🏈1 – Keep it rolling

The Bills are in the midst of a seven-game winning streak, after dispatching of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football, 35-10 to clinch their fifth straight division title. With the AFC East locked up, the next logical goal is the top seed in the AFC to earn another bye heading into the Divisional round of the playoffs, but that’s not how head coach Sean McDermott has presented things to his team.

“Coach McDermott did a really good job about six weeks ago talking to the guys, and he was saying, ‘Let’s not be tied to results. Let’s go out there and play free and let’s go out there and play our style of football. Let’s, be the most prepared football team in the league. And let’s go out there and play our game no matter what happens,'” said Von Miller.

For a veteran like Miller, it was a sharp contrast from his typical mindset preparing for games every week.

“A guy like me, I’ve got two Super Bowls,” Miller said. “It was kind of hard for me at first, like, we’re not tied to results. What do you mean? But what that does is that just drives down the anxiety. It’s not about me and the high feeling or high level of play, it’s about the whole team. And once you drive down the anxiety, and you start preaching preparation and comfort and rest, you get the response that we have from our team. So even though we’ve clinched the playoffs, I think we still push that narrative. It’s a strange phenomenon, but it’s been working for us.”

Coach McDermott laid out how that thought process and approach to each game, each week has to continue to keep them focused on what’s important when they step onto the field.

“We have to continue to think differently, and these guys have done that all season long,” McDermott said. “And whether it’s winning the division, opponents we’ve played in the past that people perceive to be a certain game or a certain size of game, or playing on a short week. Our guys have done a great job of orientating their minds in a different way this season. And I know that’s what we have to continue to do. And I know they’re up for that challenge.”

“It’s no different this week than it was last week,” said Josh Allen. “We’re having fun doing what we do, and we’re very intentional about what we’re doing, and it’s the same mindset that we’ve had throughout the season. It’s our commitment to preparing the best that we can and putting our best foot forward every time we step on the field.”