(Orchard Park) The Buffalo Bills offense is struggling and the defense is struggling with injuries.
Coach Sean McDermott, however, believes his core is experienced enough to overcome this adversity.
“Look, we showed that we know how to win and we know how to develop our players so that they have solutions to this type of challenge,” McDermott said ahead of Thursday night’s duel against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bills (4-3), three-time defending champion of the American East section, are suddenly struggling with a series of injuries affecting three starters on defense. And they’re not getting any help from their offense, which has scored a combined 10 points in the first halves of its most recent three games. The team won only one of these three meetings.
The message was similar in the Buccaneers camp (3-3). Coach Todd Bowles shrugged off questions about the Bills’ troubles. He preferred to emphasize the need to see his team bounce back after two defeats in a row and three losses in four outings.
“I don’t know exactly what’s going on with the Bills. We need to take care of our problems first, Bowles said. If we take care of our problems, we will play a good game. We are facing a strong team. »
The Buccaneers are making only their third visit to Orchard Park in their history. The two teams therefore do not have a very long history against each other.
The match still represents an important moment for the two teams, who hope to turn things around in time to aim for participation in the playoffs.
Led by Baker Mayfield, the Buccaneers offense has generated 56 points and averaged 277 yards per game in its last four outings.
Turnovers are a problem for the Bucs, who have committed six during this stretch.
“We are so close. I’m tired of saying it, but it’s true,” Mayfield insisted.
On the Bills side, Josh Allen said he was perhaps one of the reasons for the Bills offense’s poor start to the game since he made an effort to be more calm about his emotions .
On Tuesday, Allen said he may have gone too far in his efforts to be less exuberant in positive moments, saying “maybe I need to think a little less and just play football.”
The most important thing is for Allen to find the right formula, said safety Micah Hyde, whatever the formula.
“If he talks about that, it’s because he’s working on that aspect and I have to encourage him,” he said before returning to the Bills’ roller coaster start to the season.
“We are at week eight. The season is still long. We are confident in our abilities and it is time for us to be united and win football matches,” he concluded.