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When it came to defensive tackle Marcell Dareus' turn, his response irked some fans.
"It's just a game."
That isn't precisely the statement some fans want to hear from one of their favorite team's marquee players, when most are looking for answers immediately following a loss that severe.
A few things have to be considered, though, when thinking about why Dareus may have answered the question in that way. The biggest of those reasons all stem from an incredibly tragic event that took place under a month ago that seemingly rocked the very foundation of the second-year player's world.
In the days after the Bills' loss to the New York Jets on opening weekend, Dareus learned his younger brother, Simeon Gilmore, was killed during a burglary that resulted in a triple homicide.
A personal tragedy that stark will lead to any person to try and put things in perspective. That's just human nature.
Even still, that comment after the 49ers loss still rubbed some people the wrong way. Following Thursday's practice, Dareus explained where he was coming from.
"It was emotions," Dareus said. "People don't want to lose. I'm not from a losing program. I do not want to lose, I hate losing. Emotions flare sometimes. But at the same time, it's a game. We're going to go out here and play our butts off. We're trying to win, and do the best we can for the team, the fans. We're gonna go out there and bust our butts every time.
"But at the same time, people get beat up and get put so far down. You just gotta realize, it's a game. Go out here and play your butts off, win. Just emotions were flaring at the end of the game."
Since coming to the Bills by way of the third overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Dareus can best be described as a rather jovial person that reacts to adversity in perhaps a different way than some are used to.
He has often described himself as always having fun on the football field. Given the state of things -- the losing, the tragedies that have encapsulated his personal life for the past month -- the question was simple:
Is Dareus still having fun?
"Win or lose, I'm having fun," he said. "I'm out here doing what I love. I've been doing it for free my whole life and now I'm getting paid for it. I'm having a ball, having a great time. But when you come back to the realization after the game and win or lose, that's when everybody else's emotions come back in and you're kind of like, 'Ugh.' But other than that, I love playing football. I'm gonna do my best every time I play."
It has to be a bit of an adjustment for Dareus. Like he pointed out, he's been playing the game for free and for the love of it for quite some time. Now in his second year in the NFL, the job aspect of it all could be a source of frustration.
"It gets to the best of you when you get around a bunch of people and a lot of people are talking," Dareus remarked. "You're like, 'Man, just be quiet. Just be quiet. Go out here and bust your butt.' Or you get fans talking, just watch us play. Just cheer for us, don't put us down. That's what gets to me. But other than that, I'm glad to play my butt off."
Perhaps being a tad vague in the previous answer, might that negativity be coming from some of the players that make up the team? Dareus dismissed that notion.
"It's not so much the locker room, it's just people, everybody," he said. "That's the biggest thing, I hate disappointing people. And the fans, you don't want to disappoint them. They support us so much, they love us so much. Any type of disappointment from me to them, or from the team to them, it eats me up inside."
With the NFL being as popular as it is, it's hard to keep everyone happy all the time. Dareus says though, that the pressure and perceived enormity of it all doesn't play in to how he approaches a game.
"I don't look at football as pressure," said the former first round pick. "It's just going out here and playing. I play with a little bit more fire I would say. I feel like I'm gonna have to really turn it on this week."
Both he and the rest of his teammates will have to do just that. They face another stiff challenge against an Arizona Cardinals team that boasts a 4-1 record.
How might the defensive line go about getting themselves back to the winning track? To Dareus, it's simple: Win the one-on-one match ups.
Dareus and the Bills square off against the Cardinals on Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Twitter: @JoeBuscaglia