Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Bills' rivalry with the New England Patriots has been a heated one for over 20 years. The story seemed to always be in New England's favor, however, the scales have tipped to the Bills' side in recent years.
To start the 2023 season, the Patriots are off to their worst start since 1995 with a record of 1-5 through six weeks of play. Their offense has the least amount of points scored (72) in the entire league, and their defense has two key players missing for the rest of the year in cornerback Christian Gonzalez and Matthew Judon.
Despite all of this, Bills head coach Sean McDermott feels Patriots head coach Bill Belichick still deserves respect because of his elite game planning abilities.
"They've had the success they've had over the years in part because of him," said McDermott on Friday in his weekly appearance during the "Extra Point Show" on WGR. "He's a brilliant coach, a great planner in terms of getting his team ready to play every week, and a little bit of a different approach with different game plans based on what the opponent does best. I just have respect for him and the wins, and Super Bowls he's been able to win over the years."
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This AFC East matchup for the Bills proves to be a very important one, as they find themselves in a tight divisional race against the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets.
"Big picture wise, we're certainly focused, and need to be focused on this weekend's divisional game against New England on the road," McDermott said with Sal Capaccio and Joe DiBiase. "But the people that need to do some forward thinking planning-wise, they're already working hard in that area."
One thing the offense has been struggling with for some of this season is finding consistency. McDermott says it's a balance of moving the ball around and creating a rhythm.
"You never want to get too far away from your No. 1 target, No. 1 receiver [Stefon Diggs], in this case, and a guy that you know plays at an elite level. You want your star to be your star, but you also want to create a rhythm amongst the overall offense so that you can stay unpredictable to some extent, but also get into a rhythm."
More from McDermott's appearance during the "Extra Point Show" is available in the player below:
