Bills’ McDermott: ‘I Have the Utmost Respect for’ Bill Belichick; ‘He’s The Standard’

AP Photo/Steven Senne

Sean McDermott is making sure he doesn’t create any headlines this time around.

The Buffalo Bills head coach spoke to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, remarking that he has the “utmost respect” for Bill Belichick after his team’s 33-21 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday at Gillette Stadium:

“I’ll talk about that quote, first of all. I know what I meant to say, and I have the utmost respect for Bill. And it was more about what I and our team didn’t do. And things sometimes take on a life of their own, I guess. But look, Bill Belichick makes me a better coach. He’s the standard. And so he just … he challenges even the opposite coach to continue to grow. It’s so hard to beat his team.

“And at the end of the day, I’m just very thankful for the opportunity to bring our team here, and I thought our guys played really hard today.”

McDermott made headlines—and some enemies in New England—after telling reporters to “not give more credit than we need” to Belichick after the Patriots’ Week 13 win over Buffalo.

That game was notable as the Patriots won despite throwing the ball only three times, the lowest number thrown in a game since 1974 and the fewest in Patriots franchise history.

McDermott’s team responded with a dominant offensive effort in the Week 16 rematch, with Josh Allen throwing for 314 yards and three touchdowns while adding 64 yards on the ground.