"Playing against their ones I expect, we expect to compete with them — and that wasn't the case early," McDermott said before adding "it didn't get much better" once Chicago's starting units departed.
McDermott continued to explain that he felt Buffalo's starters performed well enough in Friday's joint practice that he felt comfortable enough to sit most of the team's starters and give other players an opportunity to shine.
"I thought we made some momentum coming off that practice which I thought was a good practice for us. Tonight however, not even close," McDermott said. "I was looking forward to seeing some guys with the opportunity tonight step up, and didn't sense that as much as I'd hoped."
There were two players who did get a handful of reps Sunday and are expected to be starters once the season begins. WR Joshua Palmer and S Cole Bishop played the first couple of series as McDermott felt both needed additional reps as they return from injury — Palmer still adjusting to a new offense and Bishop needing experience in his second year.
When asked about Bishop in particular, McDermott shared that the team has been managing his rep count as he works his way back from a training camp injury. Bishop played 12 snaps against the Bears.
"He needs more experience. He needs more reps. That's where you work out some of these things, and that's how you build the callouses, and it comes from experience. So, there's nothing more important for him than the experience that he got tonight," McDermott said.