Buffalo’s ability to grind out a hard fought win Sunday when things didn’t always go their way illustrated the team’s mental toughness as they’re now above .500 for the first time this season.
Buffalo Bills Insider Chris Brown provides all the details. Here is his report:
Last Sunday’s game against the Rams had all the markings of a grind it out battle that the Bills of the past would fritter away in some way, shape, or form. Be it a lack of execution, a mental error or allowing a big play by the opponent, the old Bills would drop a tightly contested game like the one they had with the Rams when they had just as good a chance of winning as the other team. That didn’t happen on Sunday at the L.A. Coliseum, and it’s due in part to an improved mental fortitude.
Make no mistake, there were definitely times where the game was just sitting there waiting for someone to step forward and grab control of it with the game tied twice and four lead changes. Buffalo had squandered an early 10-point lead and there were certainly instances where the Bills could’ve folded up in a road atmosphere like L.A.. The point here is they didn’t.
Instead they turned in the big plays down the stretch to ensure victory. From the point that Nickell Robey-Coleman took his first interception back for a touchdown, to Lorenzo Alexander’s sack to force a punt, to Ronald Darby’s stop on a fake punt and Marquise Goodwin’s touchdown catch, Buffalo came up with all the plays that made the difference.
“Anytime you can win on the road in a hostile environment, especially a team like this that has a great defense, and you can bear down and outplay their defense, I think there’s something to say about what we’ve been able to do,” Alexander said. “I think the key is we don’t want to be complacent with the success we’ve had.”
“It’s hard playing on the road, but when you have a connection with teammates and coaches and everybody has a game plan and everybody sticks with that game plan no matter what and you fight through adversity soon enough everything will start shaking our way,” said Nickell Robey-Coleman. “That’s what happened. Second half, later in the game it was at a standstill and we just kept balling. We just kept going with the game plan and everything turned out to be perfect.”
Ironically, the belief in one another amongst the Bills players was strengthened and fortified after the team’s disappointing start to the 2016 season. It built a resolve that they might not have now were it not for the adversity they faced right off the bat.
“We’re a very confident team now,” said Tyrod Taylor. “Definitely a 0-2 start was not the way we wanted to start the season, but I think it made us a better team. We learned from it and we’re going to keep progressing as the season goes.”
The Bills are well aware that at times their win over the Rams wasn’t pretty. They didn’t execute on everything, but they did deliver when it counted.
“That’s the NFL. It’s great players,” said LeSean McCoy. “Their offense has great players, defense same thing. It just came down to finishing the game out. We got out ahead early and they came back. It was a dogfight. In this league it’s hard to win games. It really is. For us to come away with this one was major for us.
“It was a team win. It wasn’t a dominating performance by the offense or defense or special teams. It was all three and it got us the win.”
Head coach Rex Ryan was as surprised as anyone with the team’s 0-2 start to the season. He believed they were a far more competitive group than they showed on the field through the first two weeks. The only thing that has turned it around as he sees it is a deep seeded conviction that they were capable of more.
“In an NFL season you’re going to have these things, peaks and valleys,” he said. “We knew we were better than that. We hadn’t had the results. So, we committed to each other and I think that’s the biggest thing. It was going to take a selfless mentality and we were going to have to rely on each other.
“We had to believe in each other when really nobody else was. I think that’s kind of who this group is. It’s a resilient group. This is a tough football team.”