WGR

‘”One of their great strengths is taking the football away,” McDermott said. “We cannot afford to do what we did last week. We put the ball on the ground four times. So we’ve got to continue to work on it. I’m speaking to the discipline of our team, the discipline in this case of our ball handlers… Discipline leads to good things, if handled the right way.”‘

‘Davis was officially listed as “limited” along with defensive tackle Star Lotulelei (calf) and safety Micah Hyde (neck).’

‘The superstar tandem are on the cover of SI Kids’ “BFF issue,” posing earnestly with each other. They’re also featured in a full-page photo shoot.’

‘Starting on Sunday, Oct. 31, guests must be fully vaccinated for entry at both Highmark Stadium and KeyBank Center. Guests are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a two-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or 2 weeks after a single dose vaccine, such as Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine.’

‘“There’s a saying that goes, ‘before you win, you’ve got to prevent yourself from losing.’ In those situations, I didn’t think we gave ourselves a legitimate chance to win the game. That’s something we’ve got to do better this week. And when you get a punt blocked against you for a touchdown, statistically that’s hard to win, in those games. Then we don’t give ourselves a real legit chance on that fourth down to gain the first down. You go back and say, ‘hey, we’ve got to do a better job there as a coaching staff.'”‘

‘”You manage emotion kind of the other way… A game like yesterday, you’re almost trying to calm yourself down. I don’t know if that played any effect into Josh Allen’s missed throws.”‘

‘Even into the fourth quarter, you might have had a lot of company if you were thinking one big play from the Bills offense and everything would get right in our little football world.’

‘There were three big plays in the game, and all three went in Pittsburgh’s favor. Two of the three did not involve the Bills offense, but a bad performance from the offensive line and an off day by quarterback Josh Allen are clearly the main reasons why the Bills are 0-1 to start the 2021 season.’

‘Buffalo’s first offensive drive of the third quarter saw the team advancing into Pittsburgh territory, but instead of settling for a long field goal attempt by Bass, the Bills attempted to go for it on a 4th-and-8 play. At the Steelers’ 35-yard line, Allen fired a pass down the field intended for Davis, but his pass was knocked away.’

‘While the Bills held a 10-0 lead heading into the locker room at halftime, things fell apart for Buffalo in the second half, as the Steelers executed their game plan well with some efficient play in all three phases of the game.’

‘However, it’s hard not to wonder whether bringing back the same offensive line from 2020 – that struggled mightily, at times – was the best idea.’

‘Bills head coach Sean McDermott elected to punt on two different fourth down situations that he could have gone for – first on a 4th-and-1 from his own 46-yard line, then on 4th-and-3 from the Steelers’ 43 one drive later. Quarterback Josh Allen was even imploring his head coach to go for it both times.’

‘The Bills made a major and concerted effort this offseason to add to their defensive line, and specifically to improve their pass rush. They drafted ends Gregory Rousseau and Boogie Basham with their first two picks, and also signed Efe Obada as a free agent from the Carolina Panthers, not to mention 2020 second round pick (first pick for the team that draft) A.J. Epenesa, who had what almost amounted to a redshirt year last season due to no minicamps or preseason. Right off the bat, this group will go against a Steelers’ offensive line that includes two rookies and a lot of question marks. Given all the resources the Bills have spent remaking their defensive front, the unit needs to make those investments pay off immediately.’

‘”It will test us, especially earlier in the game and throughout the game as a staff and as our defensive players are concerned as well,” McDermott said in his first weekly appearance on the “Extra Point Show” with Sal Capaccio and “Sneaky Joe” DiBiase on Friday. “We can only go on what we’ve seen, and certainly he’s got some unknowns and, I’m sure, some things up his sleeve that are going to test us. We’re going to have our work cut out for us.”‘

‘“They don’t know how much we’re looking forward to it,” he said with Howard Simon and Jeremy White. “We missed the fans so much. It was weird not having them. We’re more than excited to have them back in the building.”’