Bills' head coach Sean McDermott makes it clear what the next goal is for Buffalo after clinching the AFC East
Sunday Night Football was a party in Highmark Stadium, snow game or not. The Buffalo Bills showed up, the fans were as rowdy as you'd expect them to be, and the team on the field dominated the game from the jump.Josh Allen played out of his mind, recording multiple records to go along with one […]
Sunday Night Football was a party in Highmark Stadium, snow game or not. The Buffalo Bills showed up, the fans were as rowdy as you'd expect them to be, and the team on the field dominated the game from the jump.
Josh Allen played out of his mind, recording multiple records to go along with one of the most absurd plays you'll ever see on a football field.
Now at 10-2, with the 35-10 victory over the 49ers, the Bills have clinched their fifth-straight AFC East division title.
Buffalo owns the AFC East. While Buffalo has 10 wins, the rest of the division has only combined for 11. Second place belongs to the Dolphins at 5-7, a team Buffalo beat twice this year and has a five game advantage on in the division. It's just not even close.
The magnitude of winning the division isn't lost on head coach Sean McDermott, who takes nothing for granted.
"It's always hard to do, so you'll take it whenever you get it, whether it's the last week of the season or this early in the season," McDermott said when asked if this year feels different having the division wrapped up with five games still left to play. "I think the biggest thing is, I'm going to give you a coach's view on it, is where we go from here, right? How do we reset?"
"Certainly, enjoy this," McDermott continued. "Like I said to the team, you know, being 50 years old, 20-plus years in this league, I've learned to try and enjoy the moments. This is a moment, right? And then after that, tomorrow, move forward and turn the page. Because, as you know, as we talk about a lot, it's a week-to-week league, and you've got to bring your A-game. For us, it's continuing to develop and grow in the areas we need to develop in and take those necessary steps"
With the division wrapped up, there's one clear thing that the Bills have their eyes set on next — chasing down the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
"It's probably the next goal for us, right? Is to position ourselves the best we can," McDermott said when asked about the conference seeding. "We control a piece of that, and then some of that we don't. So it's really about our level of play every week, getting to the level it needs to be at, and that usually puts you in a good spot."
Despite seemingly always playing sloppy football, the Chiefs are somehow still in the driver's seat. Other than their one loss to the Bills, Kansas City hasn't dropped any other games, despite every single one coming down to the final possession. They keep finding new ways to win, whether it's a blocked kick, a player barely being out of bounds, or, most recently, a botched snap when their opponent was driving the field to take the lead.
Buffalo can only control what they can control, as McDermott said. But this team has won seven straight games, has scored 30+ points in six straight, and has proven to be able to win in a variety of ways. They're once again a contender to be taken seriously, and with five games to play, it's all about catching the Chiefs — like it always is.
Follow along all year for more Buffalo Bills coverage on A to Z Sports. You can find me on Bluesky @jonhelmkamp.bsky.social, and make sure to follow our main page @AtoZSports.bsky.social for all the latest news.
