Sean McDermott on Bills’ Jaquan Johnson: ‘Love his unselfish nature’

Sean McDermott on #Bills’ Jaquan Johnson: ‘Love his unselfish nature’

The Buffalo Bills defeated the Houston Texans 40-0 in Week 4 on a rainy Sunday in Orchard Park.

Both teams experienced difficulty holding onto the football. But players still need to find ways to persevere and step up in big moments. And in the fourth quarter, third-year safety Jaquan Johnson did just that.

When Texans rookie quarterback Davis Mills went deep, Johnson was right where he needed to be to jump up and grab his first career interception, sealing the shutout for Buffalo:

With safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde firmly in place as starters in the Bills secondary, Johnson may have been an afterthought to some. But as the next-man-up, the 2019 sixth-round pick got his first career start Sunday when injuries struck.

With Poyer (ankle) and cornerback Taron Johnson (groin) out with injuries, Jackson was one of the players called upon to play against Houston. UB product Cam Lewis joined him in a day that saw the Bills take the ball away from Houston five times.

Following the game, Johnson took to the post-game press podium alongside Hyde. He was quick to point out how his teammates and the veteran guys provided him with the help he needed.

“It’s everything. You go out and work week in and week out with the guys, you know blood, sweat, and tears out there on the practice field, and for them to be so happy for me when I make a play it just shows I put in a lot of work and the guys are starting to respect me,” Johnson said while addressing the media.

He also spoke highly of Poyer’s impact on his preparation earlier in the week, and of Hyde’s leadership.

“He took me under his wing all offseason, this entire week he’s been nothing but helpful,” Johnson said of Poyer. “He’s been a tremendous help like a coach, I love Po for that. He told me I had a good game and he was proud of me.”

Regarding Hyde, he added “he kept me even keel out there, communicating the whole time we were out there on the field so I just take my hat off to those guys. You don’t find this type of leadership everywhere.”

Hyde, meanwhile, expressed full confidence in the young safety.

“There was no doubt in my mind that he was gonna go out there and ball out,” Hyde said.

The vets certainly made their support of him known. Stefon Diggs even coming over during pre-game warmups to hype Johnson up ahead of kickoff, and Tre White making sure to give him the game ball from his first career interception.

Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott spoke favorably as well of the safety.

“Year three for Quan and normally a special teams player for us and love his unselfish nature and then now when his number was called he was ready to go,” McDermott said during his media session.

Hyde also noted that Buffalo’s depth and talent in their roster are not unlike that of a pro sports farm system.

“Our safeties coach joked around the other day that we have a farm system here, kind of feels like college you know, you’ve got the seniors and you’ve got the guys underneath us that are just working and can’t wait for their opportunities and today was one of them,” Hyde added.

A strong showing from Buffalo’s young depth players is hopefully a good sign of the oft-mentioned player development that GM Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott pride themselves on.

Getting his first career pick in his first-ever start certainly provides a big confidence booster for Johnson as well, and momentum for the Bills ahead of their Week 5 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.

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