Sean McDermott Show, Wild Card Weekend

to join again. Sean McDermott, coach. It's playoff week when it's been a long climb. It's been a long, slow, steady rise to this point of the season. But man, oh man, you gotta feel good about where you're sitting this last game, meaningless game against the Jets. How did you strike the balance between maybe taking your foot off

the gas but still staying sharp. Well, it's important for us, Steve, that we stayed sharp, and we had work to do to come out of the Pagets game and certainly continued to grow, improve fundamentally, improve execution wise, and so just in those two areas we spent the week really trying to do that improve as an overall football team and hoping that that would have carried through the Jets game. In some ways it didn't. In some ways it didn't,

and we have to continue to grow. You know, you had a great moment in the early part of that game, is Zoe Alexander. You surprise Lorenzo Alexander with his daughter singing the national anthem. Everybody appreciated that in the stadium. I think obviously the players on the sidelines appreciate that as well. Yeah, a moment last year with Kyle when you got to touch it with a cash but this with Lorenzo a little different. It was a family thing.

His whole fan was down there for the anthem. It surprised him, and then you completely wasted a time out. I mean that says something about the quality of guy Lorenzo has been for you. Yeah, I mean it really does. You know. I said to the team in the locker room after the game, I said, I don't think there's a guy that has exemplified what it means to be a Buffalo Bill on and off the field this year or in year's pass more than more than Lorenzo Alexander.

Just the way he handled the whole situation and didn't want it to be about him. He wanted to keep it on his family. And so that was a good moment. Really, I got some right in my eyes after that national anthem, and so it was special. Absolutely. Yeah. So your team finishes up ten at six, first time since nineteen, first time in twenty years. What's that say about the direction this franchise is in. Certainly the finances are in, or the cap is in, or you've got some foundational players

that are improving in your squad. I don't know if you've even spoken to Kim and Terry about this franchise being here at this point looking up, and it's hard to imagine that it would have gone anymore according to plan than it is right now. Well, we've been fortunate to have Terrying Kim from a leadership standpoint and commit to what we're trying to do, and they're all in on trying to win and bring a championship to this

city and the fan base. And I think that the thing that's a little bit unique as we were heading into the game this past weekend was, you know, you want to be able to wrest some guys and take a look at some young players. We're wresting some young players because those are the guys that are playing for us, and instead of them being out, they're playing in the Jets game. So that boats well for the future of

the organization. I think. I think we've built a pretty good foundation, absolutely, and this one of the big steps this last offseason. Throughout this regular season, you turned over nine starters on your offense, so you knew you were going to have some jelling to take place. You had to wait for those guys to kind of get up to speed with each other. But man, oh man, this offense has grown and grown and grown. Josh has grown the offense and grown the guys you brought in Cole Beasley,

John Brown, the entire almost the entire offensive line. Where do you see that group on that side of the ball moving forward, Well, it's to build on the foundation that they've built through the year. Here at this point, Steve, and we've found a way to win. Sometimes it's been pretty, sometimes it hasn't been pretty. But overall as a football team, I think that's the biggest thing I could say about our football team is these guys are resilient and they

find ways to get it done. Yeah, Well, the poster boy for your improvements, Josh. When you look at his statistics, every conceivable quarterback statistic there is, he's improved himself. Talk about his work ethic, his mindset, his commitment. I mean, what has it taken and what have you seen from him him that you know kind of makes you want to jump on board with Josh and know that he's the guy going forward. Well, I don't think I don't think there's a guy in our building that doubts that

he's the guy for us moving forward. And he works extremely hard. The habits that he's built at an early part of his career is what really helped him improve this year with a lot of runaway in front of a ship. But I don't think there's a player on our team that doesn't want Josh under center and critical moments of the game in particular, and what he's done to will us and himself to victory had different parts

of games has been very impressive. Well, there's an old adage in the NFL and all around football, the defense wins championships. If that's the case, you gotta feel pretty good about your ability to make a deep run into these playoffs. Yeah, no, we've got a good defense. You know, We've had some moments like everyone does, but we've made adjustments. I think Leslie Fraser and his staff have done a really good job. And the players, man, they just buy

into everything that we're trying to do. And they come in hungry every week for the game plan and they and they help evolve into about the game plan. So look, at the end of the day, they're the ones that

are out there. And I think the leadership that you've seen Tremaine Edmund's developed this year in that way in the operation and then up front, you know, we've been playing well and it's been a little bit by committee and the and the guys embraced that and so and then the back end not giving up big plays has been the hallmark of our defense. And so we've got to continue to do that if we want to play well in the playoffs. Here. It's good stuff, an exciting week,

and we're looking forward to this game in Houston. We'll be back with your final thoughts and some more things about this Houston matchup later in the show. Shopping Wood is presented by Saint Bonaventure University, the official education provider of the Buffalo Bills. Hello everybody, welcome back to the Sean McDermott Show. Well, it's time to start Wildcard weekend and it's going to be a big matchup as the Bills go down to Houston for bonus football in January.

To celebrate it, let's bring our good friend back, Eric Wood to chop some wood in the film room. These playoff games always have marquee matchups, Eric, and this one is no different. This weekend, We're gonna see Tredavious White, one of the top flight cornerbacks in all of football, going against one of the best wide receivers in all of football in DeAndre Hopkins. This headline matchup is going

to be a lot of fun. It will be and i'd imagine we'll see Turdavious White trail Hopkins round the field and it'll be a fun matchup to follow throughout the game. Like you mentioned, one of the top receivers in the NFL and Turdavious White this year heading to his first plural poll. Really excited about this matchup. Yeah, on these two teams, really it is a strength against strength. I mean the playmakers for Houston's offense against that really

stellar Bill's defense. Let's start like talking about Tredavious White, a guy who's really been good all three years of his career in Buffalo, but he's gotten better every year and this year's no exception. Let's go back and look at the Sunday night football matchup in Pittsburgh. What do you see on this play as Tredavius really just dropped back and reads Duck's eyes and makes the play. Yeah, this is a phenomenal break on the football about your

Davis White understanding the rolete concept. I would have loved to seen him a touchdown here. Just a phenomenal play about your Davious White. And you see it from the end zone angle he comes down. How much confidence does it take for a guy to break on a route like this with so much confidence. Certainly not a great throw by Duck Hodges, but man Tardavious is all over it. Yeah,

and you said it perfectly. He's so confident right now and he understands so well in year three with the Buffalo Bills, what is coming at him, what they're trying to do against them, and he's making teams just pay over and over four. One of the things that's fun to watch. Is that how he's become a leader on the team, and leaders come through in big moments. You look back to the Week seven matchup with the Miami Dolphins.

He breaks once again on a badly thrown ball from Fits and comes up with an interception that really does a couple of things. One, it obviously gives Buffalo the football, but it also takes away an incredible scoring opportunity for the Yeah. If you remember back to this game, at this time, the Bills desperately needed to play that Altins. We're gonna go up two scores and this is at

the time a winless Miami team. This is a game that you could not drop at home, and in your biggest moment of the game, maybe your best player on the entire team makes an incredible play and this really led to the Bills come back victory against at Altins. Yeah, it's interesting too. White has been a guy who has he has not given up a touchdown all year. He's had five hundred and ninety nine snaps in coverage not

giving up a touchdown. But he's going against a guy in DeAndre Hopkins in Houston this weekend who has a ninety nine rating on Madden Football. I mean, he's a force on the football field. Certainly, Turnavis may trail him a lot, but they'll try a number of different things to take DeAndre off the field, right, Yeah, I think so. And I think anytime they're in mand de man coverage, they're going to make sure that Turdevias White is on him.

I would imagine you have to mix up the coverage because DeAndre Hopkins is the perfect combination size, speed, great hands, great running ability. And for the Bills to come out of Houston with a victory, they're likely going to need to keep DeAndre Hopkins at bay. All right, Eric, one last thing. I mean, you've seen these this teams play, this Buffalo Bills team. They're going down to the playoffs

on the road. What are your thoughts about what it's going to take for them to walk out of there with a victory When you know that this matchup that we've been talking about is going to be so crucial. Ultimately, you got to make plays. You're gonna you're gonna have to put up some points. And this is a defense in Houston that's ranked twenty seventh in the NFL. This opportunity for the Bills to go in there and put

up some points and move the football. NRG Stadium will be extremely loud, so I would imagine it'll be a hostile environment that the Buffalo Bills are walking into this. Well, Eric, I know you're looking forward to wild Card weekend, as are the rest of us. Have a great broadcast, and good luck and go Bills. All right, thanks Steve. Game preview it's ended by independent health from your every day you're unexpected. That's the Red Share treatment. Mattie glab here

this week's game preview. The Buffalo Bills are on the road to start their playoff run, heading to Houston for the four to five wildcard matchup with the Texans. Houston's offense is led by a very accurate quarterback, into Shaun Watson, who has plenty of weapons. Watson is sixth in the NFL, completing sixty seven point three percent of his passes and has thirty two total touchdowns to his twelve interceptions. The Texans defense sits near the bottom of the league at

twenty eight. Over the last six games, they have dropped to the last in the league, allowing four hundred and eleven point five yards a game, including two hundred and sixty seven point three passing yards a game, which is twenty nine. Buffalo's offense has cleaned up their turnovers since the beginning of the season, and our type for tenth with a plus four turnover ratio. The Bills have less turnovers due to Josh Allen's ability to protect the football.

Allen has twenty nine total touchdowns and only nine interceptions this season. It's no lie Buffalo's defense travels. They have allowed more than twenty five points in a game just once this season, which is the fewest in the NFL. They have allowed only fifteen passing touchdowns to this season, which is the second fewest in the league. The Bill's defense is the only team this season to keep an imposing team out of the end zone on a deep pass.

The last time Buffalo be Houston was in twenty fifteen. The final score was thirty to twenty one in Orchard Park. Steve back to you. That's great stuff, Mannie. Thanks and Sean, We're back for thirty on Saturday afternoon. You're the opening game of the two nineteen NFL playoffs down in Houston. As always as you would expect in a playoff game, Elite players on both sides of the ball, and starting with Tradevious White and DeAndre Hopkins for the Houston Texans.

Both these teams ten at six, some fun matchups and a really good football game on the horizon. Yeah, I believe so. I mean it's two good football teams, two teams with some premier players in the league. Some of our premier players maybe a little bit younger than some of theirs, but just overall, I mean, just good matchups. Tredavious DeAndre Hopkins. You look at the two quarterbacks, i'llbit there not playing against each other. You just look at the line of scrimmages on both sides of the ball.

You know, it's important that we can go down there whether the storm and be prepared to play discipline football. How does your message change to your team? I mean, you've been pretty consistent throughout the year, and yet there's no denying this is you know, this is what you've played for, the kind of moments that you want to get into. What do you tell your team? And I guess the message may not change, but certainly you're the way you give it or something that it's a pretty

special week. Yeah, I don't think motivation will be it will be an issue. If it is, you know, we'll address that. But overall, it's it is, it's it's being consistent. I think as a player, you look for your coach and you say, hey, is he in tune to how we should win this game? A? And then be is he being consistent right now and setting clear expectations for how we're going to get it done and what it's going to take. And and that's what I try to

prepare our team for every week. And that'll be the same this week, and just make it real clear to them so they can go down there and be them and we can be the Buffalo Bills and the way we've played all season. Sean, thanks a lot for that. Everybody, enjoy the game this weekend. Thanks for watching. We'll see

you next time. The Sean McDermott Show is sponsored by Independent Health, From Your every Day to Your Unexpected That's the Rent Shared Treatment, and by Yancey's Fancy New York's Artists and Cheese, the official cheese of the Buffalo Bills.