Bills' head coach Sean McDermott lays down the law about penalties that almost cost Buffalo the game

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Jon Helmkamp | Last updated 10/15/24

The Buffalo Bills starting left tackle Dion Dawkins certainly has personality, but that personality might have gone too far on Monday night.

Dawkins was flagged between the third and fourth quarter for unsportsmanlike conduct. He explained the situation after the game.

"It was a little weird, like they talking out of their mouth, and one of their trainers walked by with the water. I felt like he was trying to be funny. He had the water bottle in my face," Dawkins said. "He could have been giving it to his guys, but he had the water too close to my face, almost like he was trying to and be funny. So I grabbed the water and the official threw the flag. So, weird people being weird."

"I think the opposite," Dawkins said when asked if he thought the Jets were too much in his head. "I think that I'm more in their head than they're in mind. You know, I went out there and did exactly what I plan on doing, getting him out of his game. You feel me like, if we're talking about one person, he had a chance and Josh went around him the last play of the game. I'm one of those guys that you know will be about what I'm talking about, I gotta back up, but what I'm doing, coach wants dogs. So hey, I mean, I'm about there and I'm gonna run my mouth and I'm gonna talk."

Dawkins continued to talk after the game.

Dion Dawkins had a few more words for Michael Clemons just after the #Bills win over the Jets.

Dawkins said later it's a product of the intensity.
"Trash talk. That's what makes it fun. Speaking the truth. Trash truth talk." pic.twitter.com/HqdyuCD55D
— Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) October 15, 2024

Head coach Sean McDermott was asked about the trash talking following the win.

"You do the best you can at the end of the day," McDermott said about managing emotions for Dawkins and the rest of the team. "then he's got to take that and make sure he's thinking of the team first. And those pre-snap or post-whistle penalties, those are non-negotiable. We don't tolerate that stuff. So we've got to do a better job in that category, for sure."

Dawkins might think that he's doing what the coach wants, saying the "coach wants dogs," but the coach also wants his "dogs" to play smart. You can't give away yardage and put your team in a worse situation because you're jawing with the opponent.

Dawkins will need to be in better control going forward.