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00:00:07
Speaker 1: He is a beast with a capital B. The cook is in the kitchen. Fires on a post to Coleman in the end zone for the touchdown.
00:00:19
Speaker 2: Pressure coming.
00:00:20
Speaker 1: He's sacked and he fumbled. The Bills have the football.
00:00:30
Speaker 2: This is One Bills Live.
00:00:35
Speaker 1: Good evening, Bills Mafia. Welcome to Week 9 in a titanic matchup to wrap up the week in the NFL. There are three tight ends on the field.
00:00:43
Speaker 3: Here's the snap.
00:00:44
Speaker 1: Allen back to pass, rolling right, looking to buy some time. Fires as he's hit, looking.
00:00:50
Speaker 4: In the end zone and wide open for the touchdown is Keleki Latu.
00:00:55
Speaker 1: His first career touchdown.
00:00:58
Speaker 4: Goes for 25 yards and Buffalo finally finds the end zone.
00:01:04
Speaker 1: First touchdown, first catch of the season for Latu. Josh Allen sees a blitz off his left.
00:01:10
Speaker 5: He scrambles out to the right. Keeps the play alive.
00:01:13
Speaker 1: There's a snap. Back to pass. Has time. Looking down the seam. And is it caught?
00:01:19
Speaker 6: No.
00:01:19
Speaker 4: It's intercepted by Dorian Williams.
00:01:22
Speaker 2: Oh, my goodness.
00:01:24
Speaker 3: What a play by the linebacker.
00:01:26
Speaker 4: He was blanketed all over TJ Hawkinson and comes up with the INT.
00:01:32
Speaker 1: There's a snap. Fakes the handoff, back to pass, looking.
00:01:35
Speaker 4: Over the middle, and it's picked off by Terrell Bernard! Coming the other way, and he's tackled at the 38-yard line! The linebackers do it again! Another INT for Buffalo!
00:01:49
Speaker 1: Three tight ends set.
00:01:50
Speaker 2: Here's the snap.
00:01:51
Speaker 1: Hand off to Cook.
00:01:52
Speaker 4: Threw a hole, and he reaches for the goal line. He is in for the touchdown. A five-yard touchdown run by James Cook.
00:02:02
Speaker 1: The Cook is in the kitchen. Chris Brown saying so long from U.S.
00:02:06
Speaker 3: Bank Stadium.
00:02:06
Speaker 1: Final once again. Bills win 23-6. That is your Game Rewind presented by Treasure Cave, the official blue cheese store. Of the Buffalo Bills, the Bills are 7-1 for the first time since 1993 when this guy wore a helmet on a weekly basis. Chris Brown, Steve Tasker with you on a Tuesday after Monday Night Football. And man, it was a slog for a while. But the Bills, quite simply, there's no better word, they outlasted the Minnesota Vikings today. and persevered their way to a 23-6 victory. It was not pretty for long stretches. As Steve intimated, it probably would be. This is a championship caliber Minnesota defense. Maybe one of the best defenses they have faced in the last two seasons. I would put Houston up there. I think Houston is a more talented defense, but I think this is a better schemed defense by Brian Flores.
00:03:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, and they're not without talent either. No, but Minnesota.
00:03:12
Speaker 1: Player for player. I still think Houston has a more
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talented defense, but this is a defense that is schemed in a special, special way. And there is no space out there on the field inside, outside. You can't go anywhere on this group and you just have to outlast him. And I think because the bills were able to sustain some drives and because of the ineptitude of their own offense, the bills time of possession advantage events eventually wore that defense down.
00:03:39
Speaker 2: Yeah. The, It was impressive. The time of possession was really impressive in this game. The Bills were able to possess the ball and stay on the field for long stretches.
00:03:48
Speaker 1: Over 42 and a half minutes.
00:03:49
Speaker 2: And the Vikings just couldn't match that in any way, shape, or form. Carson Wentz, I had... I thought this game... I'm claiming victory on my pick. I knew the Bills would win. They won by 17 points. That's a big margin in the NFL.
00:04:03
Speaker 1: Should have been more.
00:04:04
Speaker 2: And they left nine points on the board, on the field, in three of their possessions. And they did. They just outlasted them. So they gave up six points on the entire night. A flat dropped interception by Bernard. He's still thinking about that one, I'm sure, even today. But the Bills' offense, the impressive part about it wasn't that they scored 20 points. It was that they possessed the ball for 42 minutes. And the Minnesota Vikings' offense couldn't stay on the field at all.
00:04:38
Speaker 1: And with today being the trade deadline– They have to be on the phones in search of a quarterback. Steve actually had a very good idea that no one has really talked about. Everybody's on the Daniel Jones wagon because he's been there before. How about another guy who's been there before? Lay it on him, Steve. I think this is a great idea.
00:04:55
Speaker 2: Well, Kirk Cousins. Yeah. Bring Kirk Cousins back. The Raiders are sitting right now in ninth position at four and five. They have a losing record. They're tied with the record of the Baltimore Ravens who are floundering. They're just ahead of the Houston Texans, who are in the 11th spot at 3-5. New England is 5-4. Cincinnati is 6-2. And everybody above Cincinnati is 6-2 or 7-2 or 7-1, like the Bills are. Vegas is done for the season. No question about it. And it might be time now.
00:05:30
Speaker 1: You have to call.
00:05:31
Speaker 2: You have to go with Fernando Mendoza. Give him a chance to get on the field. You've got eight games, nine games left.
00:05:39
Speaker 1: Nolan Teasley, the GM of the Vikings, is not doing his job if he does not call the leaders and inquire about Kirk Cousins.
00:05:45
Speaker 2: Because Kirk Cousins would inclement back into the Vikings roster a little bit, because he was just there two years ago.
00:05:51
Speaker 1: He knows the offense.
00:05:51
Speaker 2: He knows that offense, and they've had success with him. And we saw it last night. you just needed some competent quarterback play.
00:05:59
Speaker 1: It was bad.
00:06:00
Speaker 2: And you had a chance with that defense.
00:06:01
Speaker 1: It was bad.
00:06:02
Speaker 2: And they couldn't get it last night with Carson Wentz.
00:06:04
Speaker 1: It was, I mean, it was the pinnacle of ineptitude.
00:06:07
Speaker 2: I did not know.
00:06:07
Speaker 1: The likes of which, I don't know if I've ever seen it.
00:06:10
Speaker 2: I still remember Carson Wentz as a Philadelphia Eagle being in the MVP race as a young player. I don't know, maybe in his rookie year when he came out with the Eagles. And that's the Nick Foles era when, you know, Nick Foles had to take over for him when he got an ACL injury. And won the Super Bowl, and Wentz has never been the same.
00:06:32
Speaker 1: Yeah. Carson Wentz had an 8.9 rating on 25 pass attempts last night. The last player with a rating that low with 25-plus pass attempts was Sam Darnold with a 3.6 passer rating in the Seeing Ghosts game back in 2019 against the Patriots.
00:06:49
Speaker 2: And now the quarterback rating, I mean, it's a weird kind of statistic, but if... If Carson Wentz dropped back last night for the same number of snaps and spiked the ball, he would get a 39 rating, not an 8.9 rating. It was worse for him than just throwing the ball in the dirt 25 times. It was horrific.
00:07:15
Speaker 1: The Vikings are the first team, this is according to ESPN research, Vikings are the first team to have six-plus wins and three-plus games without an offensive touchdown over their first eight games of the season since 1925. Two teams by the name of the Detroit Panthers and Frankfurt Yellow Jackets match that feat. We're talking pre-Great Depression, Steve.
00:07:37
Speaker 2: Yeah, nobody's alive from then. Marv is.
00:07:42
Speaker 1: He was born in 1925. That's right.
00:07:45
Speaker 2: Technically. Go Marv! You can count on one hand the number of people that are alive from that. And they were infants. It's just a horrifically bad stretch. It's an unbelievable statistical anomaly. You can't play that good a defense and win that many games because of your defense and be that inept offensively. They haven't scored a touchdown in three games of their eight games or whatever it is.
00:08:09
Speaker 1: Well, Justin Jefferson had an offensive touchdown last week, I believe, against the Lions.
00:08:18
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, yeah, in three of their wins. Right, three of their wins.
00:08:21
Speaker 1: That's correct. It's rough.
00:08:25
Speaker 2: It is really rough.
00:08:26
Speaker 1: So we'll see. I mean, they have to get a quarterback. They have to do right by their defense and find a quarterback somewhere, whether it's Kirk Cousins. I don't think Daniel Jones is the answer. I mean, it might look a little better, but I don't know if it makes them championship caliber offensively.
00:08:41
Speaker 2: So they've got to find somebody. Let me spring this on you. So he's got this big quarterback class coming out. Do the Los Angeles Chargers deal Justin Herbert?
00:08:53
Speaker 1: No, I don't think it's going to happen. And the reason why I say that is it's very clear to me that Jim Harbaugh rules the roost there. They're not trading anybody. If there is ever a team that should be sellers right now, he is not selling. And the GM, who is the former assistant GM with the Ravens, who came over to be his GM, whose name is escaping me right now, He's listening to Jim. We know how the Harbaugh's operate, Steve. We're not giving up. Who's got it better than us? Well, everybody right now, but that's not going to change his approach. He's determined to win the next nine games. He thinks they're going to go nine and eight, and he doesn't want to take assets off his roster to make that task harder, so he's got his head in the sand.
00:09:44
Speaker 2: Well, plus he knows, too, he's probably not going to be around to coach it if they do Drafted quarterback.
00:09:51
Speaker 1: So that's a team that should absolutely be in sell mode. But the word on the street is they're not listening to anybody. We're not selling anybody. And they should. They're 0-8. Anyway, Buffalo remains unbeaten on the road this season. They are now 4-0 on the year after their 23-6 win over the Vikings. It was tough sledding early, as we said, for the offense as penalties and miscues and a strong Minnesota defense kept Buffalo's offense off the scoreboard until the latter stages of the first half. Buffalo's offense went up-tempo, spread it out, and it led to their first touchdown drive of the game. That was a touchdown pass to Keleki Latu. The Bills' defense notched three takeaways for the second straight week, had five three-and-outs, forced a pair of turnovers on downs. James Cook, Josh Allen, both eclipsed the 5,000-yard rushing plateau in the game, with Allen becoming just the fifth quarterback in NFL history to do so, joining Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick, Cam Newton, and Russell Wilson. Cook, who finished with 107 rushing yards, became the third running back in team history with 20 or more 100-yard rushing games, joining Hall of Famers Thurman Thomas and O.J. Simpson. Cook's got a way to go to catch those guys. They have, like, over 40 games of 100 rushing yards. Cook also set a team record for most consecutive games with 75 or more rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, having done so in seven consecutive games this season. It broke the record set by O.J. Simpson of six set back in 1975. Cook's current streak of seven straight games with a rushing touchdown is tied for the longest streak in the NFL with Christian McCaffrey. With the win, Josh Allen tied Patrick Mahomes for the second most regular season wins in a quarterback's first nine seasons with 95. The win also enabled the Bills to set a team record for the longest road game win streak at seven, eclipsing the previous record holders, the 1973-74 Bills, and the 1964-65 Bills. And we already mentioned the 7-1 start, best since 1993, which marked the Bills' last Super Bowl appearance.
With the win, the Bills became the eighth team leading the NFL in points per game to beat the top-scoring defense in Week 9 or later in 10 games since 2000. The high-scoring teams are 8-2 in those matchups since 2000. You've got to score to win.
00:12:13
Speaker 2: And that's what happened last night. The Bills... I told you it was going to look bad.
00:12:16
Speaker 1: It did.
00:12:17
Speaker 2: It looked ugly. Josh was getting sacked on the opening drive, you know, three and out. The Bills' defense comes out, gets a three and out. You're like, man, this is going to be a slog. The time of possession, and the most impressive thing the Bills' offense has done this season in any game was the 15-play drive, 84-yard drive for eight and a half plus minutes. off the clock in the fourth quarter of that game last night.
00:12:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was an impressive drive.
00:12:50
Speaker 2: There has been nothing more impressive that they have done than that against that defense. Now, certainly it took them three quarters to wear them out enough so they could do it, but they did. That was when they went up 20-6 with that James Cook touchdown on that run. Yeah, game was over, and you could feel, standing on the sidelines, you could feel the heartbreak in the Vikings fans in that building. You knew it was over.
00:13:18
Speaker 1: The Bills are also an NFL leading, plus 339 in point differential versus NFC opponents since 2020. They added 17, a plus 17 to that total, so they're plus 339 now. in point differential against NFC opponents since 2020. That is an insane number, and I believe it's like 100 points higher than the next closest team. It's ridiculous. Dorian Williams had his second interception of the season. Terrell Bernard got his first. Greg Rousseau, eighth sack of the season to tie his single-season career high, and he did it in eight games. He also had a fumble recovery, a tackle for loss, and three quarterback hits. He has been a monster. Keleki Latu, first touchdown reception of his career. and I got to say like Greg Rousseau's best play of the game might've been his alert jumping on the ball for the fumble recovery on what looked like a lateral pass. We were talking about it on the broadcast the moment it happened. And we thought it might be a lateral pass by Wentz to Justin Jefferson. He dropped it and there's Rousseau jumping on the ball right away, alertly. And then they look at the play and, And it's ruled a lateral and a fumble.
00:14:36
Speaker 2: And it was correctly ruled a lateral and a fumble. Smart play. And when Rousseau did it, the Bills' sideline was standing there. And, you know, there was obviously guys standing right on the line.
00:14:49
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:14:50
Speaker 2: And they were immediately chirping at the officials and at Joe. And when they called it an incomplete pass– They were, hey, hey, hey, hey, you know, and certainly Joe got some confirmation or at least got that chance and that daylight, said, listen,
there's an opportunity, you might want to challenge it. He did, and they overturned it. Great play, great call, and just, you know, hustle to the end of the whistle or the echo of the whistle, even in this case, as you find out that even if the whistle's blown, you get a clear recovery, you get the ball.
00:15:21
Speaker 1: The Bills offense ran 79 plays to Minnesota's 46, had a time of possession advantage. of over 25 minutes that's going to kill any defense i don't care how good they are although the offensive linemen for the bills look pretty pretty gassed at.
00:15:37
Speaker 2: The end of that game yeah yeah eric eric pointed it out on the broadcast i go he's right yeah you got hands on hips three of the five guys on the field are standing there with their hands on their hips looking around.
00:15:46
Speaker 1: Like yeah we gotta run another one okay yeah.
00:15:50
Speaker 2: But you know they're going forward and they're they're firing out on the run game um You get the win when the entire left side of your offensive line is out for the game. They held up. They held up enough against a very, very good defense.
00:16:07
Speaker 1: Let's go around the NFL because it is trade deadline day. And some big trades just a day before today's 4 p.m. deadline. Jacksonville Jaguars were the biggest Wheeler dealers acquiring defensive tackle Jordan Davis from Philadelphia for first and a second round pick They also landed defensive tackle Devon Godshaw in a trade with New Orleans for a 2028 sixth round pick. They additionally added a veteran safety in Jesse Bates in a trade with Atlanta, giving up a second round pick in 2027 and a fifth round pick in 28. And we knew that the Jaguars would be hunting for a defensive tackle because they lost Devon Hamilton for the season last week. One of their starting interior defenders didn't know they'd add two. but they are loaded for bear. And you have to believe that the Jaguars acquired these two interior run defenders for two of their anticipated opponents in the playoffs, the Bills and the Chiefs, who have two of the best run games in all of football. So there it is. The Lions got some much-needed safety help landing veteran Andre Sisco in a trade with the Jets for a six-round pick in 2028. Brian Branch, I believe, is the safety's name in Detroit. I think I have that right. And he's been in and out of the lineup. He got injured again. He was out of the lineup this week. They need help on the back end, so they make that trade. More injury news for the Patriots as top running back Ramondre Stevenson is dealing with a knee tendon issue that is not expected to require surgery but could sideline him for a short period of time. The injury is to the back of Stevenson's knee and is expected to keep him out the next few weeks. We'll see if he's ready to play the Bills on December 5th. That's about three weeks away. So we'll see if he's in the lineup or out. And they also have an issue with Travion Henderson, who is dealing with that major health issue with the neurological problem in his brain that's affecting his ability, his motor functions. So that's their top two running backs. They're really up a creek right now with a ton of injuries. both there in the backfield and on the offensive line. The Rams likely will place wide receiver Puka Nakua on injured reserve with an MCL and PCL sprain in his right leg, as well as turf toe, according to head coach Sean McVay. McVay didn't give a specific timeline for how many weeks Nakua is expected to miss, but said the team believes it will be at least a month. Nakua was hurt on the final day. offensive snap of the game. Did you see the Bills take Cook out for the last 10 snaps of the game?
00:18:49
Speaker 2: Here's the thing about the Nakua being in there for that last play. If they get the first down, they win the game. The game's iced. There was still that chance. Tough spot to be in. They wanted to go and then ice the game and then he could come out. They got the first down, but it cost them Nakua. If you take Nakua out, Does that change the other– It could. Yeah.
00:19:17
Speaker 5: It could.
00:19:18
Speaker 2: He's getting some heat for having Nakua in there when the game was– well, the game was in doubt when he was in there.
00:19:23
Speaker 1: Yeah, it wasn't decided.
00:19:24
Speaker 2: It turned out to be their last play because Nakua was in there perhaps. That's the thought. I'm not unsympathetic to guys getting injured, obviously. It's the worst part of the game. But you can't live your life taking guys out of the game when it's almost over.
00:19:44
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:19:45
Speaker 2: That's just the way... It's a tough spot. It's a tough spot. And yeah, they got some bad.
00:19:50
Speaker 8: luck.
00:19:50
Speaker 2: And it's very unfortunate that a guy like Nakua, who is very important to them, is out. But if the game's in doubt, you want the guy in the game. It's that simple.
00:20:02
Speaker 1: Quickly through the last few notes here. Cardinals are suddenly in rough shape at quarterback. A couple of days after trading Jacoby Preset to Baltimore, their new starting quarterback, Gardner Minshew, was lost for the season with a UCL injury in his throwing elbow that now requires season-ending surgery. With only rookie Carson Beck at quarterback, the Cardinals signed veteran quarterback Josh Johnson off Cincinnati's practice squad as a backup. Arizona also lost top receiver Michael Wilson for the season due to a neck injury. Wilson suffered a fractured vertebrae. that will keep Wilson in a neck brace for six weeks to two months. That's another team that should be selling. Buda Baker, anybody? The NFL reinstated San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Ayuk on Monday after he reported for a physical. The transaction wire for the league also states that the Niners have received a two-game roster exemption to sort through any remaining business with Ayuk. That exemption ends Monday, November 23rd, where
we'll see if Ayuk is sent somewhere else. or just outright released. They could still trade him today, I suppose. Packers running back Josh Jacobs needs surgery on a fractured finger, suffered in Sunday's win in New England. He could miss up to four weeks, so IR is a possibility for him. And we'll see. There's a chance he could miss the Bills game against the Packers in mid-December. And Justin Herbert should be good to go for the Chargers next week after x-rays on his middle finger of his throwing hand were negative. We want to get right to the phones to talk to you. And get your biggest takeaways from last night's game. If you have anything to weigh in on regarding the NFL trade deadline, feel free to do that as well. But we lead off with Finger out in California. What do you got for us, Finger? Finger, are you there?
00:21:47
Speaker 7: Yeah, can you hear me?
00:21:48
Speaker 1: I can now. Can you hear me?
00:21:51
Speaker 9: Oh, there you are. Yeah, brother, thank you so much for taking my call. My quick little takeaways, man. I cannot remember the last time I had a sense of, you know, a goodness of the defense going on the field and being comfortable about it. The offense obviously took a long time to get warmed up and going. I knew the run game was going to be a little stunt, if you will, but they got going, thank God, on that. But I really want to make sure that we could attack the penalty part of the game, brother. I've never seen so many stupid penalties that have cost us so many points. So we need to buckle down on that first and foremost is what I took out of that game because without the penalties, we could have scored a heck of a lot more in my opinion. But when it comes to the trade deadline, I'm really, really hoping we can still get somebody like Budda Baker, Sauce Gardner, somebody of that ilk because we definitely need some more help on the defense. But that being said, I could not be prouder of how the defense handled themselves last night. And if I didn't know any better, I would think that Carson Wentz, more than three times in the game, looked like he was playing for the Buffalo Bills. You know, that one that Bernard dropped? I didn't see a purple shirt around him for 10 yards.
00:22:59
Speaker 7: You know what I mean?
00:22:59
Speaker 9: So, thank God for the misplay of the Minnesota Vikings on the quarterback side of that ball. Otherwise, I just want them to stay healthy, and please correct the stupid penalties. And that's all I got, guys.
00:23:11
Speaker 10: Go Bills.
00:23:12
Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks, Finger. The Bills came into the game third in the league in penalties per game at almost nine per outing, and they were right back there again, and Probably the worst one was the penalty that took them out of field goal range.
00:23:26
Speaker 2: Took three points off the board.
00:23:27
Speaker 1: And three points off the board after Bass hit a 54-yarder successfully. Penalty backs them up five yards. They have to punt instead. That was probably the worst of the bunch. But they left nine points off the board. They should have won 32-6. Yeah. The opening drive after the great opening.
00:23:43
Speaker 2: Kickoff return They go backwards, out of field goal range. Same thing happened on their second possession. And then, you know, the Vikings used their special teams to pin the Bills down on their own end, time after series after series after series to finish out the first half. And, you know, they were playing in the shadow of their own goalposts, even though it was indoors. And, you know, they couldn't get out of that rut. They could not flip the field.
00:24:14
Speaker 1: Can't do that against a better offensive team. It's going to come back to bite you.
00:24:18
Speaker 2: That's right.
00:24:19
Speaker 8: The Bills.
00:24:20
Speaker 2: the Bills' total team was better and added up to more positives than the Vikings.
00:24:26
Speaker 1: Let's go to Mickey in Illinois before the break. What's up, Mickey?
00:24:30
Speaker 11: Hey, good morning, guys. Happy Victory Tuesday to you.
00:24:34
Speaker 2: You bet.
00:24:35
Speaker 11: Two things I know. James Cook is very, very sore this morning after that grind. And second, that Vikings defense is absolutely legit. I have not watched much of any of their games, but they were better than advertised. To that point, I thought the turning point in the game, and it's a weird thing to admit, is I wanted them to make that field goal near the end of the half because I'm like, okay, at least they'll have to kick off and we can get out of our end zone a little bit there and hopefully put a drive together. And we did, which once we scored, I'm like, okay, I think this is over. But it was a fantastic game to watch. And I just kind of have a wondering, and I don't want to come off ungrateful or spoiled. But, you know, as the old proverb goes, iron sharpens iron. And I'm starting to see, like, these games as, like, live practices for what's coming up, namely the playoffs. You know, I have friends who are Bear fans and Packer fans, and they're on sugar highs right now thinking that they already won the Super Bowl. And I feel like it's like a maturity as a Bills fan. It's like, yeah, I was there three, four years ago as well. But, you know, I know the Bills are going to have success, and so– hats off to the Vikings for, for giving us that, that test and finding a new way to win a football game by grinding it out. So, you know, that's, that's what I got coming away from the game. And then, and then real quick, I know it's a day early, but I want to give a shout out to all the veterans out there, especially books on the East side. Thank you for your service. Happy veterans day and go bills.
00:26:06
Speaker 3: All right.
00:26:06
Speaker 1: Thanks very much. Appreciate the phone call. Mickey. Yeah. Steve, I want to, This is a deeper conversation, so this might not be the best time to mention it, but I want to mention it anyway because
we're jam-packed today with guests. When McDermott would prepare his team for opponents like this, you know, with what amounts to an all-world defense, I would almost feel like he would build the opponent into something almost bigger than it was, like almost give too much respect. to, in this case, the Minnesota defense and almost turn it into something that can't be overcome. And I felt like that crept into the mindset of the players at times. And I think with Brady, that mindset has shifted with the whole put the ball down and they have to play us philosophy of, yeah, they might be good, but who the hell cares? We're pretty damn good too. And I think that subtle shift in mindset has made this team, not that the previous iterations of the Bills were not resilient teams. They absolutely were. I just feel like it's shifted the mindset ever so slightly to have this team persevere and not care and be unaffected by early game failures or early game struggles. Now, granted, there wasn't a deficit on the scoreboard to overcome in this, but it was a different kind of struggle to overcome. And I just feel like the mindset has shifted ever so slightly to help them persevere through games like this.
00:27:48
Speaker 2: Yeah, the mindset is different, no question. And you're right, it's a subtle difference, but it's a mindset that builds upon itself during the week. When you start hearing the messaging, you think differently through the week, you prepare differently through the week, and you walk into the game in a little bit different place mentally. And that means you make maybe some different decisions and some different plays, and you're running down with a little different level of enthusiasm, a little bit different mindset. That changes things. Yeah, this iteration of the Bills under Joe does have this, listen, they've got to play us too.
00:28:24
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:28:26
Speaker 2: There's a little bit more swagger, no question. And they do have some things that they need to clean up that maybe haven't been there in the past, particularly the penalties.
00:28:35
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:28:38
Speaker 2: You know, we always talk about how, you know, if James Cook puts one on the ground, we don't see him for a half, you know, or three or the rest of the game or whatever it was, right? This coach, he puts him right back out there and gives him the ball again.
00:28:54
Speaker 1: Well, because he knows he's the best guy he's got in the backfield.
00:28:56
Speaker 2: Right. And that changes things, right? Yeah, a lot of things are different about this iteration. And whether it's different, whether it's going to translate in the playoffs or not, but certainly 7-1 is a pretty good start and looks good on the resume. This defense is, and I get it, last week it was some guy, I can't remember, Fagnano, This week it was Carson Wentz, and we didn't know Carson Wentz couldn't play anymore. But other teams are playing quarterbacks like that too with their defenses, and they get credit for that. But in the midst of playing these quarterbacks who are not Pat Mahomes and not Lamar Jackson and not Joe Burrow, your defense is getting better. Even though everybody puts an asterisk over the improvement and the statistics, this defense is playing better than it did in the first five or six weeks of the season.
00:29:55
Speaker 1: Got to take a break here. Maddie Awards coming up next here on a Buffalo Victory Tuesday edition of One Bills Live. All right, back here on a Buffalo Victory Tuesday, and it's time for the Maddie Awards, presented by Palmer Foods, delivering quality and service at the center of the plate for more than 175 years. Learn more at palmerfoods.com. And here to help us is who else? Bill's senior team reporter, Maddie Glab, to do the Maddie Awards.
00:31:09
Speaker 9: Hello.
00:31:10
Speaker 12: I got to ask.
00:31:11
Speaker 13: How many hours of sleep are we wanting to run?
00:31:14
Speaker 1: About four and a half.
00:31:15
Speaker 5: Not bad.
00:31:16
Speaker 1: The pilot did us a solid. I think he caught some of the jet stream on the way back because we landed a half an hour earlier than we were supposed to. So we got a half hour more sleep than we were supposed to. So tip of the cap to the captain.
00:31:29
Speaker 2: I got two hours and 56 minutes. I got one of those rings that records all that stuff. It told me I had a nice nap last night. It didn't record a night's sleep.
00:31:38
Speaker 1: I got about a half hour on the plane.
00:31:41
Speaker 2: I can't sleep on the plane.
00:31:42
Speaker 1: There's no way. And then I live five minutes from the airport. So for me, it's a benefit. That is a huge benefit on late night flights back. So kudos to that. We have to get right into the Maddie Awards here. So the first one is the Gritty Award. And who do we have for the gritty award here, Maddie?
00:32:06
Speaker 13: Buffalo's run game was gritty in this game. They had to have a gritty performance because going up against a Minnesota Vikings team that blitzes at the highest rate, one way to beat the blitz is by running the football. The Bills stayed committed to the run, even when it wasn't pretty. James Cook averaged 2.2 yards per carry in the first half, but then finishes with over 100 rushing yards per They were down two starters on the offensive line, and with heavier personnel running a lot of 13 personnel, did it at the second highest rate yesterday out of any team last week. They were successful at controlling the game and controlling the line of scrimmage.
00:32:45
Speaker 2: Yeah, three and a half, just shy of three and a half a carry. And I told Brownie earlier, the most impressive thing they did, they've done all season, was that drive that ended with this touchdown by James Cook.
00:32:58
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:32:59
Speaker 2: 15 play, eight and a half plus minute drive for a touchdown in that game in the fourth quarter to put them up by 14. Just a really, really impressive drive by
those guys. And you could tell that was a drive that was put together over the course of the entire game. The Vikings defense was disheartened because of the ineptitude of their offense. They were beat because of the time of possession. And the Bills were still good enough to pound it right at them and get it all the way down the field. The margin of error that was allowed by that Viking defense is like minuscule.
00:33:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's no space out there.
00:33:37
Speaker 2: And the Bills widened it to their advantage and got in the end zone.
00:33:41
Speaker 1: Next up is the Dynamic Award.
00:33:43
Speaker 13: Dynamic. Terrell Bernard and Dorian Williams were dynamic in this game. They affected the pass game and the run game. They both had an interception, but they did far more than that. I mean, Terrell Bernard led the team with six tackles in this game, had a quarterback hit, two passes defensed, and then Dorian Williams, his interception just showcased his athleticism, dropping in the coverage, flipping his head around in time to get his hand up and grab the interception. I thought they held it down in the middle of the defense, and the spine of the defense had a really good game against the Vikings.
00:34:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, and.
00:34:22
Speaker 1: Bernard with that big fourth down stop at the end of the game, got a helper from Igbenosin to keep them short on fourth and six for the last turnover on down so they could kneel it out.
00:34:33
Speaker 2: Yeah, they did. Because it was fourth down, they reviewed it anyway, and it was inside two minutes. But that was a great stop by the defense.
00:34:40
Speaker 13: I think that was maybe the most effective we've seen Terrell Bernard in a game this season, just affecting the game from the first quarter. to the fourth quarter. I thought he was flying all over the place and playing really physical and mad out there.
00:34:54
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:34:54
Speaker 1: He, I thought he had a good game the week before. Um, I thought he was effective in that game. I don't know what it is. I feel like he's running better. Um, we all remember he's coming off ankle surgery from the off season.
00:35:09
Speaker 6: Right.
00:35:10
Speaker 1: And I don't know what it was like the first month of the season. I felt like, I don't know if his ankle flexion wasn't there. or if his knee was bothering him because he was on the injury report as a full participant with a knee ailment. So maybe that knee is feeling better coming out of the bye. I just feel like he's moving around better. He looks faster on the field, and maybe it's something to do with being nicked up. The Built Different Award.
00:35:33
Speaker 13: Greg Russo is built different because he was all over the place against the Vikings. He made Carson Wentz's life hell at times in this game. He was terrorizing Wentz. He was so relentless. Second quarter of the game, same drive. Greg Rousseau has a sack that gets called back, has another sack, and then on the next play, bats a pass. That drive ends in a punt, and Rousseau's stat line shows it. One sack, one pass defense, a fumble recovery, and three quarterback hits. He did it all against the Vikings last night.
00:36:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, a lot of crooked numbers in a lot of different defensive categories. And for the second straight week, he almost knocked a quarterback out of the game with a hand injury because he hit Wentz, as we're seeing, our MSG viewers are seeing it right now, like on the last two fingers, bent it back on the follow-through, and Wentz was shaking his hand after that play. We were wondering, oh, my God, are we going to see this again? Wentz took a beating last night.
00:36:29
Speaker 2: Wentz took a beating, and so it wasn't all his ineptitude with throwing the football. He was back there taking a pounding.
00:36:36
Speaker 1: The debut award.
00:36:37
Speaker 13: The debut. Bill's tight end, Kalecki Latu, had a game to remember. His first career touchdown, and he does it against the NFL's best defense. So great to see Kalecki Latu do something like that. And on the pass that he caught the touchdown, Josh Allen goes toward the sideline. You don't know what's going to happen when he gets close to the sideline, where Allen's going to throw the ball. You have to be ready, and Latu is ready to catch that touchdown pass. Latu was on the practice squad last year, made it to the 53-man roster this year. What a great story of him earning a spot on the roster. He is so loved by his teammates. Allen talked about Latu after the game, saying he's a young player that works hard and does not complain.
00:37:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I don't know if it was shown on television yet, But after that touchdown, there was literally a cheering party. Everybody surrounded Latu, like eight or nine players on the sideline. And they were all jumping around and celebrating. They call him Leckie for short. And I could audibly hear it because we're up in the, I mean, I'm easily 300 yards away. And they are celebrating Kelechi on the sideline. Eight guys surrounding him, jumping around in a circle like a bunch of lunatics. They love that guy. They love that guy.
00:37:55
Speaker 2: It's great to see. You've seen it happen before. One of your boys, he never gets a chance.
00:38:03
Speaker 1: I hope somebody got the football because he spiked it and went flying.
00:38:06
Speaker 2: I don't think they did. Go get the ball! Somebody did that for me when I scored my first touchdown. It took me longer than Leckie Latu. You've got to get the ball, man.
00:38:19
Speaker 1: I hope they got it for him.
00:38:21
Speaker 2: They'll probably give him a game ball for it, but.
00:38:23
Speaker 1: You want the ball. The Ace the Test Award.
00:38:28
Speaker 13: Buffalo's defense aced the test. The question heading into this game against the Vikings was, can they stack another good performance? And Buffalo's defense did just that, playing physical out of the gate,
starting with three three-and-outs and a takeaway on the first four drives. They pressured Carson Wentz and covered on the back end, playing together. Wentz just had an 8.9 pass rating. That is the lowest by a quarterback since 2019. The defense communicated well and trusted each other. And now they are building something. You do it two games in a row. Now you continue to build.
00:39:01
Speaker 1: And how about Christian Benford the last three weeks? I mean, I know Carson Wentz's ineptitude was part of the issue here. But Justin Jefferson got targeted 10 times and made three receptions. Benford had the assignment on the number one passing option for the opponent for the third straight week, and he has locked it down. Locked it down. They have not changed the game in any way, shape, or form. Not Brock Bowers, not Zay Flowers, and not... Justin Jefferson. It's been an impressive run here for him.
00:39:34
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:39:34
Speaker 13: It's been awesome to see for Christian Benford, and great to see some of these younger rookies, younger cornerbacks, too. Davis and Igbenosin bats up a pass against Justin Jefferson last night, too.
00:39:47
Speaker 1: Yeah, and Hairston got some more run last night than he did the previous week, so that was good to see. The final award in the record books.
00:39:53
Speaker 13: In the record books, of course, a ton of records broken. Every single game by the Bills or Milestones met, but I think my favorite from last night was watching Josh Allen and James Cook each hit 5,000 career rushing yards on the same drive. Just a super cool football moment. I know it's a weird stat, but you don't see something like that happen often ever. And Cook and Allen are now the first quarterback running back duo to do it as teammates in the same season.
00:40:22
Speaker 2: Same season, same game, same drive. That's pretty serendipitous.
00:40:27
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:40:27
Speaker 9: Right.
00:40:28
Speaker 1: And you kind of knew they had a chance to make that happen because Cook only needed 34 rushing yards and Josh only needed nine. So. You kind of felt like both were going to happen in the game. But the same tribe, I don't know if we were expecting.
00:40:40
Speaker 2: Pretty cool.
00:40:41
Speaker 1: It is a cool football moment. I don't know.
00:40:42
Speaker 2: It's a cool football moment.
00:40:44
Speaker 1: And Josh just the fifth quarterback ever to hit 5,000 rushing yards.
00:40:47
Speaker 7: Right.
00:40:48
Speaker 1: So pretty cool. Maddie, thanks for the Maddie Awards. Sorry we had to stick you in a shorter segment here, but with the whole Tuesday rigmarole after a Monday night game, we're like jam-packed here today. But thanks for stopping by and giving us the Maddie Awards. We hope we see you next Monday after another Buffalo victory. Those are the Maddie Awards presented by Palmer Foods. We'll take a break and be back to your phone calls here on a Buffalo Victory Tuesday.
00:41:13
Speaker 6: We'll be right back.
00:41:31
Speaker 7: The snap.
00:41:32
Speaker 1: Hand off to Cook.
00:41:33
Speaker 4: Through a hole. And he reaches for the goal line. He is in for the touchdown.
00:41:37
Speaker 1: 107 yards.
00:41:38
Speaker 4: A five-yard touchdown run by James Cook.
00:41:42
Speaker 1: The Cook is in the kitchen. League with Christian McCaffrey. And also became the third player in team history to have 20 or more 100-yard rushing days. Here's the thing about James Cook. You're not going to outwork that guy. That guy ran into a brick wall on probably 15 of his 31 carries. Did not care. Just kept pounding it up in there and was not deterred at all. He will tell you, try to outwork me. It's not going to happen. He was impressive last night. That was the most impressive game in which he averaged under four and a half yards a carry I've ever seen from him. He was a horse.
00:42:22
Speaker 2: And Maddie said in her thing, it was a gritty performance. Yes, it was. I think a lot of those guys had to dig deep. Half the offensive line were backups in Tylan Grable and Austin Corbett. And they still made the running game work. Now, certainly, the running game was still a factor because it was a close game. But, man, oh, man, 31 carries for James Cook. 31 carries.
00:42:48
Speaker 1: Let's go back to the phones, though, Steve, and we go to Cindy in Niagara Falls. What do you got for us, Cindy? You're on One Bills Live.
00:42:57
Speaker 14: Taking my calls. I just want to say... stellar performance by the Bills yesterday. And Brandon Bean, the time management was on spot. It was wonderful. But I really want the question to you guys, what do you think about the trade and how do you think that's going to go for the Bills? I mean, everybody's talking about other teams, but How do you think that's going to go for the Bills?
00:43:31
Speaker 5: I'll hang up.
00:43:31
Speaker 3: Thanks.
00:43:32
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:43:33
Speaker 2: A trade wouldn't surprise me at all for any one of a couple of positions, right? Defensive back, defensive lineman, wide receiver, any of that stuff. But I know this, too. You're not going to see Brandon Bean give up a one and a two or two ones or something like that. They just don't do it. They do not overpay for anybody. And, you know, it's a little anticlimactic for a lot of Bills fans. They want to see the big swing, you know, and I get it. But they don't do that, or they haven't. So I'd be surprised at that. But I would not be surprised if they do make a move in some way, shape, or form to get better on the defensive side of the ball, most likely.
00:44:21
Speaker 1: You know, they have until 4 o'clock. I'm sure Brandon Beans are making calls and trying to see what it would take. But we'll have to wait and see. We have until 4 o'clock to see if something changes between now and then. Let's go to Butch on the east side. What do you got for us, Butch?
00:44:39
Speaker 10: My brother from another beautiful queen mother.
00:44:41
Speaker 8: I love
you.
00:44:41
Speaker 10: I love MSG. I love 98.9 FM, 1120 ESPN. It's all the fans. I love each and every one of you. First, I wanted to say to Nick, one of the callers, I appreciate the homage that you did not only gave me, but you gave the men and women who are standing guard right now running around this country and former military soldiers who's already served along with their families. I want to really appreciate you for that homage, my friend. Thank you. I'm going to get right to it, gentlemen. And first of all, I want to just say congratulations to my football team, the Buffalo Bills, for one outstanding game. I applaud.
00:45:18
Speaker 2: Joe Grady.
00:45:20
Speaker 10: Again, for keeping Jim Leonard upstairs in the box, calling the defense. That's to be his home. But he kind of, in the first quarter, sorry, first half of the game, I got kind of confused with Joe because some of these play calls that was going on had me kind of puzzled. I know he was trying to figure out Flores' defense, but when I looked on the sideline, I see what the problem was. I saw our offensive coordinator down on the sideline instead of upstairs in the box.
00:45:46
Speaker 11: And so I said, oh, so no wonder. So who's upstairs.
00:45:48
Speaker 10: Looking at the field giving Joe the intake of what to call? Second half, it seemed like it changed up. But anyway, that's here, no there.
00:45:56
Speaker 11: I appreciate that.
00:45:58
Speaker 10: I just think it was outstanding, Steve and Chris.
00:46:01
Speaker 11: I don't know how long I've been hammering on this.
00:46:04
Speaker 10: Regardless about using the backs. But even Steve and I used to battle because you said everybody couldn't do it. And I used to always say up-tiffle the new huddle. I've been saying this for a while that Josh Allen is equipped to run that. And I'm so happy for that two-minute drill. that broke some ice, that two-minute offense, that we got that continuity and that rhythm to go ahead and put some points on that board. But I hope moving forward that Joe can trust Josh and believe that this man is MVP. He's one of the special guys that actually can get a tempo and get a rhythm and get the offense flowing in the direction it needs to be. But last but not least. as far as on this trade line. I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen. I hate to bust your bubble. I really believe that Brandon Bean really respects his young players like Gilmore, the other cornerback, Hancock. You got the other guy we got from Cincinnati, a guy we got from Atlanta.
00:47:02
Speaker 2: I really believe he believes in the.
00:47:03
Speaker 10: Young secondary players. But it's one player, that I would go because Drew Rosenhaus is his agent. DJ Moore is Drew Rosenhaus' client. And I would call San Francisco right now and look at a seventh-round pick or maybe a sixth-round pick. And the reason why I say a sixth-round pick is so we don't have to go through and fight somebody that's getting as brandy-nayuk. And you bring Brandon Ayoub right away.
00:47:25
Speaker 2: You got D.J. Moore as his client. You got T.J.
00:47:28
Speaker 10: Sanders as his other clients on his roster. And what better way to resurrect a wide receiver's career than bring him back with the number one quarterback in the NFL on a Super Bowl run. You'll have a problem out of Ayoub. He'll be a quiet boy. He'll just get in shape and play well. But thanks so much for taking my call, guys. Kiss your family. I love everybody. I love all the fans.
00:47:49
Speaker 1: All right, thanks, Butch.
00:47:50
Speaker 2: I don't know if I agree with all that about Iyuk. You may know the guy. I don't. All I can do is judge the guy by his actions. He got rid of one of the most respected and beloved agents who was handling him up through the mess that he went through in San Francisco.
00:48:09
Speaker 1: Because Mulgetta didn't like the way he was acting and behaving, and it was reflecting poorly on him.
00:48:14
Speaker 2: You can say that Brandon Iyuk switched his agent's His agent kicked him to the– in my opinion, it was more about his agent saying, hey, you need a different representation than me. Because you're making me look bad. Go find somebody else. You're making me look bad. And Drew Rosenhaus filled that void. Yeah, I disagree with bringing Brandon Iyuk. And for acting like a choir boy, I don't think he knows how. Yeah, I would not bring Brandon Iyuk on this team at all. I get your point, and yes, somebody of that ilk, fine, but they're different. And, yeah, he's cheap and all of that, but I don't want any part of that. I bet the guy doesn't play a snap this year.
00:48:57
Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll see where it goes.
00:48:58
Speaker 2: We'll see where it goes, and there's some desperate teams out there. He may end up with the Chiefs, right, because they don't care.
00:49:06
Speaker 1: They don't care.
00:49:07
Speaker 2: But I'm also with you on this. I think maybe Brandon Bean does feel good about Jalen Kilgore or Jordan Hancock. Maybe he does feel like those guys are going to be something.
00:49:18
Speaker 1: But man, oh man. how long are we going to wait? You've got to get them on the field.
00:49:22
Speaker 2: You've got to get them on the field. What are we doing?
00:49:24
Speaker 1: If that's your impetus to not make a trade, get them on the field so they can get experience and actually help you in the playoffs.
00:49:30
Speaker 2: And this would be great if it's true. They know things we haven't seen. They've seen these guys play in ways we haven't seen them because they've been injured, they haven't been on. That's awesome. But goodness gracious, let's see him. Right.
00:49:46
Speaker 1: And you are right, Butch. The running backs were huge in this game. Not only James Cook pounding out 107 yards, but Ty Johnson with the biggest pass play of the game. I mean, down the sideline.
00:49:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, 32 yards.
00:49:58
Speaker 3: Huge play.
00:49:59
Speaker 1: Huge play in the game.
00:50:00
Speaker 2: It was a play that they had thrown short before, and the Vikings jumped it, and Josh Pace, gave him the pump fake, and sent him deep and made him pay for it.
00:50:09
Speaker 1: So they came back to it. And Josh with a beautifully thrown ball. Yeah, it was great. We talk about all these guys that make big plays. Josh made some fantastic otherworldly throws last night, and we just kind of, it goes by the board because we're kind of spoiled by it. He made some unbelievable throws last night under a lot of duress. So that should be noted as well.
00:50:28
Speaker 2: It kind of comes to our attention back on our radar when other people's fans go, good night, did you see that? And we go, what? That's Josh.
00:50:37
Speaker 1: Got to take a break here. When we come back, second hour of the show, the Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas joins us. We'll catch up with him on a Buffalo victory Tuesday here on One Bills Live. He is a beast with a capital B. The cook is in the kitchen.
00:51:08
Speaker 4: Fires on a post to Coleman in the end zone for the touchdown.
00:51:13
Speaker 1: Pressure coming. He's sacked and he fumbled. The Bills have the football.
00:51:24
Speaker 2: This is One Bills Live.
00:51:27
Speaker 1: All right, it is hour number two on a Buffalo victory Tuesday, and we're going to welcome in the Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas, who makes his triumphant entrance down our brand-new staircase in Studio 1A. We want to get his thoughts on the game last night because the running backs were a big part of it.
00:51:43
Speaker 2: When Thurm's on it, we should be Studio 34.
00:51:48
Speaker 3: Oh, did you see his reaction to that?
00:51:52
Speaker 8: I like that.
00:51:53
Speaker 3: Did you see his reaction to that? There you go.
00:51:55
Speaker 8: I voted for you again. There you go.
00:51:59
Speaker 2: You don't have a vote.
00:52:00
Speaker 8: Yeah, I do.
00:52:01
Speaker 7: Do you?
00:52:01
Speaker 8: Yes, I do have a vote, man.
00:52:03
Speaker 2: Well, how come you can't get anybody else to vote with you? You're like by yourself out there.
00:52:06
Speaker 3: You've got to build consensus.
00:52:08
Speaker 2: I appreciate it.
00:52:09
Speaker 6: Oh, yeah.
00:52:09
Speaker 8: I got you.
00:52:10
Speaker 1: There is a trade alert, gentlemen. NFL trade alert. The Bengals have acquired... Edge rusher Arnold Ebikady. And in a trade with the Eagles, he's an edge rusher.
00:52:24
Speaker 3: Don't knock it. The kid's an athlete.
00:52:26
Speaker 1: All right.
00:52:27
Speaker 3: The Eagles get a six-round pick.
00:52:29
Speaker 2: Don't tell me he's from Georgia.
00:52:31
Speaker 3: Well, he played for the Falcons.
00:52:32
Speaker 1: He's not from Georgia, though.
00:52:33
Speaker 2: I'm talking about Georgia.
00:52:34
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know where he is. Maybe he played at Missouri.
00:52:37
Speaker 1: I can't remember. Philly will take on the dead cap hit of one and a quarter million this year.
00:52:44
Speaker 3: Another 2.5 next year.
00:52:47
Speaker 1: And Ebba Cady can earn another $ 2. 5 million due to playing time, sack, and Pro Bowl incentives. So Bengals load up on defense with another edge rusher. It's a rotational guy, six-round pick, but made themselves a little deeper.
00:53:02
Speaker 8: Man, Philly just gave in, right?
00:53:06
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, Jalen's not playing the rest of the year. They've lost seven in a row.
00:53:12
Speaker 2: They traded.
00:53:14
Speaker 3: Not for nothing. This is what the Eagles do.
00:53:16
Speaker 1: They win a Super Bowl, they go down to the basement, get high draft picks, trade for some more, load up again, and right back to the top.
00:53:25
Speaker 3: That's what they did. Won two Super Bowls in five years. So that's their method.
00:53:31
Speaker 2: There's different ways to do it. Jalen Carter's the guy they traded?
00:53:35
Speaker 3: Jordan Davis.
00:53:37
Speaker 8: And he's not happy either. You see his interviews.
00:53:40
Speaker 1: Oh, Jordan Davis?
00:53:41
Speaker 8: Yeah, he's not happy where he's going.
00:53:43
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:53:44
Speaker 2: Where's he go? Oh, Jacksonville.
00:53:45
Speaker 8: Jacksonville. I'm like, that's better than Philly right now.
00:53:48
Speaker 1: And you got Devon Godshaw next to you.
00:53:50
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:53:50
Speaker 3: And you got Josh Hines-Allen on one side.
00:53:52
Speaker 8: Yeah.
00:53:52
Speaker 3: And you got Trayvon Walker, your former college teammate at Georgia, on the other.
00:53:56
Speaker 8: Yeah.
00:53:57
Speaker 1: That's a pretty damn good defensive line you're a part of now.
00:53:59
Speaker 12: I saw an interview where he looked kind of disappointed that he was leaving Philly.
00:54:03
Speaker 3: Well, he's got a lot of his Georgia boys on.
00:54:06
Speaker 8: The Philly roster too.
00:54:06
Speaker 3: Yeah, I know he does.
00:54:07
Speaker 2: And I think too– When you get traded, it's because you feel like you're unwanted.
00:54:13
Speaker 3: And he had just signed an extension. He's only one year into his extension. So I get it.
00:54:20
Speaker 12: Let's talk about James Cook.
00:54:23
Speaker 1: So Thurm, this is how I want to attack this James Cook performance because I want to jump into the mindset of a running back so you know you're going against a defense that just leaves you no space anywhere, and you know it's going to be a.
00:54:39
Speaker 3: Tough day at the office.
00:54:40
Speaker 1: There's going to be a lot of one- and two-yard carries, a lot of no gains, and you've got to maintain this, I guess, sense of patience, but also this sense of perseverance. So just give me the mindset of what a running back goes through in their preparation when they know they're facing a defense of this caliber, and you know... It's going to be a tough day at the office.
00:55:02
Speaker 12: All of my energy when you face defenses like that goes into the offensive line. You keep those guys motivated. You say, hey, it's almost there, baby. It's almost
there.
00:55:12
Speaker 2: Almost hit it.
00:55:12
Speaker 3: We almost got that one.
00:55:14
Speaker 12: We almost got that one because everything is close. I mean, obviously, you know, Minnesota is going to have, you know, eight guys at the line of scrimmage or what have you. But they've, you know, I just think this– We just warmed down.
00:55:30
Speaker 8: We just actually warmed down.
00:55:32
Speaker 2: I saw it early in the game, too, like you did. I was down on the field, and there was a couple of runs early. And the first couple of series where they didn't have much success, they missed by an inch. Like, Cook had a big run going, and he got tripped up in the hole by, you know, a foot. You know how one of those trailer foots, you know, that comes out of nowhere. And he went down, lost his feet, like one of these right here where a foot just snags him. They were– Just an inch away a couple of times.
00:56:01
Speaker 3: It's because the space is so tight. They close down everything.
00:56:03
Speaker 2: And you could see it in the second half. The Bills, to the Vikings' defense credit, they force you to play at your limit or above it.
00:56:17
Speaker 3: You really have to strain against them.
00:56:19
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:56:19
Speaker 2: You've got to play on the limits of your abilities to make hay against them. And you can't miss. And it's hard to do that.
00:56:26
Speaker 8: Yeah, it is hard to do that.
00:56:28
Speaker 12: Just watching that game last night, I'm just thinking, like, man, how has Minnesota won six games?
00:56:35
Speaker 1: Because their defense is that good.
00:56:37
Speaker 12: Yeah, but their quarterback play is absolutely insane.
00:56:43
Speaker 2: Kyler's been okay. He hasn't been like Carson Wentz.
00:56:47
Speaker 3: He's been at least functional.
00:56:49
Speaker 8: I can't believe that dude's still in the league.
00:56:51
Speaker 2: I didn't know he played like that. I thought he was better than that.
00:56:56
Speaker 1: Well, I watched the Week 2 game when Wentz had to start for Murray, who was in concussion protocol because he got the concussion in the first game against the Packers. Wentz finishes that game. They win, and he's throwing, and he looks relatively decisive coming in off the bench. Plays the next week in Chicago against a good defense, and they win 9-3 in a rainstorm. Like horrible weather. And I'm like, all right, well, maybe the weather had some... And I'm like.
00:57:28
Speaker 2: Maybe not.
00:57:29
Speaker 8: Maybe not. Maybe not. Maybe not.
00:57:31
Speaker 3: I think.
00:57:32
Speaker 1: I told Steve, last night, 11 p.m., November 9th, 2026, time of death on Carson Wentz's career. 11 p.m., November 9th, 2026.
00:57:47
Speaker 3: His career is over.
00:57:48
Speaker 1: He cannot put that kind of performance on national television.
00:57:53
Speaker 3: For a 6-1 team.
00:57:54
Speaker 1: Trying to make a run, and you put that performance out there, he looked like Sam Darnold did when he played for the Jets and he said he saw ghosts.
00:58:04
Speaker 3: That's how he played?
00:58:07
Speaker 12: It's not looking good for him, but you've got to look at the Minnesota Vikings with this terrific defense that they have and barely have a running game.
00:58:19
Speaker 3: Steve, give them your idea.
00:58:20
Speaker 8: The quarterback is.
00:58:22
Speaker 2: I'm trying to get the Vikings to trade for Kirk Cousins.
00:58:26
Speaker 3: Call Las Vegas today and get Kirk Cousins back.
00:58:28
Speaker 2: Because Cousins will come back, and now they're 4-5. They're floundering. They throw in Mendoza. It's time to go with Mendoza for the remainder of the season for the last, what, nine games, eight games. See how he does. And put Cousins back into a system that he had some real success with three or four years ago.
00:58:48
Speaker 8: Well, they should have never let Sam Darnold go.
00:58:50
Speaker 2: Well, that's, yeah, it's easy to say that now, but.
00:58:53
Speaker 8: That's part of it, yeah.
00:58:54
Speaker 12: They just don't want to play their quarterback, and this is the result that you get when you have to have a top-notch quarterback, especially with a defense like that. I mean, but yesterday was a prime example. When I was looking at the Bills game as we got into the third quarter, I was like, but reminds me of something. And the first thing that popped in my mind was, you know, Super Bowl XXV where the Giants kept the ball for 40-something minutes.
00:59:17
Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah.
00:59:18
Speaker 12: I mean, I'm looking at them going like, and how many minutes did they have at that time? The Bills had it for at least 37 minutes or whatever.
00:59:24
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:59:24
Speaker 2: And I was like, boy, this is– I mean, that was the difference in the game, the Bills' ability to hold the ball and possess it. And the defense, you know, had 80 snaps, Bills' offense. So they were done. They were done.
00:59:39
Speaker 8: They were done.
00:59:40
Speaker 12: I mean, you know, you think about it. You know, this is the National Football League. And, you know, to have an offensive line like that and just continue to just hand the ball or pound and just getting two and three yards is– You know, that's what you want, man.
00:59:53
Speaker 8: He didn't have to put it all on Josh.
00:59:55
Speaker 12: Because Josh struggled the first half. He really did struggle the first half. But they stuck with it. They stuck with it. He didn't force Josh into a situation where, okay, we're just going to.
01:00:04
Speaker 2: Drop back and throw it for you. Well, they were able to stick with it because they weren't giving up any points. And on the other side of the ball. And how do you handle the fact that, you know, in a game like this, against the number one defense, you've got the whole left side of your offensive line is gone.
01:00:17
Speaker 8: It's backups. Right.
01:00:19
Speaker 2: You know. You knew they were going to struggle at times. It
was going to look bad, and certainly Corbett had some bad reps.
01:00:24
Speaker 8: Yeah, no doubt.
01:00:26
Speaker 2: But they got it done with depth.
01:00:30
Speaker 7: Yeah.
01:00:31
Speaker 12: The best way to offset having two guys in there that are not your regular starters is to have them go straight forward and block people.
01:00:40
Speaker 9: Right.
01:00:42
Speaker 12: You're not saying, okay, you need to pull here against this defense.
01:00:45
Speaker 1: Because they tried to get to the edges in the run game, and that was not working.
01:00:48
Speaker 8: It was not working.
01:00:49
Speaker 2: It was not working.
01:00:50
Speaker 1: They got back to their downhill straight at them, and that's what you got to do with a defense.
01:00:53
Speaker 12: And that's what, you know, those guys did on the left side, man. It was obviously you wanted Deion Dawkins and Alex out there, but those two guys did an excellent job, I think, all night long.
01:01:03
Speaker 3: I mean, that was an enormous task.
01:01:06
Speaker 1: For two guys to come in who have never lined up alongside one another in a regular season game against that defense in a hostile environment on the road and play 76 snaps. But they've got 76 snaps together now.
01:01:22
Speaker 3: Now they've got some.
01:01:23
Speaker 2: Yeah, some of it, I mean, they took three points off the board with an offside on a 54-yarder. The first two series, they should have had a field goal at the end of both of them when they had an outstanding, and they went in reverse. Credit to the Viking defense for that because if the Bills have an extra, even six points on the board, that's a completely different game early.
01:01:48
Speaker 1: Linebackers in this game, Dorian Williams and Terrell Bernard, obviously the interceptions were huge plays in the game, but I felt they brought more than that to this defensive effort.
01:01:59
Speaker 3: You noticed them. You felt their presence in the game.
01:02:03
Speaker 1: Even Caleb Elarms, or who rotated in at times, he's coming on a blitz. He blew up a running back. He blew up Aaron Jones on one play, just pancaked him and forced a hurried throw from Carson Wentz. I feel like these linebackers are playing more confidently the last few weeks in the scheme of the defense. Are you feeling their presence more in the game?
01:02:26
Speaker 3: I am.
01:02:27
Speaker 6: I am.
01:02:27
Speaker 12: And the last couple of weeks they have played well. But on the flip side of that, who have played in the last couple of weeks. I think that's a big part of it. When you get to play Chicago and New England again and Denver.
01:02:40
Speaker 3: What does it look like?
01:02:41
Speaker 8: What does it look like? Okay. Fair enough.
01:02:45
Speaker 12: It's like University of Georgia going up against Alabama State or whatever.
01:02:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a little bit of that. But also, the quarterback play has been an issue for the last two weeks.
01:02:57
Speaker 7: Yes.
01:02:58
Speaker 2: Their offensive line has not been. And the defensive front for the Bills has made hay against the offensive lines who were not compromised to a great degree. In Baltimore, it was. But last night, it wasn't.
01:03:11
Speaker 8: But that's what you're supposed to do.
01:03:13
Speaker 12: Against the weaker teams, you're supposed to come out and take care of business. And they have done that the last couple of weeks. Now, with saying that, too, we want to see that against a team that is going to be legit.
01:03:25
Speaker 3: I will say this.
01:03:27
Speaker 1: The coverage guys on the back end are going to be challenged more this week because the Jets have high draft talent at the skill positions. Garrett Wilson, we'll see if he's back in the lineup this week for the Jets. They have Adonai Mitchell, who was an accomplished college player, hasn't really manifested itself in the league, but he's got skills and he can run routes. And then Kenyon Sadiq, one of their first-round picks. That's a tight end that can run like a deer out there. I mean, they're going to have some coverage assignments that are going to challenge them And look, Geno Smith isn't.
01:03:57
Speaker 3: A world beater, but he's a.
01:04:00
Speaker 1: Competent veteran quarterback, and Brees Hall's back in the lineup for them now. So there are some weapons that the Jets can throw at you that I think you can at least make the argument will be a fair challenge for the Bills' defense. Certainly more formidable than they've seen the.
01:04:17
Speaker 2: Last couple weeks. This last week, you know, the Jets play the Chiefs, and we're talking about the Jets coming up.
01:04:23
Speaker 3: Chiefs ran the tar out of the ball.
01:04:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, and they had six guys targeting. You get a guy like A.D. Mitchell, he had seven targets and zero receptions last week against the Chiefs. Now, certainly, we've seen the Chiefs defense.
01:04:35
Speaker 3: That's without Garrett Wilson in the lineup, mind you.
01:04:37
Speaker 2: That's right. Cooper had 11 targets for eight receptions. He was their main guy.
01:04:42
Speaker 3: Sadiq had four for four.
01:04:44
Speaker 2: Sadiq did.
01:04:45
Speaker 1: That kid's a problem.
01:04:47
Speaker 2: Brees Hall had three receptions. Geno Smith was 18 of 32. Not Tremendous, but.
01:04:55
Speaker 7: Yeah.
01:04:56
Speaker 3: Certainly better than Carson Wentz.
01:04:58
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:04:59
Speaker 1: Or Snoop Huntley.
01:04:59
Speaker 8: Yeah, I think I could have.
01:05:00
Speaker 3: Or Joe Finiano.
01:05:01
Speaker 12: I could have did better than Carson Wentz last night.
01:05:04
Speaker 8: But anyway, but.
01:05:05
Speaker 2: Carson Wentz would have had a better rating if he would have spiked the ball 25 times.
01:05:11
Speaker 3: That's really bad.
01:05:11
Speaker 2: It is so bad. But if you look.
01:05:13
Speaker 12: At our history of the Jets, it's going to be a dogfight.
01:05:16
Speaker 1: It always is. It's always an ugly game down there.
01:05:18
Speaker 8: It's always an ugly game down there.
01:05:20
Speaker 2: As good as Josh plays against Miami, he plays that bad against the Jets. Yeah.
01:05:24
Speaker 12: At least they don't have, what, Sauce Gardner down there anymore. He's gone.
01:05:28
Speaker 2: Right.
01:05:28
Speaker 3: He's in Indianapolis.
01:05:29
Speaker 2: I kind of wish they did have Sauce. I watched him play for the Colts yesterday, and he was.
01:05:33
Speaker 1: That guy is– He's not.
01:05:35
Speaker 8: I don't know what.
01:05:36
Speaker 3: The sauce is spoiling.
01:05:37
Speaker 2: Yes, he is going down.
01:05:39
Speaker 1: Got to take it off the shelf. It's time to.
01:05:43
Speaker 9: Yeah.
01:05:43
Speaker 2: It's bad.
01:05:43
Speaker 12: I just think with them, they got to jump on them early. They got to jump on them early. And, you know, just to.
01:05:49
Speaker 1: Got to make them feel like they're not in the game.
01:05:51
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:05:52
Speaker 3: And that's easier said than done.
01:05:53
Speaker 8: It makes them feel like they're 2-7. They can't believe they're 2-7.
01:05:56
Speaker 7: Yeah.
01:05:58
Speaker 3: But, yeah, they're plucky. They just don't win games.
01:06:01
Speaker 2: They compete.
01:06:03
Speaker 8: They got a lot of draft picks coming up, too. So I think they're.
01:06:05
Speaker 12: Kind of waiting to see, to let this season play out or whatever. But it's always a dogfight against the Jets up there.
01:06:14
Speaker 8: Always.
01:06:14
Speaker 1: Unfortunately, I don't know if Aaron Glenn's going to be there to see the turnaround. Because it's tough. And the New York media is killing them, as is usually the case when things don't go right with the Jets.
01:06:26
Speaker 8: They should be killing the owner. But anyway.
01:06:29
Speaker 3: Well, you're not wrong.
01:06:31
Speaker 1: Because.
01:06:32
Speaker 3: He's a meddler. Yes.
01:06:34
Speaker 1: He relies on his son, who uses Madden ratings to determine players who should play and not play, who should be drafted and not drafted.
01:06:42
Speaker 12: Do they do background checks on these owners when they want to buy a team?
01:06:45
Speaker 7: No.
01:06:45
Speaker 2: Yeah, they do.
01:06:46
Speaker 12: They look at the financial books.
01:06:48
Speaker 8: They look at the financials.
01:06:50
Speaker 6: That's about it.
01:06:51
Speaker 2: Yeah.
01:06:52
Speaker 1: There is a part of me that feels bad for Jets fans. I've got three high school buddies that are Jets fans.
01:06:56
Speaker 6: Yeah.
01:06:58
Speaker 8: It's just so bad.
01:07:01
Speaker 2: I got a lot of love and respect for Aaron Glenn, and his offensive coordinator is Frank, right? So, yeah, we got, yeah.
01:07:09
Speaker 8: It's tough.
01:07:11
Speaker 1: It's tough to be a Jets fan. But, yeah, I agree with you, Thurm. I think it's going to be a little bit of a slog early because the Jets are going to be fired up. It's a division opponent that they've actually had success
against in their building, and If you give Jets fans even this much reason to cheer, they'll get all amped up for about 10, 15 minutes and make it a hostile environment.
01:07:35
Speaker 3: So, yeah, I just think you've got to run the ball on them.
01:07:39
Speaker 1: How about that?
01:07:40
Speaker 8: Yeah, run the ball again.
01:07:41
Speaker 12: I like that. But take it into everything that is going on. We're 7-1 right now through.
01:07:51
Speaker 8: Eight games, nine games.
01:07:53
Speaker 12: And we're the number one seed. That means a lot.
01:07:58
Speaker 3: Yep, it does.
01:07:59
Speaker 12: That means a lot for this football team because we have not had the number one seed since Josh has been here and been on this run, right?
01:08:07
Speaker 2: Correct.
01:08:07
Speaker 12: Obviously, we got games coming up against New England, Denver, Kansas City. That could change. You can go from number one seed all the way down to number six. But the confidence I think that this team has right now and the way that they're playing, I know their defense hasn't been playing well all year long, but In games when they had to win and had to show up, these guys have show up. And this will be another game hopefully they.
01:08:31
Speaker 8: Can show up.
01:08:31
Speaker 1: And let's not forget this. The Bills are 0-1 in the division.
01:08:37
Speaker 3: Oh, yeah. You need division wins right now. Yeah.
01:08:39
Speaker 8: And even though they do have, what, a three-game lead?
01:08:42
Speaker 3: Three-game lead in the division.
01:08:44
Speaker 8: But a two-game lead, right.
01:08:45
Speaker 1: Yeah, 0-1 in the division because their only loss this season is obviously to the Patriots. So rack up a couple of division wins here these next couple of weeks against the bill against the jets and the dolphins and you put yourself in a very good situation here going forward heading towards the stretch.
01:09:01
Speaker 3: Run um.
01:09:04
Speaker 1: You're not going down to that game are you sir what game no down to jersey no i stay away from jersey.
01:09:12
Speaker 2: Okay wow short week short week um Hopefully you get your left side of your offensive line back on the field. No guarantees. A Jet team, 2-7, you're 7-1 going in. You feel how, as a head coach, say if you're Joe Brady, how do you, what's your messaging to a team that is riding kind of high, just beat a number one defense, you're watching the Jets struggle on film, how do you get them to put their foot on the gas and bear down? What's your messaging?
01:09:47
Speaker 8: Hey, guys.
01:09:49
Speaker 12: We're one of the best teams in the National Football League, right? Got one of the best players in the National Football League. We got a hell of a running game and our defense is coming along. We know what we need to do as a football team. Let's go out there and pound their butts. Let's go out there and play Buffalo Bills football. I mean, the message is we're in the driver's seat right now. We're in
the driver's seat and let's go out and prove it to everybody. Yes, it's the Jets. They're 2-7, but you know what? Let's make them 2-8. But with that We have to have a great week of practice. We can't be out there just because we had a nice victory against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night where everybody got the seals or whatever. We've got to have a great week of practice. We've got to do what we're supposed to do. This is a vision game. They probably know us better than anybody because we've played them so many times over the last couple of years. But let's make sure we get everything done. Let's make sure we get our– Make sure we do our assignments. Make sure we get our lifting in. Let's make sure we get our treatment in. Let's do everything like it's the first game of the season or whatever. We go out, perform the way we know how to perform, and get another W.
01:10:58
Speaker 3: Last time the Bills started 7-1, 1993.
01:10:59
Speaker 1: Wow, was that long ago? You guys went to your fourth Super Bowl that year.
01:11:07
Speaker 3: The last Super Bowl appearance.
01:11:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you kind of have to get in the mindset where you've got to prepare to win. You've got to prepare all week to win the game. You've got to win the game on Monday or Tuesday this week. You've got to win the game Tuesday through Saturday. And then the game on Sunday is the proof of it. But you win the game all week. All week.
01:11:31
Speaker 1: I know a lot of the coaches yesterday in the hotel room were already working on Jets.
01:11:36
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. They were already working on it.
01:11:38
Speaker 8: Because they're missing that day, right? They're missing that day.
01:11:39
Speaker 12: Usually they play on Sunday and all that.
01:11:42
Speaker 1: They were all hunkered down in their hotel rooms working on the Jets.
01:11:44
Speaker 2: The longest day of the calendar year is the day you've got to wait to play a Monday night game. Those guys, everybody's just laying around.
01:11:50
Speaker 8: We were waiting.
01:11:51
Speaker 2: Oh, my gosh.
01:11:52
Speaker 3: We're on the sideline.
01:11:53
Speaker 2: We took the early bus to the stadium to get over there. At like 3.20, we get over there.
01:11:59
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:11:59
Speaker 3: And it's at 7.20.
01:12:00
Speaker 2: Five hours before the game.
01:12:02
Speaker 1: We're standing on the sidelines, and I'm just trying to watch players warm up and who might be dressed and who's going to, you know, I'm waiting for the inactives.
01:12:09
Speaker 3: Steve goes.
01:12:10
Speaker 1: Oh, my God.
01:12:11
Speaker 3: It's another hour before this game even kicks off. He's looking at me.
01:12:15
Speaker 2: He's like a six-year-old. We have been there all day. We have been there all day, and we're standing there, and finally the fans are starting to trickle in. Guys are starting to come out in game pants and T-shirts. At least you're seeing somebody moving around. Like four hours before.
Nothing but yellow coat security guys standing around looking at their watch.
01:12:35
Speaker 1: This place is vacant.
01:12:37
Speaker 2: We've been there since the place was vacant.
01:12:40
Speaker 8: It's like my rookie year.
01:12:42
Speaker 12: I'm excited to play a Monday night game. I'm looking at all the veterans like, no, we're not excited about this.
01:12:48
Speaker 8: We've been through this before. It's the longest day ever.
01:12:51
Speaker 2: It takes forever. We get home. We're in the plane, getting off the plane at 3 a.m. this morning.
01:12:59
Speaker 8: They should have been playing.
01:13:01
Speaker 2: And everybody's been up.
01:13:02
Speaker 1: You know, you get up.
01:13:02
Speaker 8: Yeah, you get up.
01:13:03
Speaker 2: Everybody's up. It's an early rise profession. We're in here early. And the players are in here early. So, you know, you're on your body clock.
01:13:10
Speaker 6: Yeah.
01:13:12
Speaker 2: And you're up. And then you wait all day. It is the longest of days.
01:13:18
Speaker 3: Well, you've got to take a break here.
01:13:20
Speaker 1: We'll be back on the other side as Mitch Morse checks in with us. And we'll see if we can squeeze in some phone calls before we're done here on a Buffalo Victory Tuesday on One Bills Live. All right, back here on One Bills Live, Chris Brown, Steve Tasker. Bills are 7-1 after their 23-6 victory over the Vikings on Monday Night Football. And here to talk about it, Bills pregame and postgame radio co-host, former Pro Bowl center Mitch Moore is joining us live on the line.
01:13:56
Speaker 3: And Mitch, I'm curious.
01:13:59
Speaker 1: I want to crawl into the mindset of of an offensive lineman when you know you're going to be going against a defensive front that's going to present every conceivable challenge that you can possibly dream up and you know it's going to be tough sledding for 60 minutes, how do you keep the guys motivated to keep punching?
01:14:24
Speaker 5: Well, I don't know if my mind's a safe space to crawl into, Chris, but.
01:14:30
Speaker 8: Well, let's do it.
01:14:32
Speaker 5: Well, let's do it anyway. So, I think when you look at that first half from the Vikings defense, it was as advertised. They muddied up the pictures. They performed well in their one-on-one matchups. They covered well. They were fast. They were physical. With a defense like that, it's about settling in on offense and figuring out the flavor of the day. What works, what doesn't. Excuse me. And I thought that the Bills offense did that very well.
01:14:58
Speaker 8: And they.
01:14:59
Speaker 5: I heard... Eric Wood talking to you, maybe it was halftime or postgame after the contest, and he was talking about a sign of a good team, a good offense, and a good coaching staff is that they're not going to abandon the plan, but they're going to make tweaks inside of it. At first, in that first half, they're trying to run these toss plays to the outside, and then they kind of just put that to the wayside, and they attack the defense vertically on the rush attack, let guys get settled into the game. especially that left side, right? That is a tall task against that defense. And it was alluded to in post-game pressers and interviews, like they played admirably. It wasn't perfect. No one played perfect. But with stuff like that, you can't waver. You know they're going to have their punches. They're going to throw their punches. A few of them are going to land. It's how you respond to those. You don't let the moment take the best of you or control you. Understand that there's a game plan to be had and executed.
01:15:54
Speaker 8: You saw it.
01:15:55
Speaker 5: What the Lions did to that team prior to that and the contest prior to that and that second half with that rushing attack, understanding that we're going to have to kind of get these grimy yards. It's not going to be the way we won these past six games, but that's okay. I think that's a mark of a good football team and a mark of a good offense.
01:16:12
Speaker 2: Yeah, and certainly, you know, James Cook having 31 carries, I mean, said, you know, the Bills, I mean, it seems easy from this end of the game, right? I mean, because we didn't know Carson Wentz couldn't play at all We didn't know that the time of possession was going to be ours and we could just dominate that. But giving the ball to James Cook 31 times, your offensive line's got a whole new left side. And to me, that played into, you don't have to sort through pass protection when you're going forward, right? And it really helped. And that's something that, to me, Minnesota's going to have to deal with that a lot.
01:16:54
Speaker 5: I absolutely agree. Especially, I don't put too much merit into statistics or metrics, but that interior of that defensive line is one of the smallest in the NFL. And you could see, and they're great football players, unbelievable, explosive, very prolific football players. But you could tell, time of possession, it wears on you, not only psychologically, but physically, right? That 15-play drive in that fourth quarter to hammer James Cook through the end zone was a statement piece. It was a statement win for this team. I was just super proud with the guys and their ability to, I mean, I'm sure they're sore today. I know you guys, you guys are performing admirably beautifully, but I know that espressos are on the way for you guys after this. So it's just, it was a real awesome statement piece when it was grimy old school football. You know, there were some explosives for this offense. It was mitigated by just the scheme and that defense, which was, I mean, it was historical defense in my opinion. So, It's a great way to win a game in a different capacity and have that in your back pocket, knowing you can do that if you find yourself in a similar situation later in the season.
01:18:03
Speaker 1: Wanted to highlight an area of the performance that I think has fallen by the wayside too
many times. This was a big game for Buffalo's special teams units because of the returner they were facing. Miles Price leads the league in punt return average, leads the league in kick return average, primarily because Ray Davis doesn't have enough returns to qualify. Otherwise, he would be ahead of him. And they only put a single returner back there. I like the approach they took. They switch it up with Tommy Doman kicking off instead of Tyler Bass to give them a different look. He had a couple of great line drive kicks into the landing zone. Some skidded through the back of the end zone, giving Minnesota the ball on their own 20. And the coverage units did well enough against, you know, a return man that can take one to the house at any given moment. So I just want to get your thoughts on the job that special teams coordinator Jeff Rogers did with his crew last night. Yeah.
01:19:00
Speaker 5: I mean, talk about a statement piece. The first play of the game, Greg Dortch's 56-yard return. I think he's due for a house call here soon. I just love the guys that they have in place and how they're playing, right? Like a Ray Davis is also, I've seen him get close to a punter on punt return, blocking kicks. And then, yeah, Tommy Doman Jr. laying the absolute hit stick, too. That ball pops out.
01:19:24
Speaker 8: He flew in there.
01:19:24
Speaker 5: I mean, just a brazen disregard for his own well-being. I don't know if that's what you want from a kicker, but that's definitely a spark plug for him. a special teams unit. They might have had one return, and they had a good special teams unit too. I mean, pinning us back in that R1 yard line, but what they're doing, the pride that they're playing with, understanding that too often it's just the offense feeding the defense, defense is feeding offense. Well, the intermediary, the in-between of that is the special teams unit, and that's the lifeblood of this team right now in regards to just an emotional stimulation.
01:20:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I can tell too, one of the The frustration for the Vikings, you know, you knew they were, they just wanted some help from their offense. They couldn't get it. Special teams felt it too, and we talked about it on the broadcast. There was chippiness from their special teams unit between almost every play because I think that's where the frustration showed for the Vikings. Their defense was out there grinding away, doing their job, and the offense was disheartened because of their inability to get a first down. Their special teams... You've got to peek inside how frustrated they were. Between every single kick and kick return, somebody was doing a little something extra. The frustration was palpable when their special teams was out there because their special teams really did contribute. They flipped the field a couple of times, and the Bills, they absolutely saved the bacon of the Vikings on a number of occasions when the Bills started deep in their own end, series
after series. So I think the frustration was real, and it really did show on the special team side.
01:21:03
Speaker 5: Oh, there's no doubt. But I loved how our guys rallied to the aid. The aid kind of seems like you might be in a peculiar situation, but they seem to rally around each other, have each other's back. Nothing too crazy. I mean, Sam Franklin Jr. is a spark plug, to say the least. He seems to be around scuffles all the time, stirring the pot, which I think is exactly what you want from that special teams unit. That Viking special teams unit is one of the best in the league, like you guys were talking about. And it has to be tough to be the special teams unit that's almost the mediator between your offense and your defense. You have to feel that. But just as much as the defense is continuing to grow and continuing to come into their own and finding that energy that fuels the rest of this team, that special teams unit is right there with them, continuing to get better. And that's what you want. That's championship football. Good special teams unit and a defense that continues to get better each week.
01:21:54
Speaker 1: Last group I wanted to highlight, the tight ends had a lot. of different assignments through the course of this game on offense. Obviously a huge part of the blocking scheme.
01:22:08
Speaker 3: And while they didn't.
01:22:09
Speaker 1: Have a tremendous amount of success early in a lot of that 12 and 13 personnel that they ran, after the time of possession flipped in favor of Buffalo, those guys did some yeoman's work in the run game. But they also were blocking on the perimeter with some of the few pass plays that that actually moved the sticks for them, whether it was Shakir or one of their fellow tight ends making the catch and then just getting downfield and blocking in front of them. At the end of the day, Knox has four for 37, Kincaid three for 28, and then obvious, and even Jackson Hawes had his first catch, or second catch of the season, and Keleki Latu with his first career touchdown. Like those guys as a collective, blocking and receiving to help at least keep drives alive. Just your thoughts on their effort collectively.
01:22:57
Speaker 5: Absolutely. This is a position group going into this season we knew was one of the most dynamic position groups in the NFL. As much as we want to say that James Cook, which he absolutely is, can make something out of nothing and just has a vision that's so unique to this game that makes him so much better than the rest of the running backs in the NFL and this offensive line, the continuity, just the prolific players on there. This offense runs through the tight ends. The blocking that they do on the backside, frontside, the screen game, their ability to be in those tight windows to be available for Josh. A lot of those pass plays where they become available, they have blocking assignments prior to that. It's one of the most embarrassment of riches in the NFL, and these guys continue to grow, get better, and they fuel each other. They feed each other. They'd just as much be at the point of attack on a big running block than they would on a touchdown pass. But also, shout out to Kalecki Latu. It was really fun hearing Josh talk about him, what he's meant to this offense, to this team after the game. I really also like to see the DraftKings in those sports books, like who bet on Kalecki Latu being the first touchdown.
01:24:14
Speaker 10: Of the game.
01:24:15
Speaker 5: And he was able to win a lot of people some money, but also It was fun to hear the chants from the sidelines. Steve, I assume that was kind of fun to hear from the Koleki Latu chants from the guys. It means a lot to this group.
01:24:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, it is great to see, and it's one of those moments that you can kind of, I don't know if it makes you a better football team, but it certainly helps your morale, right? You're in the middle of a tough dogfight of a game, and to see one of your boys get his moment where nobody would anticipate it, And you see how fun it was for him to have that happen. It does pick up your morale, and even today, you know what it's like, Mitch. These guys are sitting around watching this game on film, and it is so fun to talk smack to Kolecki, right? I mean, it's the fun part of being a pro athlete.
01:25:08
Speaker 8: It really is.
01:25:08
Speaker 5: If you could put that in pill form, Steve.
01:25:10
Speaker 3: Yeah.
01:25:10
Speaker 5: Oh, man, you'd be a billionaire, pal. It is a unique experience, and It's a culmination of the work he's put in and the trust he's gained from Josh, but also the banter and the jawing. Everyone's going to make sure he's not too high. So it makes his team and makes the sport so unique, Bill.
01:25:26
Speaker 3: Mitch, thanks for the time.
01:25:28
Speaker 1: As always, we will catch up with you next week.
01:25:32
Speaker 5: God bless you guys. Appreciate you having me on again.
01:25:34
Speaker 1: All right, that's Mitch Morse joining us with his thoughts on Buffalo's latest victory on Monday Night Football. We'll take a break here and get back with one segment to go, and we're open for some phone calls, so we'll catch up with you next here on One Bills Live. Results that matter presented by Buffalo Law, the official personal injury law firm of the Buffalo Bills.
01:26:04
Speaker 3: They win.
01:26:05
Speaker 1: It's just that simple. Josh Allen surpassed 5,000 career rushing yards, joining Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick, Cam Newton, and Russell Wilson as the only quarterbacks to do so in league history. James Cook also surpassed 5,000 career rushing yards last night against the Vikings with his 107-yard rushing record. performance.
01:26:29
Speaker 3: In a hurry to the phone.
01:26:31
Speaker 1: Lines where some people have been waiting patiently and we lead off with Mark in Jersey City.
01:26:35
Speaker 3: What's up, Mark?
01:26:37
Speaker 11: Good afternoon, gentlemen. Thanks for
taking my call. What a gritty, old-school kind of game. Reppin' this in the 1980s with 30 carries by a running back. Mark?
01:26:53
Speaker 1: Are you there?
01:26:53
Speaker 2: Mark, go ahead. Oh, no.
01:26:55
Speaker 1: I think we lost him. He got cut off. wasn't you you didn't put any i didn't do anything so i don't know what happened there sorry about sorry mark let's go to brian in rochester what's up brian yeah uh.
01:27:08
Speaker 14: The bills have been awesome but i just want to see if they can get that number one seat.
01:27:15
Speaker 1: Yeah they got it right now brian so they just got to keep on keeping on i mean that's kind of what they have to do at this point and hopefully they're able to Keep on winning. You got two very winnable games here against the Jets and the Dolphins next on the schedule. This is where you have to handle business. Can't stub your toe on a team like this. And we know division games can be a little tricky sometimes. And that's the challenge this week.
01:27:40
Speaker 3: Short week. Division game.
01:27:44
Speaker 1: You're coming off the high of beating a fellow 6-1 team to improve to 7-1. Can you sustain your division? dedication to craft, effort, execution. That's the challenge this week on a short week. Got to go to Dredd in Virginia next.
01:28:02
Speaker 3: What's up, Dredd?
01:28:03
Speaker 7: At the end of the show, I'll go ahead and be short. I don't know if you guys remember, but I called for 14 personnel. I don't think we got one snap of 14, but we got some 13 in the fourth tight end score. So I'm happy about that. I want to give a shout out to all the veterans. Thank them for their service. And shout out to Bush as well, but no Brandon Iyuk. I don't want him anywhere near our team. Please.
01:28:26
Speaker 1: Okay.
01:28:28
Speaker 2: All right, Dredd.
01:28:28
Speaker 3: Some good opinions there. He doesn't want Brandon Iyuk anywhere near this team.
01:28:31
Speaker 2: I don't think he's going to be anywhere near our team. But, yeah. You're right, yeah. I remember your 14 personnel call. You did get some 13. and the tight ends did show up.
01:28:41
Speaker 1: And a little bit of 10 personnel when they spread it out at the end of the first half.
01:28:45
Speaker 2: I still liked what they did right before the first half ended when they went no huddle. It negated the Vikings' ability to communicate. They went fast. They couldn't get very exotic defensively when they had to go fast. It does shorten your menu of offensive plays, but if you go fast, you get some benefit from it, and the Bills got a field goal out of it.
01:29:07
Speaker 3: They certainly did.
01:29:08
Speaker 1: Apologize to those on hold who we did not get to since it's already Tuesday, and we had to basically cram two shows into one. We had fewer time, or less time, I should say, to take phone calls, so apologize for that, but feel free.
01:29:22
Speaker 3: To call tomorrow.
01:29:22
Speaker 1: We'll be happy to get you on.
01:29:23
Speaker 3: We'll have a little more room to talk to the callers.
01:29:28
Speaker 1: But just a very impressive performance by the Bills, I think rooted primarily in perseverance. I mean, this was a game where you just had to outlast the opponent. Bills were able to do that. The time of possession advantage certainly aided in that effort, and now you've just got to heal up as fast as you can and get ready for a big division game on the road.
01:29:48
Speaker 2: Yeah, it doesn't stop. This is the grind. Let's go.
01:29:52
Speaker 3: That's it for us today. We'll see you tomorrow.
01:29:54
Speaker 1: We'll have Dan Orlovsky on as well on a Wednesday edition. We'll see you at 10.
01:29:59
Speaker 6: You