The Buffalo Bills lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Sunday, but one aspect of the loss in particular left a bad taste in the team’s mouth.
Bills players had plenty of complaints about the artificial turf at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during Sunday’s game. Multiple Bills players were injured, and while the turf could not be blamed for all of them, there certainly seemed to be some in the Buffalo locker room that felt it did not help.
“Take that turf out, especially that one,” Bills defensive back Taron Johnson said, via Tim Graham of The Athletic. “I’d rather play on grass. I’m sure 90 to 100 percent of players in the NFL would rather play on grass. I don’t know why we’re playing on stuff like that.”
One anonymous Bills player was even more critical, telling Ryan O’Halloran of the Buffalo News that the field was like “cement.”
#Bills player on Tottenham artificial surface:
"We came all the way over to London to play on f***ing cement?"
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) October 8, 2023
The quality of turf at NFL stadiums has been a significant talking point all year. The turf in London sounds like it was worse than usual, at least according to Bills players.
So far, the NFL has brushed off turf complaints, and this one is unlikely to be different. Still, if the complaints continue, they might have to at least address things.
