Tag: Brandon Beane

Bills’ offensive coordinator Joe Brady explains late QB sneak vs. Rams

Bills’ offensive coordinator Joe Brady explains late QB sneak vs. Rams

The Buffalo Bills lost to the Los Angeles Rams 42-44 on Sunday in Inglewood, CA.

The Rams came out swinging, competing in all three phases early to take a sizable lead.

Their offense never took their foot off the pedal, and while the Bills offense kept pace in a scoring shootout their defense and special teams were not able to get meaningful stops.

Near the end of the contest, some questionable playcalling caused a domino effect sequence that has raised game and clock management questions similar to the team’s loss to the Houston Texans earlier this season.

And it started with a failed quarterback sneak attempt at the goal line.

Head coach Sean McDermott would call a timeout after a failed QB sneak and before their last touchdown, which then led to an onside kick the Bills didn’t recover. The Buffalo defense was able to force a punt but needed to attempt a block to have the best chance, but there was no punt rush on the play.

“The highest percentage play at that point was just doing a QB sneak,” OC Joe Brady said about the play call. “At the same time, the cost of not getting it essentially, potentially, and kind of did cost us the game. So I have to do a better job in that situation. At the end of the day, we can’t burn a timeout there.”

Josh Allen rushing is as good a play as any in the red zone. After all, he has more rushing touchdowns at age 28 than some Hall of Fame running backs had in their entire careers. Still, on this attempt, the unsuccessful play proved costly.

“If we’re going to call it, we have to make sure that we know 100% that we can get it. I felt confident in it and felt confident in doing it. But that doesn’t make it right,” he said.

The sequence garnered a strong response from long-time Bills divisional nemesis and UGG spokesman turned FOX Sports analyst, Tom Brady.

“To me, take three shots throwing it—don’t use a timeout. Then you can kick it deep, use your three timeouts to still get the football with good time. That changes the entire complexity of the last 1:02 of the game. I did not like that one bit. That could’ve just cost them the game right there.”

While these statements all ring true, the Bills defense also had some explaining to do after failing to stop much less slow down the Rams offense.

DC Bobby Babich spoke about the grouping of issues that compounded throughout the game after his unit gave up a season-high 44 points.

“When you look at it and you really watch the tape, it’s, and I used this word earlier today, it’s a conglomeration, and I’m including myself, of people not doing their jobs at a high level,” he said. “The recipe to lose a football game is what we did yesterday, and it starts with me, first and foremost, what I did yesterday, and we just got to learn from it. Move on and not let it happen again.”

They’ll face a Lions team next week that has the No. 1 ranked scoring offense in the NFL, and Babich knows they will need to be at their best in the matchup.

“I believe our guys are up to the challenge, and they’re ready to respond.”

Why Bills’ Josh Allen still thinks he needed to play ‘better’ vs. Rams

Why Bills’ Josh Allen still thinks he needed to play ‘better’ vs. Rams

The Buffalo Bills headed West in NFL Week 14 to kick off a two-game road trip, and the first stop was in sunny Los Angeles, CA to take on the Rams at SoFi Stadium.

Buffalo had been on a winning streak since dropping two losses to the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans earlier this season. However, their third loss of the year came on Sunday in Inglewood, 42-44.

Allen, who is in the midst of an MVP-worthy campaign, had another big day with the Buffalo offense as he went 22/37 with 342 passing yards and 82 rushing yards to go with 6 total TDs while becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw and rush for three touchdowns in the air and three on the ground.

The Bills defense, however, gave up 44 points.

And while Allen dazzled in the second half to give Buffalo a shot, the defense simply could not get enough stops or limit the Rams offensive scoring enough to make the game winnable.

Even still, his focus after the game was on his responsibility as the offensive leader.

“Hate losing,” Allen said. “If you lose by two or lose by 100, it doesn’t matter, you are still losing. Offensively, we have to find ways to score before and after the half. We didn’t do our part.”

The two teams exchanged blows on offense for four quarters, with Allen and company fighting to keep Buffalo in the game and coming back to bring the score within two points in the final minutes before the Rams recovered a failed onsides kick to run the clock out.

“I have to make one more play than they do. It was a total team loss in three phases. We didn’t play up to our standards,” Allen noted.

“I don’t know how well we did on third down or completion percentage, I don’t know any of that. I just know it wasn’t good enough to win a football game. I just got to find more completions, got to be better for our guys.”

Nonetheless, the QB’s performance was nothing short of historical.

“Incredible,” said Bills head coach Sean McDermott to the media. “Incredible. We’ve got to do a better job around him. If you look at the game, it’s line of scrimmage and being able to run the ball with our running backs. It’s line of scrimmage on defense, it’s special teams giving up big plays.”

In a clash of the league’s top clubs, each with Super Bowl aspirations this season, the Bills will next face one of their biggest tests yet in the Detroit Lions.

“Sometimes this can be as hard as it is, a good reminder of what you need to do every week in this league and how we have to adjust as a football team,” McDermott added. “Next week is a challenging game as well – they’re all challenging – against a really good football team on the road so we have our work cut out for us this week.”

WATCH: Micah Hyde makes his return to Bills practice

WATCH: Micah Hyde makes his return to Bills practice

The Buffalo Bills brought back an old friend on Wednesday as they signed safety Micah Hyde to the practice squad.

Many Bills fans and media were thinking about a potential reunion in the back of their minds after general manager Brandon Beane alluded to keeping the door open way back in March. Now, it has finally happened, and the former team captain joins while the Bills are riding a seven-game win streak into Week 14.

Although head coach Sean McDermott has tempered expectations for the two-time All-Pro, the Bills are glad to have him back home for one final push.

Watch Hyde’s return to Bills practice on Thursday below:

Sean McDermott discusses celebrating in snow after Bills’ win vs. 49ers

Sean McDermott discusses celebrating in snow after Bills’ win vs. 49ers

In a 35-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers at home in Orchard Park, HC Sean McDermott’s record coming out of the bye week remained perfect and the Buffalo Bills looked the part of a playoff contender.

The team won its fifth straight AFC East crown as only the eighth team in NFL history to clinch a division title with five games still remaining in the regular season.

The club has scored 30 or more points in six straight games and won seven straight since total since early season back-to-back losses against Baltimore and Houston.

The Bills have punched their ticket to the postseason, and head coach Sean McDermott was feeling celebratory while being interviewed on the field after the victory by ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter.

When quarterback Josh Allen surprised him by trotting up and saying “coach of the year” into the microphone, McDermott replied, “I want to see an angel, a snow angel. C’mon. Let’s go.”

Allen happily obliged him, sharing a wholesome moment with his coach.

“He’s the one who got me to do it,” The QB said to the press postgame. “I was just trying to give him some flowers. He was live on TV and anytime coach asks you to do something you do it. I’m a good soldier. I’m not the biggest snow angel fan because you get cold down there. My toes are freezing right now. I’m just trying to get in the shower, but it was fun.”

McDermott made good on a halftime challenge made by backup tight end Zach Davidson.

“We were coming down the tunnel at halftime and Zach Davidson tapped me on the hip and said ‘Hey, if we win this game you got to do a snow angel.’ I said ‘Alright, you got it,'” The coach shared. “I guess I followed through on my promise.”

By clinching their division the Bills are now guaranteed a home game in the playoffs in Buffalo, though with McDermott and the team’s record coming off a bye week, another one might be in store, as could more home games in the postseason.

The players and coaching staff will next turn their focus to road matchups against the Rams and Lions, in pursuit of the No. 1 AFC playoff seed and first-round bye.

With the heartbreak, the Bills and their fans have experienced at home in the divisional round of the playoffs the last two seasons, McDermott knows all too well what a bye and a win to advance back to the AFC Championship would mean.

“I think this is this place that is starting to become a place around the NFL now that people come and they see this and they’re going, ‘I want to be a part of this.'”

Bills’ Josh Allen breaks down crazy touchdown with Amari Cooper

Bills’ Josh Allen breaks down crazy touchdown with Amari Cooper

The Buffalo Bills beat the San Francisco 49ers 35-10 on the nationally televised Sunday Night Football stage to improve to 10-2.

On a snowy night in Orchard Park, QB Josh Allen and the offense didn’t miss a beat, as he made good on making history in the game.

He even did something no quarterback in history has done before, scoring a receiving touchdown on a pass he originally threw.


Receiver Amari Cooper hauled in a one-handed catch while multiple Niners defenders wrapped around him when he pitched the ball back to Allen.

The QB put on his Superman cape and ran toward the left pylon before laying out to extend and get the ball in for the score as he flew through the air and landed sliding in the snow out of bounds.

“It’s got to be up there. I wish he got credited for something there, an assist or a passing touchdown,” Allen said of Cooper. “I just kind of chased the ball to be there and we made eye contact. … It was dope.”

Cooper noted he made the heads-up play instinctually in a think-fast moment. He saw Allen nearby and thought he wanted the ball.

“I was wondering what he was doing over there,” Cooper said. “I figured he was over there because he wanted the ball, so I gave it to him.”

It was a historical day for the Bills as they won their fifth straight AFC East crown becoming one of the only clubs ever to do so with five games remaining in the regular season.

Allen made more history as well passing Hall of Famer and Bills legend Jim Kelly’s franchise record of 244 total touchdowns with 247 of his own at only age 28.

He would finish 13 of 17 for 148 yards and two touchdowns passing to go with three rushes for 18 yards and a score, and zero catches for 7 yards with a TD.

He is organically making a strong case for MVP candidacy along the way, though his focus is on continuing to pursue and hopefully surpass Kansas City (11-1) for the AFC’s top seed come playoff time.

“It’s a good feeling. This one feels a little bit different this early in the season,” Allen said. “It’s going to be fun, I mean, to go out there and play free and play relaxed and play loose. I think that could be a dangerous team.”

He’ll have plenty of opportunities to do just that with road games against the Rams and Lions up next, followed by home games against the Patriots and Jets before a final road matchup with New England.

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How the Bills could make history after their bye week

How the Bills could make history after their bye week

The Buffalo Bills came soaring into their bye week during NFL Week 13 riding a six-game winning streak to a 9-2 record.

They are preparing to host the 5-6 San Francisco 49ers for Sunday Night Football, a team that has dealt with some injuries to key players throughout the season.

The Niners could be without stars like quarterback Brock Purdy, offensive tackle Trent Williams, and defensive end Nick Bosa.

While their squad is desperate for a win, a Buffalo victory could make history for the franchise.

In more ways than one.

The Bills are four games ahead of the second-place AFC East squad and division rival Miami Dolphins, who will be playing the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving Thursday. Buffalo beached them in both head-to-head matchups this season and owns the tie-breaker.

If Miami loses to Green Bay and Buffalo beats San Francisco, the Bills will also win their fifth straight division crown.

That would be something that has never previously been accomplished since the team was first founded in 1960.

The franchise did notably win four straight AFC East titles from 1988 to 1991, the final two of which included trips to the Super Bowl.

It’s also worth noting that the club has never lost coming out of their bye week under head coach Sean McDermott. And while a win is never fully guaranteed, the team does have a good prior track record in this situation.

That and their current regular season win streak aren’t the only ones on the line, however. Buffalo has also won six straight matchups against San Francisco.

QB Josh Allen will also have a chance to make more history in this game against a team he rooted for growing up in Firebaugh, CA.

Allen is currently tied with the Bills’ most storied quarterback in the team’s history, Jim Kelly, for the most touchdowns in the franchise’s history (244).

Per Tankathon, Buffalo has the fifth-easiest remaining schedule in the league this season, which means Allen will have plenty of time across the six regular season contests left to add to that number while entering his prime at age 28.

He’ll also have a chance to round out a strong campaign and potential MVP-caliber year just as the Bills will have a chance to bid for the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the AFC Playoff picture in facing the Niners, Rams, Lions, Patriots (twice), and Jets.

Bills’ Sean McDermott offers injury updates during bye week

Bills’ Sean McDermott offers injury updates during bye week

During NFL Week 12, the Buffalo Bills enjoy their bye week, offering an opportunity for some rest and extra advance preparation for their next game following a 30-21 home win against the Kansas City Chiefs.

They topped their AFC rival without several key starters including middle linebacker Matt Milano (bicep tear), wide receiver Keon Coleman (wrist), tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee), offensive lineman Spencer Brown (ankle), and defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (wrist) who were out with injuries.

Next up the team will host the San Francisco 49ers at Highmark Stadium, and fans and media members have been wondering which players might return to the field in that contest.

Milano, who’s missed most of the season so far, has begun to practice again and could see a return to gameplay as early as Week 13. The rookie Coleman as well as second-year pro Kincaid received a positive update by way of ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler in terms of recovery this week.

While he did not definitely say whether the two impact players on offense would be back for the game against the Niners, he did share that neither player’s injury appears to be substantial or long-term.

Buffalo has notably never lost coming out of a bye week under head coach Sean McDermott, a trend they hope will continue and one they hope will extend to the postseason, as they pursue the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed and first-round bye.

He had good news for the Bills and their fans following Sunday’s win over the Chiefs, sharing that the team didn’t have any new additions to the injury report. And there may be more good news on their existing injured players coming soon, though he made a point to manage expectations.

“There’s this pool of players that they’re kind of tiered as to when we expect to get each one of them back,” McDermott said.

“Again this week being kind of a rehab week for the players that are banged up, the message I’m getting from our training room is ‘hey we’ll let you know kind of how this week goes and then what that looks like for next week’ so you know the challenge is not really knowing as we start to game plan a little bit towards the end of this week who’s available, but certainly understand that the trainers need some more time with these guys and you know again it’s kind of like ‘hey who who are they going to hand us on Monday? Are we to get one player? Two players? More? Less what we have? So we just got to kind of take it one day at a time here, big picture coming out of the game without any serious injuries.”

They still have some challenges ahead in the remaining six contests on the regular season schedule, including road games against the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions right after the 49ers matchup.

But with a healthy roster, the Bills could make a push into the postseason and potentially lock up the No. 1 seed, allowing them to get even healthier headed into the playoffs.

GMFB’s Peter Schrager: No one made ‘louder statement’ last week than Bills (video)

GMFB’s Peter Schrager: No one made ‘louder statement’ last week than Bills (video)

NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” roundtable conversation on Monday following the Week 11 slate of games around the league included a take on which club among them made the “loudest statement”.

Analyst Peter Schrager chose the Bills following their 30-21 win over the Chiefs. He was complimentary of head coach Sean McDermott and pointed out that this regular season win over Kansas City felt different than past ones.

“I don’t think anyone made a louder statement made in the league than what the Bills did yesterday against the Chiefs,” Schrager said the morning after the matchup.

The segment can be found in the clip below:

WATCH: Bills’ Von Miller mic’d up in win vs. Chiefs

WATCH: Bills’ Von Miller mic’d up in win vs. Chiefs

The Buffalo Bills put their hat in the ring for the best team in the AFC with their Week 11 win over the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.

A big reason for the 30-21 win was the constant pressure put on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes by the Bills’ pass rush. Von Miller recorded a sack on a third down, his fourth sack in just six games played this year.

Luckily for fans, Miller was “mic’d” up in the win.

Hear from the veteran pass rusher in the YouTube player below:

Bills’ Terrel Bernard breaks down matchup vs. Chiefs’ Travis Kelce

Bills’ Terrel Bernard breaks down matchup vs. Chiefs’ Travis Kelce

The Bills beat the Chiefs 30-21 at home on Sunday.

The contest that saw the teams’ final scores roughly on average for the season so far also had significant takeaways on and off the field.

But the biggest one belonged to Buffalo linebacker, Terrel Bernard.

With 1:07 left to play in the fourth quarter, the Bills’ defensive captain and play caller took away a Patrick Mahomes pass intended for Kansas City tight end and MGMT “Electric Feel” fan Travis Kelce for an end-game interception.


The entire Buffalo defense ran down to celebrate with him in the end zone after getting in front of Kelce to grab the ball out of the air.

“The main thing is just having awareness of him, “ Bernard said about covering the Chiefs TE to WIVB. “Pre, post-snap, trying to get guys around him as much as possible, playing within our scheme and our system still but understanding he’s going to be one of the first options every pass play.”

It was the second interception for KC’s Mahomes, whose first and last throws in Sunday’s game were caught by Buffalo.

Bernard, who was out during the last meeting between the clubs in January’s divisional round of the playoffs, also had eight tackles and a sack on the day to go with the big-time turnover.

“I think having that awareness, [defensive coordinator] Bobby [Babich] did a great job in the gameplan, all the coaches did, putting him in our minds all week and knowing where he was at and where he was going to be, what he likes to do in certain spots. I think that was a huge factor, and everybody playing to the details of the defense.”

Everything has changed for Kelce since his last matchups against the Bills in which he seemed unstoppable.

He may just want to shake it off, knowing all too well that Bernard and the Bills defense held him to only two catches for eight yards receiving.

But with the win the Bills now have a better shot at a No. 1 seed and a first-round bye, the Chiefs do as well although they are not out of the woods yet.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was complimentary of the Bills when asked what his takeaways off the field were from the loss.

“Things you can learn, the main thing is that they’re a good team and, if you have a few mistakes in there, they can capitalize on them,” Reid said.

The teams could face off again in the postseason, and time will tell which club will play host to the other if they do.

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