Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - With Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season upon us this weekend, the Buffalo Bills get an extra day to prepare for the home opener against the Tennessee Titans on "Monday Night Football" at Highmark Stadium.
While the team has been off from game action for 11 days, Bills head coach Sean McDermott is confident that his team will be ready to go following an extended layover.
"The schedule is different," McDermott said during his weekly Friday appearance on WGR during the "Extra Point Show". "We're used to these seven-day, pretty routine based weeks, and getting ready for that game. Then the time between that game and this next game was a little bit different then we're used to."
During Buffalo's big 21-point victory in the season opener, the Bills did turn the ball over four times - Two interceptions and two fumbles. That is one area of the offense that McDermott is looking to clean up for Monday night.
"I felt that it was a tale of two halves, in terms of not necessarily our level of play," McDermott said with Sal Capaccio and Joe DiBiase. "When you take care of the football and you're playing well, you see the results. In the first half, thought our level of play, we were playing well but we were not taking care of the football. When you do that, it's hard to get the results you're looking for."
One of those turnovers came on the first NFL carry for Bills rookie running back James Cook. McDermott thought Cook handled it well, as well as the Bills coaching staff, who had him get back out there later in the game.
This is the third-straight year the Bills are facing the Titans outside of the usual 1 p.m. ET window on a Sunday. McDermott knows the Titans are a good football team, even after their heartbreaking loss in Week 1 to Brian Daboll and the New York Giants.
"Defensively, they have safeties and a defensive line that they're very, very good and strong upfront," McDermott said.
With Monday's game having such significance in Western New York, the Orchard Park and Frontier School Districts are having half days for their students on to avoid any potential traffic problems for the game. McDermott finds that as an awesome gesture.
"As my college coach once told me, he would hold up his hand and say, 'Hey, remember, education is No. 1' while holding up the No. 2, 'and football is No. 2,' and really he was holding up a No. 1 finger. We'll just do that for a day, how about that," McDermott said.
Hear more of McDermott's comments during the "Extra Point Show" in the player below:
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