Sean McDermott enjoyed spending time with his family and getting some rest during Buffalo’s bye week, but he felt good to return to his usual routine and familiar clothes — a gray T-shirt and sweatpants.
“When I’m not wearing those, I go to my closet and I don’t know what to wear. I’m kind of like not myself,” he said, pulling up his hoodie to show the gray shirt he had on. “So I was telling some of the guys this morning, ‘It’s good to be back.’”
While there are still challenges ahead, things are going well in Buffalo.
The Bills (9-2) are having their best start since 1992 and are still in the running for the top spot in the AFC after their 30-21 win over Kansas City (10-1) before their break.
Buffalo could also clinch its fifth straight AFC East title as soon as Sunday. To do this, the Bills would need Miami to lose to Green Bay on Thursday night and Buffalo to beat San Francisco (5-6) on Sunday night.
The Bills have won six straight games since losing to Baltimore and Houston, and they’ve scored 30 or more points in each of their last five games.
Even though McDermott sounded refreshed and in good spirits, he quickly returned to his usual focus on taking things one game at a time when talking about the upcoming weekend’s game.
“We’re mostly focused on our level of play this week against a good football team,” he said.
McDermott didn’t give much information about the status of the Bills’ injured players.
There is no clear timeline for when Matt Milano will be activated off injured reserve, even though the starting linebacker practiced fully for the first time since injuring his left biceps in mid-August during training camp. Milano has been out for almost 14 months since suffering a season-ending injury to his right leg last season in Week 5.
Milano didn’t say much after practice when asked about his recovery.
“I feel all right. Getting back into it with the team,” said Milano, who was no longer wearing a red non-contact jersey.
Meanwhile, rookie receiver Keon Coleman, who has missed two games with a wrist injury, and starting right tackle Spencer Brown, who missed one game with an ankle injury, were limited in practice. Tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee) was the only player not practicing.
The Bills also started the three-week window for backup rookie defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (wrist) and backup offensive lineman Tylan Grable (groin) to return.
McDermott has another positive aspect regarding the bye week. The Bills have won all eight of their games after the break since McDermott became head coach in 2017.
“I don’t really have the, hey, this is exactly what we do formula,” McDermott said about whether he’s changed his approach to the bye week. “It’s more of us really just getting back to what we do, getting back to basics.”
