though, is not to overreact to a game that was largely played by depth pieces and players competing for roster spots.

"If you had a blood pressure cuff on me during that game, it would have probably exploded," McDermott said with a smirk when asked about not overreacting in the preseason. "I just think that, when you've been around as long as I have, you know, you try and keep perspective."

Allen said something similar multiple times in his press conference.

"It is the preseason, at the end of the day," Allen said.

"But again, we're not going to make a big deal out of preseason game one," he said at another point.

It's not all doom and gloom – there were positives to glean

Let's look at the positives, shall we? The starting offense was exciting. The plan for both Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel began to take some shape, as the offense seemed to prioritize horizontal passing attacks and manufacturing touches to the playmakers to get them into space. Samuel took a screen for 15 yards. Shakir caught three passes, including taking a pass on 4th and 2 for 19 yards after a catch and run.

Keon Coleman played the boundary, catching his first pass on a clean-looking curl.

The tight end duo of Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox both saw involvement in multiple personnel groupings.

This will be a balanced and quick-hitting attack that will utilize a ton of volume, even though it's abundantly clear that elements are intentionally being held back in the preseason.

"You don't have your best plays, and there's a balance between running what we've been practicing, but not showing a whole lot to the world, too," Allen said at one point.

So please, Bills Mafia, take a breath. It's only the preseason, and the leaders are responding to it the right way.

Related: Bills are doing exactly what they need during the preseason to help Josh Allen have a good season

Follow along all season for all the latest Buffalo Bills news. You can also find me on X @JonHelmkamp .