MIKE MACDONALD: That’s the result of a good football team outplaying us in three phases and then it gets out of control when you do the things we did today that we didn’t help ourselves with. It’s a laundry list of things. If you want, we can go line item by line item. The long and short of it is that we were outplayed and coached and we have to make amends. It feels like we’ve talked to you too many times about going back to work on Tuesday, tackling it head-on and seeing if we can handle it against a good Rams team coming in here , can still turn around.

How different does this game feel capitalizing on the red zone in the second quarter on these two plays?

MIKE MACDONALD: It’s hard to say if it’s going to work, but you feel like you’re in the middle of it. Again, this is a red zone story: we don’t get the stops we need in the red zone and then we’re unable to play the ball inside the five yard line. We definitely have to do better there.

I guess the one where Geno fell behind, what happened?

MIKE MACDONALD: I think he just got kicked. You may have seen it. I haven’t seen it. He either tripped or stepped on him.

If you look at the mistakes made today, it’s a big picture. How do you think the guys have tried to deal with this at the moment? It seemed like Derick Hall and Jarran Reed were obviously into it…

MIKE MACDONALD: Well, there is some frustration there. Look, our guys are connected and support each other. They are emotional. There will be flare-ups and stuff. Seems like things have calmed down. Wasn’t a smart penalty. Except we don’t train our guys to attack quarterbacks that way, so it wasn’t a smart move.

What are your concerns compared to the current state of the run game? For the second time in three or four games, you averaged less than 2.2 yards per carry.

MIKE MACDONALD: Yeah, I would say that’s a big problem. We have to do it right. If I knew the one answer, I would give it to you in a heartbeat. Seems like it’s a litany of things. We have to work on it. At the moment we cannot control the pace of the games. We have to go to work.

Any news on Dre’Mont Jones?

MIKE MACDONALD: We’ll see. I think he’s finished the game, so let’s move on.

Was DK Metcalf even close to playing?

MIKE MACDONALD: I mean, he’s only missed two games in his career? I think that speaks to his work ethic. I know he tried to do everything humanly possible to play. Later that week it became clear he couldn’t walk.

What impact do you think it had on the offense when he wasn’t there?

MIKE MACDONALD: No, DK Metcalf is one of them, but we have a lot of really good players that can play. We expect them to engage at a high level. We need to be able to move the ball on the ground and in the air. We have to be able to score in the red zone. DK would not have been on the goal line at the one or two yard line.

What did you think of Ernest Jones IV’s first game with you?

MIKE MACDONALD: It’s hard to say at the moment. It felt like he had made some plays in space. I need to look at the running game of some of the runs that came out and figure out what’s going on there.

In some of those games, how difficult were the situations that Geno found himself in, whether it was the score or the running game?

MIKE MACDONALD: It happens too often that we end up in throwing mode. Again, it starts with dictating the conditions to the other team, controlling the game, setting the pace of the game and taking care of the football. So yeah, we certainly put him in tough situations late in the game.

To beat Josh Allen for the first time in about 300 pass attempts for him, what do I think that meant leading up to that moment?

MIKE MACDONALD: There was one bright spot in the game. We felt like we had a chance to really change the momentum here and Josh had great technique on that play and then when he had the opportunity he took it. That was great back then. We felt like we had a chance to get things going.

How meaningful is this to where you are or are not in this program?

MIKE MACDONALD: I think that’s a good question. We’re talking about stacking up wins here, and when you keep going back and forth, it’s frustrating. You want to be able to build on the good things we’re doing so we can get our program to where we want it to be. When you take a step back like we did today, it’s very sobering and frustrating. But this is the NFL. If you don’t bring it and give your best against good teams, you won’t win these games. Our boys know that. As coaches, we have to prepare our boys as best as possible. We have to call great games. The whole thing has to continue to fit together. Time is ticking, as we say. We are now about halfway through the season. But you take a step back, I mean, right in the middle of the action of the division, and the upcoming game is going to be a big one.

Seems like there’s a real emphasis on heavy personnel packages these days. Extra offensive lineman and stuff. Was this something you were prepared for and what is causing you problems?

MIKE MACDONALD: Well, it was more than they showed on tape in those situations, but you still have to be prepared for it. I thought we had a solid plan. There probably could have been a little more flexibility on this front to get more answers and perhaps more movements. These are things we talked about. They try to constantly adjust and watch where the ball hits to see if we can get some anchor points or play blocks better. So (a) combination of trying not to scrap what you have, but maybe just calming it down.

It wasn’t good enough when they went to their big 12 employees.

As up and down as it’s been, do you have any good reading on whether your best would be as good as Buffalo, or don’t you know that yet?

MIKE MACDONALD: No, I think everyone in this area knows that our best can keep up with them. And look, Buffalo is a great team. Been doing this for a long time. The balance sheet speaks for itself. They have great players. This is a vote of confidence for our boys, our people.