Two losses aren't the end of the world for Buffalo, but head coach McDermott, offensive coordinator Joe Brady and defensive coordinator Bobby Babich know there's work to be done.
On Tuesday, the three discussed their plans in utilizing the bye week to make intentional adjustments before Week 8.
Using the tough moments to build resiliency
When building up from ground zero at the start of each year, McDermott said he wants to make sure there are no cracks in the Bills' proverbial foundation they created in the first six games.
"We've had some good moments, but I also want to kind of look under the hood a little bit more and [make] sure that we've got everything underneath in terms of the foundation that it's helping us, from the way we practice, to the way we meet, to what we emphasize, to what we're asking our players to do," McDermott said.
McDermott made a list of things he wanted to analyze after Monday's game and immediately got to work.
"We've got a great staff. Our staff works extremely hard, and I'm looking forward to coming out of this with some good solutions," McDermott said. "We turn over some dirt here and kind of till the soil a little bit, and we'll find something."
Sticking together and trusting one another
McDermott expressed his confidence in Babich as the defensive playcaller. One improvement, though, is getting off to a hot start defensively. On Monday, the Bills allowed 21 points in the first half, which McDermott noted isn't a "a great formula to start a game with."
However, he was pleased in Babich's response in the second half. Buffalo allowed just three points.
"Some of it is a little bit big picture, some of it's more of the more of the details," McDermott said. "And just based on my experience of being in that position for a number of years, I really appreciate the way that [the defense] adjusted, led by Bobby."
As for Brady, one play — a botched end around play to WR Elijah Moore on third and short — doesn't cloud McDermott's perspective when he was asked about how the offense can get back on track after a season-low 14 points.
"[Brady's] a great offensive coordinator. He's a great play caller, right?" McDermott said. "At the end of the day, whatever play we call, we got to execute at a high level as well. So that's a piece of it. But I remain confident, very confident in [Brady] and his ability to put us into the right situations and put our players in good positions on offense."
Though there are calls both coordinators would like back during the last two losses, that does not deter McDermott away from his trust in them. McDermott emphasized sticking together is what will move the Bills in the right direction.
"We all have to be accountable to one another and work so hard that we're not going to let each other down," McDermott said. "And that's really been the recipe for us in the past."
During the bye week, as McDermott put it, all three have extra time to "hunker down and study things, study scheme, study all the hotspots."
What Brady and Babich liked from the first six games?
There's good to pull out from both the run and pass game, according to Brady, specifically in how the offense used different pieces and players instead of staying one-dimensional with one personnel group.
During the bye week, he wants to look at the details more intentionally and figure out how to capitalize on all the good elements at a higher, more impactful level.
"If we started 0-2 and we've won the last four, we'd be feeling completely different with the exact same record. But that's reality, and we have to look at it from perspective," Brady said. "… There's going to be a lot of diving into it this week. And are you going to see a completely different offense next week? No, but I hope you see a more efficient with higher detail, higher execution and to be able to get to where we need to get to."
On defense, Babich pointed to its resiliency and adaptability, especially with injuries.
"Have we gotten the complete result we've wanted? No," Babich said. "But we've shown resiliency, and guys have stepped up and ready to play as was evident [against Atlanta], especially in the second half."
Like McDermott's hopes for defense moving forward, Babich said he wants his defense to be more consistent with how it played in the second half against Atlanta. Rather than regroup at halftime or backtrack to previous plays, he emphasized fast starts and stacking strengths on top of one another. Retaining that level of play is a week-to-week process.
"We've been at this spot before," Babich said. "Completely understand the sense of panic, but in this building, we know where we have to improve."
Attacking the bye week
Babich said the bye is coming at a good time for Buffalo following the last two losses. McDermott, Brady and himself will strip down the first six games during the week and analyze every situation from each down to two-minute drills to red zone efficiency and everything in between.
The Bills need to find the best version of themselves and figure out who they are in 2025. Babich said to accomplish this, they'll pinpoint the areas for improvement and identify the team's strengths.
"This is a long season. We're a 4-2. We know there's things we have to improve on," Babich said. "… Our whole goal is to be peaking at the right time during the season. We understand that and that's our approach. It's going to be consistent every day with an urgency to get better where we need to get it better."
Brady said that to focus on who the team is now, it also intends ways to put previous years and the first chunk of the season behind after determining where to improve.
"Who are we this year? And how do we need to evolve this year and not worrying about what it looked like in the past, or what it's looked like in this these six games," Brady said. "… Last year, I didn't feel like we hit our really our ground until we hit Seattle. And I don't want to wait a few more weeks to hit that … so there needs to be a level of urgency of us figuring out what we've kind of put on tape."
McDermott hopes the Bills progress every day, starting with the extra time off and adjusting throughout the season to become a better team game-by-game.
"We're going to work our tails off to get it done," McDermott said. "… It's just going to happen one day at a time at this point."
