INDIANAPOLIS - "Losses like this one have to hurt."
The words of Bills head coach Sean McDermott after Sunday's 37-5 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
There's truth to those words. They were in response to a question about how the Bills try to move forward from this with the New England Patriots headed for Orchard Park next Monday.
It was one of only a few answers McDermott had about his team's performance against Indy.
When asked how his team wasn't even remotely competitive... he gave the Colts credit, instead of truly shedding light on how and why his team is struggling to such a significant degree.
To be fair, the Bills had issues against the Colts in all phases.
But so much of his has to do with how McDermott and Brandon Beane have mismanaged the quarterback situation. It has to do with overestimating Nate Peterman's talent to the point where they started the year with him in disastrous fashion in Baltimore. The point was accented by the two interceptions he threw when Josh Allen got hurt against Houston that cost Buffalo the game.
It further extends then to the need to start veteran Derek Anderson in this game after signing him to mentor Allen two weeks ago. Never mind the abandoned idea of keeping A.J. McCarron, or looking to add a veteran to the roster sooner in preparation for a scenario like this,
Anderson threw three interceptions and lost a fumble against the Colts.
Oh by the way... the jury is still out on Allen.
McDermott's defense has played incredibly well since the second half of the home opener against the Chargers.
Sunday was a major setback.
The Bills defense had taken the ball away 11-times since the start of the Minnesota game. It had one against the Colts.
It's a defense that sacked Houston's Deshaun Watson seven times last week. They failed to get to Andrew Luck a single time in this game.
The Colts rushed for 220-yards.
Domination.
McDermott is reluctant to give answers about most of that harsh reality beyond football chiche.
That's part of the approach he takes in news conferences.
What's more concerning is that at 2-5, his team is searching for answers, and particularly on offense, McDermott and his staff don't seem to have them.
-Adam Benigni