Sean McDermott critical of Bills after 38-0 preseason loss: 'There's a lot that needs to get cleaned up'

Preseason results rarely matter in the long run, but when the scoreboard shows 38-0 as it did Sunday for the Buffalo Bills in a loss to the Chicago Bears, it's hard to simply shrug it off. Coach Sean McDermott didn't mince words after the blowout, saying the performance from his reserves fell well short of expectations.

"Certainly not up to our standard, what we expect," McDermott said. "Got a lot of work to do, that's very clear. Doesn't matter who's out there -- ones, twos, threes, fours -- whoever it is, we expect them to perform and we expect our level of performance to be much better than that."

Most of Buffalo's starters, including quarterback Josh Allen, sat out, and McDermott made clear that health was the priority. The team already saw what it needed from Allen and the first unit during joint practices with the Bears earlier in the week. What Sunday revealed, however, was how shaky the depth pieces currently look.

It marked Buffalo's first shutout in any game -- preseason, regular season or postseason -- since Aug. 26, 2022, when the Bills fell 21-0 to the Carolina Panthers in their preseason finale.

Bears' quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, carved through the Bills' defense with ease. On his very first drive, Williams led a 92-yard march capped by a 36-yard touchdown pass. By the time the Bears' backups checked in, the Bills' second- and third-string players were already on their heels.

"We didn't win the line of scrimmage, fundamentally we weren't good enough, too many penalties," McDermott said. "Get out there and playing against their ones, I expect -- we expect -- to compete with them. And that wasn't the case early. And then our twos, then who were out there against their twos, and our threes against their threes, it didn't get much better."

McDermott wasn't calling for panic but admitted that a loss of this magnitude raises red flags. In the two preseason games, Buffalo has allowed 72 points and 924 yards of offense. That's an alarming trend, regardless of who's on the field.

"I'm concerned about a lot of things coming off tonight," McDermott said. "When you lose the way we did, it's probably a little bit of everything. ... There's a lot that needs to get cleaned up."

The Bills have their last preseason tune-up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Saturday before opening the 2025 regular season against the Baltimore Ravens Sept. 7.