The Commanders took a massive leap of faith by promoting David Blough to replace Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator. Two more promotions have also occurred in-house, which speaks to the desire for alignment alongside fresh schematic ideas. It's a gamble that could go either way. And the Commanders may have to move forward without Anthony Lynn, who is being coveted by the Buffalo Bills after their decision to fire Sean McDermott.
I thought this could've happened three years ago. Everybody looked at me like I had three heads at a guy I thought they would move to, or try to make a move for, was actually Bill Belichick.
Brandin Cooks had a smile on his face. Standing in the indoor fieldhouse at the Buffalo Bills' practice facility, the veteran wide receiver was asked questions ahead of the team's wild-card game at the Jacksonville Jaguars, his first playoff game as a Bill. Does this offense have another gear it just hasn't found yet? "Absolutely," Cooks grinned. He declined to elaborate, instead saying, "That's it. You're not gonna get me."
But Sean McDermott is a defensive mastermind. And his answer to the run game woes has been, effectively, to give up. McDermott has stopped trying to load the box or reinforce the front. He is happy, it seems, to concede steady yards on the ground if the Bills do not cough up an explosive run (10-plus yards). And by not adding extra bodies to the box, he's been able to maintain schematic flexibility in the secondary.
"He embodies what we're all about," McDermott said. "... For him to then come back into the game, and then for it to turn out to be what it was is remarkable. Remarkable toughness, remarkable commitment to the team."
The NFL has announced its Week 18 schedule. The Buffalo Bills will host the New York Jets on Sunday, January 4, at 4:25 p.m. on CBS, marking the final regular-season game at Highmark Stadium. Buffalo will celebrate the finale by bringing back its red helmets and wearing a Farewell Season patch on their jerseys.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Eagles defense rose to the occasion Sunday, delivering a goal-line stand in the second half and surviving a two-point conversion at the end of regulation to help Philadelphia escape with a 14-13 win over the Buffalo Bills. The Eagles (11-5) blanked the NFL's No. 3 scoring offense for three-plus quarters before Buffalo (11-5) struck twice in the final moments, including on a 1-yard Josh Allen touchdown run with five seconds remaining.
A limited-edition beer made with snow from Highmark Stadium, Blizzard Brew celebrates the great lengths Bills fans will go for one of the NFL's greatest traditions, the company says. This season is the last for the Bills at the original Highmark Stadium[JJ1.1], and NFL fans around the world have become very familiar with one of the venue's most iconic traditions: Bills Mafia shoveling it out following an overload of snow before an upcoming home game, it adds.
At this point of the season, monitoring the pick availability in your group is critical, especially in a week where one team projects as the overwhelming chalk. The Houston Texans are being picked in over half of remaining Eliminator entries early in the week. They are available for 58% of Eliminator Challenge entries, but that will vary for each group. The more teams that have the Texans available, the more valuable fading them becomes.
Among the biggest problems with the Patriots' Week 15 loss to the Bills, a side from blowing a 21-point halftime lead, was the officiating. Although it's never ideal to discuss how referees may have impacted a game one way or the other, it's sometimes too big a story to ignore, and that is partly the case with this loss. Beyond the questionable pass interference calls, one of which took away an obvious interception by Marcus Jones, there was also a noticeable lack of penalties on the Bills.
"Our guys, they understand. They have a good feel for when they are and when they're not playing the way we need to play," coach Sean McDermott said. "And I saw Josh [Allen] as I was kind of bringing everybody up [at halftime], and he looked at me. I just knew he was seeing it like I was. The entire team was on the same vibe."
The Buffalo Bills will be getting some important linemen back for their AFC East matchup against the New England Patriots, with defensive end Joey Bosa and right tackle Spencer Brown set to play Sunday. Bosa missed last week's win over the Cincinnati Bengals with a hamstring injury, and Brown missed the past two games with a shoulder injury. Neither had an injury designation on Friday's report, the last of the week. "It's good, yeah, we rolling this Sunday," Brown said earlier in the week.
