Bills coach Sean McDermott has his team in position to win their second consecutive AFC East title, which they haven’t done since 1988 to 1991 when the won four consecutive under coach Marv Levy.
The Bills (9-6) will host the Falcons (7-8) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
McDermott met with the media virtually Monday. Here’s what he had to say:
ON THE FALCONS: “This is a good football team coming in here in the Atlanta Falcons. They’ve got a quarterback that’s seen a lot of ball over the years. It’s certainly a good football team.”
ON WR ISAIAH McKENZIE’S 11-CATCH GAME SUNDAY AGAINST THE PATRIOTS: “He’s makes those plays in practice. Just catching the football. The fundamental part of it. He brings energy all the time to our football team. He’s gets separation, but some of those catches were really good catches and really good balls by (quarterback) Josh (Allen), too, in terms of where he placed them to where only Isaiah could get them. I thought the execution was at a high level.”
ON McKENZIE BEING DOWN WHEN HE WAS INACTIVE FOR THE SAINTS’ GAME NOV. 25: “That’s natural that he was disappointed. Really loved how he handled it going forward, controlling the pieces he could control knowing that his opportunity would come. It came and he did a great job.”
ON FOURTH DOWN: GOING 3-FOR-4 VS. NEW ENGLAND: “We had some opportunities where we wanted to go for it on fourth down. Then they executed well. Those are important situations for us to execution in. I was really happy to see the level of play in those situations.”
ON THE BUFFALO FANS: “We love playing at home. We love playing in front of our fans. We get greeted at the airport probably unlike any other team that I’ve been around. It’s pretty special to see that outpouring of love and appreciation for the way the players played. I really appreciated that. It’s always special for us to play here in Buffalo.”
ON FALCONS ROOKIE TIGHT END KYLE PITTS: “It looks they are using him in a lot of different ways. Moving him around in terms of formations and creating mismatches at times. It is a headache anytime that you have a player like that you have to defend that can move around. It is a headache for you as a coach and a coordinator.”
ON BUILDING CULTURE IN HIS FIRST YEAR: “(General manager) Brandon (Beane) and myself wanted to come in and try and establish a culture. Terry and Kim Pegula, our ownership group, gave us the green light to do that. Making sure that we got the people part of the equation as close to where we wanted it to be as possible during that first year. Those aren’t easy decisions and those are hard situations because people’s livelihoods are at stake and on the line there. That was a big point of emphasis for us in that first season.”
ON BILLS QB JOSH ALLEN: “We’re just trying to take it one week at a time here. Each week is a new week. Josh has a lot to work on, as do I and does our entire football team. We are just going to try and get better every week. That’s really what we are about here.”
ON SEEING FALCONS TIGHT END LEE SMITH BACK IN BUFFALO: “He’s made a mark on this organization (during) two different stints with the Bills. He’s a very well-liked guy in our building here. We really appreciate his leadership that he gave us when I was here. It’s always nice to see players go on and do great things. From the film that I’ve watched, he’s getting quite a bit of playing time. I know he’s closer to home as well down there, which is always good.”
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