'Recreation over' | The Payments share their appreciation for normal season adversity and one another after Wild Card win – BuffaloBills.com

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Buffalo beat Jacksonville on the highway on Sunday, 27-24. This marked the Payments’ first highway playoff win in 32 years and snapped Jacksonville’s eight-game win streak.
This is what head coach Sean McDermott and the gamers stated after the sport:
The Payments confronted harm after harm within the 2025 common season, however discovered methods to win. That “subsequent man up” mentality drove Buffalo to a 12-5 document, and finally a Wild Card win over the Jaguars.
“It builds character,” head coach Sean McDermott stated. “You go into each season and also you’re hoping and praying that there isn’t any adversity. However we have all been round this lengthy sufficient to know that there is going to be adversity, it is only a matter of what kind it is available in and the way huge it’s. And we have actually been coping with it fairly a bit this 12 months.”
On Sunday, the Payments had been with out captain and linebacker Terrel Bernard. Veteran linebacker Shaq Thompson was ready to step into that position, having completed so earlier than in the course of the season. Thompson led the staff in tackles with eight. He additionally had a cross defensed and an early interception. That interception allowed Buffalo to get on the board first, placing up three factors and the one rating of the primary quarter.
Throughout the recreation, vast receiver Gabe Davis and security Jordan Poyer sustained accidents that dominated them out. Rookie security Jordan Hancock stepped into Poyer’s position and the vast receiver depth that was contained for many of the season ended up being the driving power on offense.
The staff additionally adjusted to discovering alternative ways to win video games all through the season. Even with the highest speeding offense within the league, the Payments could not solely depend on working again James Cook dinner III to win video games.
Sunday was no completely different. Cook dinner had simply 46 yards on 15 carries. In complete, Buffalo solely amassed 79 yards on the bottom with quarterback Josh Allen selecting up 33. Within the cross recreation, although, Allen completed with an 80 p.c completion charge on 28-of-35 passes for 273 yards and one landing. Huge receiver Khalil Shakir caught all 12 passes that got here his manner for 82 yards.
McDermott emphasised the significance of a two-dimensional offense in his postgame press convention.
Up in opposition to the highest run protection within the NFL, Allen took what the Jaguars gave him. The run recreation could not spark, however that did not imply he could not discover methods to win battles himself or goal his receivers and tight ends to get the job completed.
“We made the performs that we would have liked to make once we wanted to make them,” McDermott stated.
Buffalo additionally had a sequence of comeback wins. Although it had the lead for a majority of the sport, solely giving it up simply over midway by means of the fourth quarter, the Payments’ common season proved that they know the best way to win regardless of how far behind they’re trailing or how shut the video games find yourself.
There have been 4 lead modifications within the fourth quarter in opposition to the Jaguars, all of which Buffalo needed to overcome with journeys to the tip zone because it fell behind by 4 factors every time Jacksonville went up.
“To have the wherewithal to not blink,” Allen stated. “That is simply the mantra that we have tailored to this 12 months.”
Security Cole Bishop got here up with the game-sealing interception, however it was cornerback Tre’Davious White that made that potential. White tipped the ball, permitting Bishop – who was in the best place on the proper time – to get his arms beneath it.
“‘Recreation over. Recreation over,'” White recalled was working by means of his head when Bishop got here down with the ball. “‘Get down. Get down. Do not attempt to run it again for a landing. Get down so we simply go onto the following recreation.'”
Though he is the one which was credited with the decide, Bishop knew it wasn’t a one-man effort.
“He was making performs on the market,” Bishop stated of White. “I am tremendous grateful for him. After which him tipping that ball was large … I do know I am getting a variety of the credit score for that interception, however he made the play.
“It means loads … I am positive [White’s] had a variety of doubters this previous 12 months, and having the ability to come make a play within the greatest recreation this season and the most important second was large.”
White ended the sport with three passes defensed and two tackles. Other than the final play, White compelled two incompletions within the third quarter, making Jacksonville accept a discipline purpose and permitting the Payments to remain within the lead by three.
His effort wasn’t neglected by anybody on the staff, not solely Bishop.
“A man that is been underneath a variety of scrutiny the final couple of years,” Allen stated of White. “To get him again and to get him again in a Payments’ uniform and making performs for us once we want it essentially the most [means a lot].”
“[White] left all of it on the sphere. Tre White is again man … I am so glad [White] is right here. I am glad that he is feeling good, I am glad that he is motivated, I am glad that he has his confidence again,” left deal with Dion Dawkins stated. “Guys love on one another positively and [White’s] enjoying free.”
“In [White’s] vogue, there’s no person that works more durable, and he is gotten himself again now to the place he’s,” McDermott stated of the cornerback’s NFL journey. “He is enjoying actually good soccer and credit score to him and the work that he is put in … He is simply nearly as good as anybody there’s by way of his dedication, his coronary heart and his actually resilient nature.”
Going for the landing on the finish of the sport
On Buffalo’s final possession of the sport, Allen and the offense drove ahead on fourth-and-inches and finally picked up 10 yards. One yard away from the tip zone with simply over a minute left, the Jaguars used their last timeout to keep away from a 10-second runoff, and the Payments had a choice to make.
Going for the landing meant quarterback Trevor Lawrence had sufficient time to get Jacksonville into discipline purpose vary. Taking a knee and working down the clock, however, gave the Jaguars further respiratory room to make a goal-line cease and win the sport.
“You’ll be able to sit there, you’ll be able to say, ‘Hey, let’s take a knee.’ You lose some yards and you do not rating there,” Allen stated. “Now you are kicking your self for not scoring earlier … we did what we thought was proper, and it turned out to be.”
Wanting again on the choice, McDermott and the gamers are happy with the selection to go for the landing on first-and-goal, leaving Jacksonville with 59 seconds on the clock to try to both tie or win the sport.
“From a recreation administration standpoint … they’ve an exceptional discipline purpose kicker,” McDermott stated. “We knew that it was going to be tight. We observe these conditions, although, while you solely can actually surrender x-amount of yards … Gamers [on defense] executed. That is what it actually got here all the way down to.”
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