The Buffalo Bills have not been accustomed much to losing in the 2019 season, currently sitting at 5-2 in the AFC standings through the first eight weeks.
This past week at New Era Field, the Bills suffered their second loss of the season at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles, who ran the ball down Buffalo's throat en route to a 31-13 win in Orchard Park.
This weekend, the Bills will look to bounce back with another home game in front of the Buffalo fans, this time against the Washington Redskins.
The Redskins have had an eventful start to their 2019 season with a 1-7 record, as well as an interim head coach in Bill Callahan after Jay Gruden was fired after Week 5. Washington's only win this season has come against a winless Miami Dolphins squad in Week 6.
Washington will also be turning to rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins this week against the Bills as starting quarterback Case Keenum is out with a concussion. It will be Haskins' first career start in the National Football League after being selected by the Redskins with the 15th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Veteran quarterback Colt McCoy will serve as Haskins' backup on Sunday in Buffalo.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott joined the Howard and Jeremy Show on Friday morning for his weekly Buffalo Football Friday appearance on WGR. McDermott discussed Sunday's upcoming game with the Redskins, as well as bouncing back from a loss, the offense and its progress, the defense's recent woes and more.
Here is some of what he had to say:
"To this point, thankfully, we've had more wins than losses. With just two losses, going back to the preseason, it's been interesting to watch and that's true every year, how your teams responds to both wins and losses, how they respond to success and to disappointment. I think the biggest takeaway is that we've got good veteran leadership and guys that the game, it matters to them, in terms of success and winning. And that's important, because that's not true in every locker room, believe it or not, and these guys care about what they do and how they do it."
"It really comes down to self-inflicted wounds, if you will, with penalties, negative plays and turning the ball over. So, those are things that we have to get corrected. Even the best teams around the NFL, in terms of the most productive offenses right now, you never really get rid of all of that within drives, but you try and minimize it the best you can."
"There should be, let's call it, an evolution week-to-week. When you talk about continuity, you're really talking about year to year. What you've done in Year 2 versus Year 1, or in terms of your time together as an offense. This is, really, the first year together for nine of the 11 guys and then you take the non-starters and throw them into that bucket. What we're focused on right now is the week-to-week progress, the week-to-week evolution and growth of our offense."
"Starting with me, I can say we could do a better job, and that's been a big emphasis this week. In terms of our organization, our approach, our mentality, our physicality and the ensuing fundamentals and techniques."
You can listen to the entire interview below: