What the Bills Said – 2024 Week 8: Seahawks vs. Bills

SEAN MCDERMOTT: Glad we won. Whenever you can win, we'll take it. It's hard to win in this league, especially away from home, especially here. They have a track record of playing great at home. A great fan base. I thought our fan base showed up today, man, pretty awesome. No wonder, but I never take it for granted. The red, white and blue of the Buffalo Bills appeared here in the Northwest. And I couldn't be more grateful. Winning the line of scrimmage is where every week begins. I thought our O-line and D-line did a phenomenal job. Great week of preparation. The defense's three-and-out on the first two series, two three-and-out drives. The first gave our offense a nine-minute lead. Took up a lot of time, which helped with an explosive offense on the other side. We were able to double-dip, score before halftime, score after halftime. The turnover we had, the offense did a good job even though we never want a turnover that made us line up again, the defense went out and held it, which was great from a momentum perspective. And then the second half, I thought, the second half got off to a good start and scored a goal, like I said. And then we got takeaway food. The big takeaway was Austin Johnson, who I think also led to seven. Some good things from the special teams. I like the kickoff coverage. I think it was the third quarter at this point. Very physical, rapturous type of reporting. There is still a lot to do. Penalties are one of them. Some things we did, some decisions we made, resulted in poor field position. So we have to keep working and cleaning these things up.

But that was a pretty good performance, don't you think?

SEAN MCDERMOTT: Definitely from our fans. From our fans, yes. Did you hear them out there? I've never heard this place like this in all my years in the NFL. I've been out here for a few years and I've never heard that before. That's a testament to the Bills, basically a testament to the Bills fans and the organization, to the tradition they've built over the years.

You're 6-2. Five of your first eight were on the road. Do you feel like this team continues to progress?

SEAN MCDERMOTT: Yes. I mean, we knew it was going to be a tough, tough game. And that was it. We knew we had to play well in all three phases. And I think we have done enough, at least at this point, to achieve the desired result. But there are definitely things we need to improve on again – the pre-snap penalties and the overall penalties. And then just a few more decisions. I felt like we had some young guys back there that were involved with some special teams. But there is still a lot to do, even in the last attack, the penultimate attack on the defense, it was too easy. But a great week of preparation led to this. Focus. The leadership in the locker room. Guys filling in for other guys who are injured. We are missing Vaughn, TB, DC and some things on offense with Curtis out. Again, I applaud the guys who did a great job for us today.

We've been talking a lot about slow starts for a few games now. Coming out of there, that 90-yard drive for a touchdown, just set the tone. How big was this drive? And then you had a 90-yard touchdown drive?

SEAN MCDERMOTT: When you have an explosive offense, specific to this game, you know you have to be offensively efficient and explosive at the same time. I felt like it was both of us. Even though we beat ourselves, it feels like two steps forward and one step back. But as we moved the chains we kept getting chunks and were efficient when we needed to be efficient. I assumed our third downs averaged about five yards from third down, whereas theirs was 11 yards. So they like the odds, the probability that these situations will work out in our favor. Again, it's just good to get off to a good start holistically as a team and make money when we have a chance to make money, including in the red zone.

How high on the priority list was this? Obviously you come here wanting a win, but you start off fast as you plan out the week. How high was that?

SEAN MCDERMOTT: It's always a priority, even if we haven't done a great job at it. So we went back – I'm telling you, we go back and look at everything – so we went back and looked at some things. More than anything, I felt like we got into a rhythm early on. We had some momentum and got into a rhythm. The defense came into play, three and three, which helps. The field position they achieved after the first punt was pretty high up there. I think I expected better field position on the defense's two three-and-outs, quite honestly, and we didn't get it. But it's a credit to our offense that got us out of those situations.

Do you see Keon maturing quickly? It looked like he was as comfortable in the running game today and in the passing game for that touchdown as he has been all season.

SEAN MCDERMOTT: Just growth, one week at a time, growth, development. Adam does a really good job with him. I think having Amari also helps because he's another veteran in the room and to me he's an established veteran who has done great things in this league for a while. So that helps the guys that are already in that room. We have good people in this room who are helping young players develop and teaching them the right way, teaching them the right habits and the right routines from Monday to Saturday. That's what leads to what you saw today.

Do you think Khalil Shakir might even be a better version of Cole Beasley at this point? I say this because he has the ability to break tackles. Cole would catch a ball and go down. Shakir seems to be constantly doing YAC. Is he a better version of Cole?

SEAN MCDERMOTT: First of all, I don't respect Cole that much. That's what you want from me. Cole was a phenomenal player in his own right. He has done a lot of great things for this team. Khalil is his own player. And they are both similar, but also slightly different. What you've seen with Khalil over the last few weeks is that he's been playing injured and this week I think he's finally back to close to 100 percent.

Cook over a hundred meters. When you see him running like that at the start of a game, what appeal does that give to the sideline?

SEAN MCDERMOTT: Yeah, I mean, it's just the momentum. All of these things lead to dynamism. You see guys trying hard. You see guys making great efforts. You see guys, offensive linemen, finishing plays where James has the ball, and they're right on his tail when he's being tackled, they're running to the football, the defensive front runs are running to the football. Look, Rasul Douglas, I think it was the first or second series, they tried to deflect the ball outside the tackle. You have broken a fuse. He comes up, makes a great tackle and is a great running back. That's why these things are important for us as a team and it's never about one player/coach, but about playing good team football.

As for James, though, he's already surpassed his career touchdown total from previous seasons, something like that. What specifically do you think he's doing this year to give him days like this?

SEAN MCDERMOTT: Again, there's just always more development for a young player. He is focused. He prepares. And that is not a given. These guys in this locker room work during the week to be as prepared as possible and they take it seriously. They hold each other accountable, which, as you know, is very powerful.

You mentioned it by bringing in Kenneth Walker. How important was that this week?

SEAN MCDERMOTT: Really good running back. He likes to go out there, and if they didn't have him after two or three games, I think you could tell they didn't have him. You could see a difference in their offense. So we knew they were going to challenge the line of scrimmage, and they did, early on, and we were able to tone it down a little bit there, which helps make them more one-dimensional. We also score points and you're more likely to end up in a drop-back game like we did.

Austin Johnson, first interception of his career. I didn't have one in college, doesn't look like it.

SEAN MCDERMOTT: I think he had a fumble return. I think I remember seeing him at Penn State. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought he had something to say. I remember in the video it went from left to right, for what that's worth. It wasn't an interception. This is his first interception. That must have been a blast.

How do you remember it?

SEAN MCDERMOTT: I don't know. (Laugh).

FastScripts transcript from ASAP Sports