Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Bills continued their winning ways last week against the Dallas Cowboys, keeping themselves close in the tight playoff race in the AFC.
With their most recent win, the Bills are at 8-6 in the AFC standings, currently in a five-way tie for a Wild Card spot in the conference. Buffalo still controls its own playoff fate, with the best-case scenario being to win the remainder of their three games, which is no easy task.
That journey begins this coming Saturday when the Bills travel to Southern California to take on the struggling Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chargers are coming off a tumultuous week, where they lost to the Las Vegas Raiders on "Thursday Night Football", 63-21, and then fired head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco the very next day.
Despite this, Bills head coach Sean McDermott feels his team needs to be prepared for anything. He acknowledges how sometimes these types of events can spark a team to a win.
"There's some unknowns, we're not really sure what to expect schematically, there's not much table quarterback. So we have to go out there expecting their best," said McDermott during his weekly appearance on the "Extra Point Show" on WGR. "Typically teams bounce back from situations [like this], and we've got to be ready to play."
Bills running back James Cook was awarded the AFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday following his Week 15 performance against the Cowboys. McDermott feels this comes from having the ability to maintain good habits throughout the week of preparation.
"You're starting to see that really show, and he's learning that those habits you have during the week are what carries you through a game with the performance level that you're looking for," McDermott said with Sal Capaccio. "A young player has been on the journey and learning that, and you're seeing the fruits of his labor."
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The Bills defense has faced some of the toughest offenses in the league this season, and the unit has came out on top most of the time. McDermott says this process is one that requires a strong foundation to be executed properly.
"We try and do that. It's really difficult week-to-week to do that," he said. "We were able to do that at points this year, and that's always somewhat where you start. When you develop a defensive game plan, you identify players that can hurt you. You can say hurt you the worse, and then you try and make sure you're managing that as best you can."
Hear more from McDermott's appearance during the "Extra Point Show" available in the player below:
