Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - After a less than ideal trip overseas to London, England this past week, the Buffalo Buffalo returned home to Western New York, where they will await the arrival of the New York Giants this Sunday night for a prime-time showdown at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
Sunday's matchup with the Giants will be a homecoming, of sorts, for a pair of notable names with past ties to the Bills.
Giants head coach and Western New York native Brian Daboll served as the Bills' offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2021, where he helped quarterback Josh Allen blossom into the perennial weapon he is today. Bills head coach Sean McDermott has crossed paths with Daboll many times throughout his career, but this instance will be a little different.
"Brian and I knew each other back when he was coaching at William and Mary in [Virginia]. That's where we first got introduced to one another and stayed in touch from that point on," said McDermott on Friday during his visit on the "Extra Point Show" on WGR. "Obviously he grew under Bill Belichick, I grew and under Andy Reid. Two good foundations from which to grow from, and Brian's a good coach. We're happy for him and happy for [general manager] Joe Schoen, as well. They've earned those jobs."
Meanwhile, former Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor returns to Buffalo, where he started under center for the team from 2015 to 2017. This time around, he is set to make his first start against his former team, as regular starting quarterback Daniel Jones has been ruled out for the game with a neck injury.
Taylor was one of the main contributors to the Bills ending their playoff drought back in 2017. McDermott has been happy to see where his career has taken him.
"Super proud of Tyrod, the career that he's put together," McDermott said with Sal Capaccio. "As a first-year head coach, it was an honor to work with him. Just a great young man and a very good quarterback, and certainly mobile. I really appreciate and respect how he handled his business."
As for Sunday's game itself, the Bills defense is still banged up. McDermott says they'll lean heavily on some of their backup players to carry the load, including rookie linebacker Dorian Williams.
"Part of playing the game is getting the game to slow down," he said. "You make the jump to transition from high school to college, the game speeds up. And then from college to the NFL, it speeds up again. Quite honestly, from preseason to the regular season, it speeds up another notch. I think that's a little bit of what you saw last week, and experience will only help in this situation."
More from McDermott's appearance during the "Extra Point Show" is available in the player below: