RB LeSean McCoy
- Accounted for 151 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries for his 35th 100-yard rushing day and 12th with the Buffalo Bills
Q: Is this the strongest willed team you've ever been a part of?
A: I can say that. I've been around some super talented group of guys, so I won't say that as far as one of the most talented teams. But as one of the most strong-hearted, fight until the end, I think so.
Q: You guys are 4-0 at home now. Can we stamp this as a tough place to play?
A: I don't want to stamp anything. I just want to stamp that we work hard, we're a family. With Logan Thomas battling things out with his family and to just see how the guys rallied around him, you know, we support one another. This is a close family, it really is. And some guys that I might have known for a year or two years, or I might have known them for two weeks or two months, we kind of have that bond. I don't want to let the guy next to me down. An example like that with Logan just shows you the type of commitment we make to each other. We play together, we fight. Defense is out there fighting for turnovers. Last week, I fumbled at a critical time in the game. Boom, what happens? Defense goes out there, a rookie gets the fumble for me and then we score. So this team just shows you the heart. It's hard to go against the eye of the tiger, a team that will claw and fight until the end. You know it's hard to beat a team like that. I think the talent kind of goes out the window, the athletic ability from players goes out the window, and you have that big heart. And here guys bleed and guys want to win. It just shows you the type of coach that Sean [McDermott] is really kind of bringing here.
Q: In terms of yards, this is your second best game since you've come to Buffalo. Does this reverse some of the troubles you've had earlier this season?
A: I think last week was a starting point of us rolling, of us getting going. Since the bye, we've been sprinkling different schemes, different runs, stuff that we've been successful within the past and this year also. The guys up front, we've talked about just letting them dominate the line of scrimmage. You know, giving me some one-on-one opportunities, giving me some lanes, and they did that today. They blocked well on the passing game and they blocked extremely well on the running game.
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Head Coach Sean McDermott**
- Led team to first 4-0 home record since 1995
Q: Sean, you're 5-2 and again, you're not used to this, but this area always wonders about if this team is for real. There have been starts like this [and] they've failed. Why do you think this team, again you don't know the history, but why do you think this team could be different than anything beyond what we've seen here in years past?
A: Yeah, you know, I'm going to talk about this team. I don't know what's been here in the past, with all due respect Sal. I just know that we come out every week, the guys work hard, they respect the process and put the time in. When you put the time in and you care about one another [and] you detail your work, you give yourself a chance and that's what the whole 'earning the right, earning the right,' you fill in the blank. For us, it's about earning the right to have a chance to win on Sundays by doing things the right way on the field and doing things right off the field on Monday through Saturday.
Q: Sean, the [Matt] Milano play? How big was that. That seemed to turn the game in your favor with that late-in-the-half turnover touchdown.
A: Yeah, it got some momentum going for us. Got the crowd into the game and this crowd was awesome. It is special to play in Western New York and the guys feel that and they appreciate it, as do I and the staff. These fans were awesome. It's hard to come in here with an offense like that. That factors in, and when you have that 12th man, man I love it.
Q: That touchdown drive at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter, was that the most confident that Tyrod [Taylor] has been?
A: Well, that's a question probably for Tyrod, honestly. I thought we moved the ball well when we needed to move it well. I like the adjustments we made. Rick Dennison and the offensive staff, and the communication was great on the sideline with the players coming off the field, sharing with the coaching staff what they were seeing and vice versa, so the adjustments were key and they will continue to be key and that communication will be big for us moving forward. I thought we had some key drives when we needed it and I like how we ran the football late in the game there. That was important.
QB Tyrod Taylor
- Led the Bills offense that has scored at least 20 points in 13 consecutive home games – a team record and the longest active streak in the NFL
Q: Tyrod you're 4-0 at home now. Would you stamp this as a tough place for opponents to play?
A: I don't think it's definitely an easy place to come in and play. Our fans do a great job of creating a hostile environment. The weather isn't always what opposing teams want it to be, but its stuff that we practice in, day in and day out. We embrace it. Of course we want to defend our turf, it's something we preach throughout the week and just going into the season. Home games are definitely important to us and we've shown that throughout this season thus far.
Q: What is it like for you as a quarterback watching your defense make this many plays and get the ball back?
A: It's awesome. Our defense does a great job of getting us the ball back. We know as long as they're on the field we have the opportunity of getting a short field. They create turnovers week in and week out. It's our job to compliment them and put the ball in. We've been able to do that thus far. Can be better in certain areas for sure, excited to change things that we haven't capitalized over this year. But it's great playing with those guys and it's fun watching them. It's a bunch of guys going and believing in the process.
Q: Shady said this might be the strongest willed team he's ever been on. You've been on a Super Bowl winning team that probably has a strong will to do that, but where does this team rank maybe on that scale for mental toughness, strong will?
A: It's definitely up there. Nothing phases this team, I heard Shady up here talking about even the Logan Thomas situation this week. I think just showing his mental toughness and being able to continue to come out and prepare throughout the week and still play on Sunday. I think that just shows, shows you guys, and it shows us as well how this team is built. We support him and this team definitely has a strong will. Nothing that can phase us and I think Coach does a great job of putting us in different situations and also learning from different situations across the league.
LB Matt Milano
- First Bills linebacker with a fumble return touchdown since London Fletcher in 2006
Q: How impressive is it that you guys were able to do this without three starters in the line up? You're filling out for Ramon (Humber), Jordan (Poyer) didn't play today, and E.J. Gaines out as well.
A: Everybody's got to be ready. I think it's the way we practice, like I said before, it all comes back to that. Everybody's practicing hard, everybody's getting reps, and if you're not in, you're taking mental reps.
Q: Describe your play over the past few weeks, last week you had the interception, and now this.
A: I think the bigger plays kind of trump the plays that I did miss, but we see them in the film room and get them corrected. * *
DT Kyle Williams
- Posted two tackles
Q: Kyle, you were as close to Marcell [Dareus], maybe as anybody on the team given the time you guys spent together. What was your reaction to the trade, and how do you feel the team as a whole reacted to it?
A: I think we responded well. We had talked about it. I went and saw Marcell the night that everything went down. First thing, I think it's best for both sides, with kind of where everything was landed or headed. I think it's good for him to have a change of scenery and I think to kind of move on from here. I love the guy, wish nothing but the best for him. Obviously, it's still tough for me because I poured a lot of myself into him over the last seven years. It's tough to see him go, but he'll always be a friend, and I'll always pull for him.
WR Zay Jones
- Posted three receptions and 32 receiving yards
Q: Speak about the play of Tyrod Taylor thus far? He made plays on the move, outside of the pocket, extended plays a lot too, so [that's] something you have to adjust to and be ready for?
A: Yeah, I mean, you never know what happens with No. 5 [Tyrod Taylor] back there. He's one of the most dominant players in the National Football League. When he escapes the pocket, or when things seem to break down, he makes broken plays complete. [It's] just something that he's blessed with, and why's he at this level. You always have to be ready, always have to stay on your toes, and we'll make those plays. Andre Holmes did a great job of that today too.
Q: Confidence standpoint? Clearly that was a good day for you, not a huge day, but a solid, get your confidence back kind of day. Would you agree with that? Not that you were lacking–
A: Yeah, I know what you're saying. Sure, if that's how people see it. For me, it's just going out, playing and enjoying it. Coach [McDermott] calls it time on task, that's what rookies need, is time on task. Things are going to open up, things are going to develop, so just keep working, keep catching. It was a great team win today, excited to be a part of it.
WR Jordan Matthews
- Recorded three receptions for 21 yards
Q: You guys talk about how you're the underdogs and how you embrace that underdog mentality. Now that you're 5-2, where do you think you guys will stop being looked at as the underdogs?
A: You all know that it's still just you guys here, so it's not like all of the other big stations, just the Buffalo guys. Nobody really cares about us. Even when they do come they don't really care, they are just here until something bad goes down. At our core and in our heart, we understand that we are the guys in league that are fighting from the bottom. All of us had to scrap. Even our starting quarterback, who is playing phenomenal, he was at a place that said, "you know we are going to go with somebody else." LeSean McCoy, who I think is an All-World running back, was told by someone, "hey, we want to go in a different direction," which is crazy to me. That's the story of a lot of these guys here, including me. We just embrace it and we play for each other. When you hit that point in your career when you see that side of the NFL, I just want to play for my brothers and an organization that cares about me. I think everybody here has that feeling, everybody appreciates that, and that's why we love to go play for that logo.
