1. A player that could have an impact defensively on Sunday
On a zoom call on Friday, Dion Dawkins looked ahead to this week's matchup against the Miami Dolphins. The Bills lineman was asked about his former college teammate Tyler Matakevich. The two played at Temple together for three years from 2013 to 2015, and this is Matakevich's first year with the Bills. The Bills signed him as a free agent this offseason, and with Edmunds and Milano out for Sunday's game, the linebacker will probably see more playing time. Dawkins had some high praises for his old college teammate and is excited to watch him play Sunday.
"[Tyler Matakevich] is a grinder, and he's been a grinder since our Temple days," Dawkins explained. "He was a single-digit guy [in college], a tough, smart guy who knows all of his plays. He's fluent, and he's confident so when he gets a chance, I'm pretty sure that Tyler is going to bring the swag as he always has, and let his physical play speak for itself."
Dawkins aka "The Shnow Man" is one of the most energetic and fun to watch players on and off the field. Dawkins was the guest on this week's episode of the Bills Pod Squad. The Bills Pod Squad is a new podcast from the Buffalo Bills, hosted by owner and team president Kim Pegula, and Bills multimedia journalist Maddy Glab. On the latest episode of the podcast, Dawkins talked about his three favorite things about the Bills win last week.
"Number one is the win," Dawkins said. "the reason we're all here is to get wins. Number two, I would honestly say that I was extremely happy for Zack Moss to get his first touchdown. I was also excited for Tyler Bass to get his first kick. I've never scored as a rookie and getting an accomplishment done where you can start your rap sheet is a confidence builder. It makes a more comfortable and better mind space where they can go out there, just play, be free and I was definitely happy for both of them. Then, of course, watching Josh run into the end zone is another amazing thing. We were just looking on like 'oh Josh is just, la-di-la-di-la, running into the end zone' but definitely the number one thing is the big W."
2. Sean McDermott loves Cam Lewis's story
Cam Lewis signed with the Bills as an undrafted free agent last spring and spent the 2019 season on the Bills practice squad. The Detroit native, who played college football at the University at Buffalo got his first taste of being active for a regular-season game last week. He was reverted to the practice squad after Sunday's game but didn't last the week as the Bills promoted him to the 53-man roster on Thursday. With Josh Norman on injured reserve, Lewis provides solid depth at the cornerback position for the Bills. Coach McDermott explained how Lewis earned himself that roster spot.
"I love his story," McDermott said with a smile. "I think it's a big part of who we are, stories like Cam's, he's a local guy obviously at UB that went undrafted. Being at his Pro Day, everyone you'd talk to, coaches, other teammates, the staff, and trainers, [Cam] was the guy that they talked about. In terms of his intangibles and his determination, I think he really showed us more of that since he's been here. A tough, good football player and he got his first taste of real action last week, which is good to see and we'll see where he goes this week."
3. NFL Network host breaks down the Bills-Dolphins matchup
MJ Acosta-Ruiz is a trailblazer for women all over the sports industry. Acosta-Ruiz started at NFL Network as a Bay Area reporter in 2018. On Sept. 7th she was announced as the new host of NFL Total Access. She became the first Afro-Latina woman to host a show on NFL Network and is proving to everyone that she belongs in what is a male-dominated industry. She joined Maddy Glab on One Bills Live Friday and they talked about things that impressed them in week one. Acosta-Ruiz talked about the Bills this season and the roster that they have.
"The addition of Stefon Diggs was major," Acosta-Ruiz exclaimed. "That was huge, and I think that caught everybody off guard during this offseason. Like whoa, they nabbed a huge one and having a deep field threat like him, somebody who can turn on the jets and is such a versatile wide receiver is fantastic. The defense is really where I think people don't give enough credit to. They have the third total defense right now, second against the run and this is a defense that can really present challenges so I'm excited to see that."
MJ Acosta-Ruiz, having grown up in Miami, explains what stands out to her about the Dolphins team the Bills will see on Sunday and thinks it could be a spicy divisional matchup.
"I think one of the big things I noticed is in their rushing attack, Acosta-Ruiz explained. "They brought in Matt Breida from the San Francisco 49ers, I've followed him for so many years and covered him closely. I think he's going to be able to bring a different dynamic to their ground [game]. Also, defensively when you have Byron Jones at cornerback, he presents such an interesting matchup. In this [upcoming] game, him against Stefon Diggs, I'm sure everybody's like, 'okay, let's see how many targets we get here.' It's one of those divisional games, so it's always heightened. It's always a little bit extra spicy when it comes to the intensity of the game, especially this early on in the season."
