While Josh Allen throws pigskins in the air often, the day pigs can actually fly is the day when Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott gives a single inch to an opponent.
Heading into the season finale of his fourth season as the Buffalo’s bench boss, that policy is alive and well.
During his weekly video conference following a game which occurred with week on Tuesday this week, McDermott was asked if he plans to play his starters, including quarterback Josh Allen in Week 17. Buffalo hosts the Miami Dolphins (10-5) in that game on Sunday.
Not a chance in a million years McDermott would reveal such a thing, and he declined to do so once again.
“I want to keep that plan internal, for a number of reasons. Number one, I haven’t had a chance to talk to your players yet. At the end of the day, it’s trying to do what’s best for our football team and every team’s different,” McDermott said.
While a bit of a tongue-and-cheek start to our discussion here, McDermott can really do as he pleases in this regard. There’s no NFL rule or anything of the nature that says he has to disclose this. The only insight McDermott really gave was that this decision would come with the help of general manager Brandon Beane. That also makes plenty of sense.
The Bills, at 12-3, do have something to play for this upcoming weekend, though. With a win, Buffalo locks up the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff picture. With a loss and Pittsburgh win, the Steelers jump up to second while Buffalo slips to No. 3.
Pittsburgh is coached by Mike Tomlin. He’s actually a former college teammate of Sean McDermott. Evidently, their ideologies couldn’t be more opposite in this arena, though.
On Tuesday, Tomlin announced Ben Roethlisberger will sit out their season finale, despite them having a chance at the No. 2 seed.
To each their own, but at the end of the day, both teams are going to be in the postseason anyway. Also worth noting, the Steelers will face the Cleveland Browns in their Week 17 game. Both the Browns and Dolphins have 10-5 records and are battling for their playoff lives, so all four teams involved in these two games have plenty to play for.
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