Sean McDermott Show, Wild Card Weekend

tying the franchise record with thirteen wins. You finished the season nine and one after starting four and two. Was there any sort of point in this season that was a turning point when you realize this team could go on a run of this magnitude? Oh, I would say. I think we learned a lot in the lost Arizona with the hell Mary situation there and just the look on the players' faces in the locker room and then

having to sit on the buy with that feeling. I really believe that the guys learned a lot from that situation, Steve, and I honestly believe they don't want to fill that again, so I give them a lot of credit. They've really taken ownership and really invested in this team, and leaders have done a phenomenal job. You're hosting your first playoff game as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, and

you'll always finally have fans and the stadium. You know, they've been dying to come to these games to watch this team all year. How much of an impact do you expect the Bills Mafia to have on a game against the Colts. Well, I think it's really cool that they'll be able to watch us in person finally, or at least at least a portion of them will, and that's that's really nice. The reality of it is, though, I don't think any of them at this point is going to be making any plays for us, and so

we've got to be realistic about that. And we've been without fans in our building at least all season, and so we've got to make sure that we do our due diligence this week and put in the time to earn the right to win and make the plays that we have to make. Well. Josh set the franchise record for passing yards in a season against Miami. He now holds the single season franchise records for yards, touchdowns, completions, completion percentage, and passer ratings, just to name a few.

It's really been an incredible year for your third year quarterback, a year full of highlights. What was the best thing you saw from Josh Allen this season? Oh, well, that's

a tough question. He's done so many things. Well, I've just been very pleased with the type of teammate that he's been and the way that he's been able to reset week to week, Because sometimes when you're when you're still growing, you go through a week and you have a good game and you get the notoriety that comes with the position and playing well at that position, and then the next the next week is not the same.

And so being able to sustain that level of play and performance, remaining humble and yet continuing to grow week two week, I think Steven is probably the most thing that I could tell you that I've admired about Josh this year. Steph Diggs finished the season leading the league with one hundred and twenty seven receptions in fifteen hundred and thirty five receiving yards. He's the first Bill ever

to lead the NFL in both those categories. He obviously couldn't have had this season he's had without Josh's record breaking season. What is it about Josh and Steph that make them one of the elite quarterback quarterback wide receiver duos in the league. Yeah, extremely competitive by nature. Both of those two young men are extremely competitive by nature.

If we were shooting hoops in inside here, or the guys were playing cards, whatever you name it, those two are going to be in the middle of it all because they just love to compete, and I think that's a great trait to have as a football player. Well, John Brown had four catches for seventy two yards and a touchdown in his return to action against Miami. Isaiah McKenzie went off for three total touchdowns and including a punt return touchdown, and Gabriel Davis set a career high

with one hundred and seven receiving yards. How good do you feel about your wide receiver group headed into the playoffs. We'll feel good about it. Overall. We do have some depth. A couple of those guys stepped up this past weekend when some other guys were down or out of the game, and so that was good to see. I'm encouraged by that, and that's what we need. We do have a guy too banged up there, and so we're gonna need to continue at death position and other positions as well as

we had down the stretcher. All right, thanks coach. We're gonna catch up with you later in the show to get your final thoughts on your upcoming matchup with the Colts. Shopping Wood is presented by Saint Bonaventure University, the official education provider of the Buffalo Bills. Welcome back to the Sean McDermott Show, and now it's time to break down the film with our good buddy Eric Wood and another

edition of Chopping Wood. Eric. The Bills dominated the Dolphins in Week seventeen to get win number thirteen, and the offense looked really unstoppable. This week, they have the Colts coming to town to kick off the playoffs, and they'll have to keep on firing on all cylinders. What are you hoping to see the Bills do against the Colts in the wild card Round? Their most effective weapon all year has been the pass game, and I look for them to continue to do that even in January, even

in the playoffs in Buffalo. I also think you'll see them use some of their play action shot plays, some of their man beating crossing routes, and I'm also really hoping they get back to some of their outside zone running game, which has been very effective throughout the season. Well, Eric, let's take a look back at some of the many things the Bills did well offensively this year. Let's start

with the Alan Diggs combination. Let's go all the way back to the Steelers game for a Diggs touchdown against man coverage. Here, Diggs does an incredible job of routes running it's man coverage. He actually gets the Steelers dB to fall in this play. And then one thing stefon Diggs is it's dangerous with the ball in his hands, he goes and splits the safeties and this was a crucial score in the game. This was the first series in the second half and this started to break the

game open. It's been a great combination all year. Now this past week, the Bill's got John Brown back and he had a huge touchdown right before the half. And when did you see from John Brown and his return to the field. It was great to see John Brown gets so much work in the first half of this game. He's been out for a number of weeks with an injury, does a little bit of a stutter, a little bit of a double movement on the outside, and with the

speed that John Brown has. One miss step by a corner in Miami, Dolphins have very talented corners, but even them, one misstep and he's going to make you pay for a touchdown. And it's great to see this connection coming alive. Week seventeen, just before the playoffs, Eric, one of the pleasant surprises of the year has been rookie Gabriel Davis. Let's take a look at what Davis brings to the opening. Let's go back all the way a week four when he scored a touchdown on a twenty six yard pass

against the Raiders. This is another great play action concept by Brian Dave. All one items use a whole lot, and Gabriel Davis is going to be come across the formation almost like he's going to stay on a crossing route. Then he gets a wheel up the field and at that point he's wide open. Josh is a great job of delivering it. But this is just another deadly commendation

that they have in their play action game. Eric, you mentioned how the Bills have had some success on outside zone runs and when they were able to get it going through the ground. We saw that against the Broncos with this fifty one yard touchdown by Devin Singletary. This game off, the Bills used their running attack, and I think the best concept that the Bills have used is

their under center outside zone game. They used it a lot against the Patriots early in the season when the wins picked up and they head to rely on it, and here at the end of the Denver game, they relied on it as well. And Devin Singletary, not known for his breakaway ability, breaks tackles at the line of strumage what he is known for, and he is crafty in the open field to cap off this long fifty

one yard touchdown run. Well, Eric, it was great to see the Bills get win number thirteen and finished the season on a high note. And I think this team can beat any team if they stick to their game plan. Eric, thanks for this appreciated Yeah, thanks, Steve. Mattie glab here with this week's game preview. It's a new season for the Bills and Colts as they're set to face each other for wildcard weekend. The Colts finished the regular season second in the AFC South with eleven wins and five losses.

Their offense overall finished tenth, averaging three hundred and seventy eight point one total yards per game. Rookie running back Jonathan Taylor made a name for himself, finishing the season with one thousand, one hundred and sixty nine rushing yards and the eleven rushing touchdowns, averaging five yards per carry. In his seventeenth season, Philip Rivers completed sixty eight percent of his passes for four thousand, one hundred and sixty

nine yards. His favorite target was t Y Hilton, who caught fifty six passes for seven hundred and sixty two yards. The Colts defense finished the regular season ranked tenth, allowing twenty two point six points per game and eighth allowing three hundred and thirty two point one total yards per game. Buffalo scored five hundred and one points, the most in

team history. Bill's quarterback Josh Allen broke eight franchise records total touchdowns, passing touchdowns, total yards, passing yards, passer rating, completions, completion percentage, and three hundred yard games. Buffalo's defense finished ranking sixteenth allowing twenty three point four points per game and fourteenth allowing three hundred and fifty two point five

yards per game. In the final six games of the regular season, the Bills allowed only eighteen point three points per game, the fifth lowest amount, and had eight interceptions, which ranks second. The Bills lead the series against the Colts thirty seven, thirty two and one. This will be the first time the two have met in the postseason. That's this week's game preview. Steve back to you, Mattie.

Thanks as always, coach. Last year you went to overtime in Houston and came up short of your first playoff win as head coach of the Bills. Things obviously feel a lot different this year. So what is your message to your team preparing for the Colts this week? Well, we've got to start off our week in rece set. There's a lot of work yet to be done on a short week, and part of that is getting rest, and part of that is gouting out the opponents so that we understand what they're all about it and how

good they are. Very rarely do you go into a first round of the playoffs and you have a team that's that you're facing. That's one eleven games and in a wildcard round, and so we have a lot of respect for them, and we've got to have a good week of preparation. It seems like every matchup always has some kind of noteworthy connection between the two teams. Well, Colts head coach Frank Reich played here with me and led us to the greatest comeback in playoff history on

the field here in nineteen ninety three. He's now led his team to the playoffs for the second time in his three years as head coach in Indy. What do you think of Frank Reich in the job he's done in his time with the Colts. Well, Frank and I have a good relationship. I think he's a high character individual, high character coach and runs his program and in an upstanding way which I have a lot of respect for.

And so his football team plays to his personality and that's what makes him so good and so well prepared. And so as I said before, it it will be a contest and we've got to really be focused this week to try and get the win. And along with Frank Reich, you have Philip Rivers coming in here with seventeen seasons under his belt, and wow, his first year. It is his first year in Indy, it's not his first rodeo in the playoffs. What's it like preparing for

a playoff matchup against a seasoned veteran like Rivers. Well, he'll be a Hall of famer. And so when you when you look at quarterback play, you're saying, hey, they've got a very good quarterback and a quarterback that's one a ton of games and he can throw it as well as anyone. And they've got a course set of running backs that have been able to run it. One of the best running backs right now in the NFL. And and so you know, we've got to We've got

a challenge in front of us. And you know, again, records go out the windows. It's time to try and win one game. And that's what we're that's what we're committed to doing. Got you, coach, Thanks so much, good luck this week against the Indianapolis Colts. And whether you'll be here in the stadium or watching at home, everybody

enjoy this game this week and thanks for watching. The Sean McDermot Show, presented by Connors and Ferris and has always Everybody Go Bills, Final Thoughts is presented by your local Toyota dealers. The Sean McDermott Show is presented by Connors and Ferris, your workers' comp attorneys, by Independent Health You Deserve the Red Share Treatment, and by your local Toyota dealers.