The Buffalo Bills are gearing up for a matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday at New Era Field.
Buffalo will be looking to build on their come-from-behind 31-21 win last weekend over the Miami Dolphins, while the Eagles are hoping to rebound from a crushing 37-10 loss in Dallas to the Cowboys last Sunday night.
At this moment, the Bills' and Eagles' respective seasons seem to moving in different directions.
Buffalo is enjoying the franchise's first 5-1 start in over a decade and appears to be on a path to the playoffs. With a win, the Bills would be 6-1 to start a season for the first time since the Super Bowl era, in which they started the 1993 season at 7-1.
Philadelphia, however, is currently sitting at 3-4 after posting back-to-back losses to the Minnesota Vikings and the Cowboys, allowing 38 and 37 points respectively in those games. As of now, they may be in danger of missing the postseason.
A lot of eyes will be on quarterbacks in this game. Will this be the week that Josh Allen breaks through the 300-yard passing game glass ceiling? Can Carson Wentz get back to the MVP-level he played at in 2017?
Both play-callers have had their issues with turnovers this season, especially as of late in Wentz's case. Allen has thrown seven interceptions and has lost four fumbles lost, while Wentz has struggled with four interceptions and two fumbles lost.
Things could get sloppy this weekend as a rainy forecast for Sunday may not do them any favors.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott took some time on Friday morning to join the Howard and Jeremy Show for his regular appearance on Buffalo Bills Football Friday on WGR.
Here is some of what he had to say heading into the matchup with Philadelphia:
"He's has done some things this week that are encouraging. We'll see how he does [at practice on Friday]. He'll probably end up being a game-time decision."
"I think what you find as most teams move forward, if they're moving in the right direction, is just a heightened awareness of who we are, who our individual players are, and how they fit together to form the different pieces of the overall puzzle. And then putting plays in place, if you will, that really bank on the strengths of the collective players."
"It really comes back to [Allen's] development. Whether it's Josh in this case, or other second or first-year players, they're young, so they're going to go through ups and downs. It's important that when they have those moments that aren't up to our standard, they learn from those and use those as learning opportunities."
"That's another area we're working on. I believe part of the continuity is the pieces in place and time on task. The passing game is so timing-based. And then the other piece of it is technique and fundamentals, as it relates to overall execution.
"We're not perfect, but we do have a standard. And that standard is a day-to-day, minute-to-minute standard. That's what we expect of ourselves. That's what we expect out of every player out there playing. We use the phrase of 'doing your 1/11.' 11 guys are on the field and you have to do your job and do your job at that standard every play."
You can listen to the entire interview below: