Photo courtesy: Buffalobills.com
The Buffalo Bills’ 27-24 Wild-Card upset over the Jacksonville Jaguars ranks as one of the most monumental victories in the Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane era.
In the final nine minutes, the Bills played out a scenario many fans have seen before. In the past, Bills quarterback Josh Allen pulled off late-game heroics, only for defensive collapses or supporting cast errors to cause a heartbreaking finish.
Not Sunday, however. Safety Cole Bishop and the Bills’ defense, led by its head coach, forced a game-winning interception, sending the Bills to their sixth straight divisional round.
Sunday had its imperfections, but a gritty victory serves as a microcosm of the ninth-year head coach’s growth. The Bills’ defense forced two turnovers in the win, held Jacksonville to just seven first-half points, and pressured Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on over 30% of his dropbacks.
From a macro perspective, since McDermott became more involved in the team’s defense after their Week 7 bye, the defense has shown drastic improvement. Through the first six weeks of the season, the defense surrendered an average of 22.3 points, 323.5 yards, and 156.3 rushing yards per game. Since the bye week, all of those stats have dropped as the Bills have allowed an average of 21 points, 283.4 yards, and 127.6 rushing yards per contest.
Entering the season, coaches’ challenges were often cited as an area where critics attacked the 51-year-old head coach. In McDermott’s first eight seasons, he went 11-of-38 (29%), while this year he’s been successful on four of his five challenges (80%).
Lastly, McDermott has increased his aggressiveness in the past few years. According to FTN Fantasy, McDermott finished second on the aggressiveness index last year. This season, McDermott has decided to go for it on fourth down the seventh-most times in the league (32), and has converted the fifth-most (19).
The job for McDermott and the Bills organization remains unfinished. The AFC’s top-seeded Denver Broncos stand as an excellent challenge for the Bills on Saturday. With significant challenges come great opportunities. If the Bills can topple the Broncos, McDermott’s legacy will take another step forward.