During his Monday evening press conference, Bills head coach Sean McDermott went into further detail about Sunday night's performance and updated the injury status of several defensive players.
LB Terrel Bernard was ruled during the Bengals game with a head injury and is in the concussion protocol to begin Week 10, according to McDermott.
CB Christian Benford (hamstring), S Micah Hyde (stinger) and CB Dane Jackson (injury not specified) also got banged up in the loss.
McDermott said that Jackson "should be fine" for Week 10 though he was uncertain about Benford, Hyde and Bernard for Monday night against the Broncos, saying "we'll see" when it comes to their status for the game.
McDermott: "No brakes on the offense"
During Monday's media session with Buffalo's coaching staff, several questions were asked to both McDermott and Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey about the status of the offense. With uneven performances over the last month, the Bills head coach is aware the results on the field haven't matched the vision they had for success.
"I get it, I understand everyone's frustration. I absolutely do," McDermott said. "We're working extremely hard to make the adjustments we have to make and Ken is doing the same. So, I remain confident in Ken and our offensive staff."
While McDermott and Dorsey have stressed the terms "complementary football" and "balance" throughout the season, McDermott detailed that those terms don't mean getting rid of their aggressiveness.
"We're going out there to score, there's no brakes on the offense," McDermott said. "We're going out there to score and score early and score as many points as possible. So that's the philosophy."
Dorsey shared that the balance and rhythm the Bills are trying to establish comes from attacking different parts of the field and sustaining drives. There's been a lot of bright moments for the offense so far this season, but they just haven't found ways yet to sustain that game over game.
"It's racking plays together, then you start getting in that rhythm," he said.
"The big thing for us is just to find a way to get in that groove, however it is. I mean, it could be running the ball, it could be throwing the ball, there's different ways to do this. The big thing for us is not becoming one dimensional and predictable and I think that's what we try to do."
Looking ahead to Denver
The Bills have an extra day than normal to prepare for the Broncos with their matchup set for next Monday, and the coaching staff has already started digging into their preparation to get back in the win column.
"Just starting to watch them," Dorsey said of the Broncos defense. "Early in that evaluation process."
The first thing Dorsey noticed when turning on the tape was how much Denver's defense has improved since the beginning of the season. The Broncos are averaging 15 points allowed over their last three games, tied for the second-best in the NFL during that span.
"I think they're getting comfortable within that scheme," Dorsey said. "Obviously, coach (Vance) Joseph does a great job. He's got a lot of success as a coordinator in this league. It will give you some different looks and make things tough on you."
The Broncos had a bye in Week 9 but the week before that, they kept Kansas City to a season-low 9 points and forced three turnovers. With a rested Broncos defense trending up, the Bills know they have to find that extra gear on offense at home.
"We gotta get up to speed as quickly as possible and do as much as we can to put our guys in position," Dorsey said.
