Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
The Buffalo Bills are on their way to the AFC Championship after taking down the Ravens on Sunday. Head coach Sean McDermott jabbed a Baltimore media member after the win.
In his postgame press conference, he pridefully referred Buffalo as a “City of Winners.” He’d taken offense to previous comments made about the Bills‘ past playoff struggles.
Baltimore radio host Jerry Coleman was heard bashing the team and fanbase while speaking with John Harbaugh in the leadup to the game. “I called them a city of losers,” he reiterated while speaking with the coach about the matchup. The Bills played a clip of those initial remarks as the Ravens took the field for their postseason bout this weekend.
City of losers, huh? #Bills #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/weunRZLQ7W
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) January 19, 2025
Coleman was noting previous failures, which include four consecutive Super Bowl losses from 1990-1993. The words quickly soured when Buffalo left with a 27-25 victory, effectively ending the Ravens’ season.
The loss was particularly painful for Baltimore after seeing the team battle back from a deficit to have a chance to tie in the final minutes. After scoring a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining, tight end Mark Andrews dropped a game-tying two-point conversion in the endzone.
In all, the Ravens turned the ball over three times, leading to 10 Buffalo points. The offensive miscues proved costly in the setback.
Shortly after picking up the win, Sean McDermott brought those comments back to light. “It’s a city of winners,” he said. “These people and this town are winners… The people here are different, and they deserve more than whoever said that about them.”
city of losers? pic.twitter.com/zEAEwH9nf4
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) January 20, 2025
Buffalo used the negativity as motivation leading into the contest. The team played with a chip on its shoulders as it looks to land its first Super Bowl title. The franchise’s last championship came prior to the AFL-NFL merger in 1965.
“Our guys heard it all week,” McDermott said. “We’re not big enough. We’re not strong enough. We’re not talented enough.”
They proved doubters wrong on Sunday by upsetting the visiting Ravens as one-point underdogs. The Bills are now one game away from a Super Bowl appearance.
They’ll have to get through the Kansas City Chiefs next weekend to do so, a team that’s ended their season three of the last four years. QB Josh Allen hopes to get the monkey off of his back as he boasts an 0-3 playoff record against Patrick Mahomes.
That AFC Championship Game will be played in Arrowhead Stadium, with the Chiefs projected as a slight favorite to open the week. McDermott will do his part to nix that “loser” narrative and land a big win in Kansas City next Sunday.