Getty Bills edge rusher Von Miller at Highmark Stadium on January 21, 2024.
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott downplayed the idea that Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs carried any extra significance, stressing that it was just another regular-season game for a team with bigger postseason goals.
Von Miller wasn’t buying it.
The veteran edge rusher spoke out after the team’s 30-21 win on Nov. 17, saying he and his teammates were ready for the challenge of facing an undefeated Chiefs team.
“The speech from Coach McDermott was like, ‘It’s just another game and 100 years from now, no one’s going to remember.’ We were like, [expletive] that,” Miller said, via reporter A.J. Feldman in a post on X. “This is a big game. This is why we’re here. When the bright lights come on, we rise to the occasion.”
Von Miller Shares Praise for Defense
The Bills defense came through in the win over the Chiefs, keeping quarterback Patrick Mahomes under steady pressure. The Bills defense forced two interceptions and sacked Mahomes twice, with Miller registering one of the sacks.
Miller said he and the other defensive linemen didn’t share McDermott’s “just another game” mantra, instead welcoming the pressure of facing the Super Bowl favorites.
“We don’t need to sugarcoat it to take the pressure off us, pressure comes from within,” Miller said. “Everybody in that defensive line room kind of rose to the occasion and like I said, it’s a special moment. To be able to be optimistic and speak great things into existence, it’s a wonderful feeling.”
Josh Allen, Sean McDermott Take Different Approach
Not everyone shared Miller’s view of the win over the Chiefs. Quarterback Josh Allen downplayed the importance after the game, stressing that there are still six games to go for the Bills.
“It means we got to nine wins,” Allen said, via Feldman in his post on X. “I know from outside perception it’s a really big game and what it means for both fan bases and the league, but it’s Week 11.”
Allen delivered a knockout blow late in the game, rumbling through the Chiefs defense for a 26-yard touchdown on a 4th-and-2 play with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The score gave the Bills a 30-21 lead, which held as the defense forced an interception from Mahomes on the next possession.
McDermott also stuck to his pregame analysis, pushing back when a reporter asked if he saw this as a “statement” win.
9-2, baby!#KCvsBUF | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/izmTK1Wi33
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 18, 2024
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“This is not the finish line… No statement,” McDermott said, via reporter Alex Brasky on X.
The win gave a major boost to Buffalo’s hopes of earning the No. 1 overall seed, which has eluded the Bills as they won the AFC East in each of the past four seasons. They now sit a half game behind the Chiefs but hold the tie-breaker.
The Bills also moved one step closer to clinching the division for a fifth straight time while guaranteeing a winning record. The Bills are now 4.5 games ahead of the Miami Dolphins, with a bye week coming up for the Bills and the chance to clinch the division early in December.
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty
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