The Buffalo Bills are still trying to figure out how to get past the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs, having been defeated by Patrick Mahomes and company in the postseason for the fourth time in five years during this season's AFC championship.
Speaking with the media on Thursday, Bills coach Sean McDermott was asked about the impact of the officiating on the result of Buffalo's 32–29 defeat in the conference title game. McDermott made clear he didn't think the refs were responsible for the Bills' loss.
"We went into the game and one of my messages to the team... is 'you're not gonna get calls. We're not gonna get calls.' And I think when you prepare a team, you prepare them ahead of time mentally for, 'this is the way it's going down.' And you live with that. That's not the reason why we lost," said McDermott of the perception that the Bills got the "short end of the stick" from officials.
"You start looking at that, you lose sight of all the adjustments you can make as a team... to improve who we are and how we do things. There is going to be some of that, and you have to be above that and play above that."
McDermott wasn't willing to use the game's officiating as an excuse for why Buffalo failed to secure a win, suggesting the onus was on the team to overcome any obstacles in its path.
"At the end of the day, the game was decided on the field, and we didn't perform well enough to get the job done," McDermott declared.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bills’ Sean McDermott Had Honest Message About Questionable Calls in AFC Title Game.
