Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - After a shocking loss to the New England Patriots this past Sunday in Foxboro, the Buffalo Bills need to turn things around quickly, as they get set to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a prime-time showdown Thursday night at Highmark Stadium.
The Bills have had issues with offensive consistency in the past few weeks, which has been one of the main focal points in this short week. Bills head coach Sean McDermott says it starts with improving their complementary game.
"We have to play a better complimentary game like we did through the first four weeks," said McDermott on Wednesday during his weekly appearance on the "Extra Point Show" on WGR. "I think we had 12 drives that started across the minus-40. That was due to getting off the field defensively and taking the ball away defensively, and helping our offense. Of late, we have faced ball-control offenses who aren't willing to expose their quarterback, primarily the drop back game, and also expose the football. One of our strengths is taking the ball away and sacking the quarterback, so we've got to continue to figure out ways to get off the field and take the ball away, and feed our offense here."
McDermott also feels the team can take what they've seen from opponents in the past few weeks and apply it to this game, as well, given the similar defensive setups.
"[The Buccaneers] do a really good job, particularly, taking the line of scrimmage away in the run game. Then when they get you behind the sticks and off schedule, they pressure, very similar to Jacksonville, in terms of coach [Todd] Bowles and his tree out there and Mike Caldwell in Jacksonville," McDermott said. "We spend time on that game as well. You look at that formula, similar to what New England was doing in terms of pressuring us and trying to effect Josh [Allen] early and changing some things up in passing situations there, we'll expect most of the same."
McDermott confirmed Wednesday with Sal Capaccio and Joe DiBiase that tight end Dawson Knox will be out of Thursday's game after undergoing wrist surgery on Tuesday. He also confirmed that tight end Quintin Morris will be out with an ankle injury.
This means there could be more of a spotlight on rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid, who had a good game against the Patriots this past week.
"That was one of the bright spots," McDermott said of Kincaid. "I thought last week, his production, the intention was to get him targeted more than we had to that point, and he produced. I think that's, quite honestly, what we had seen in camp, and really in the limited touches that he had before that. He's a good football player, and has good instincts."
More from McDermott's appearance during the "Extra Point Show" is available in the player below:
