From the Locker Room

Presented by

'A big round of applause' | Bills rookies contribute to win over Dolphins

Nov 04, 2024 at 12:51 PM

Dorian Alerte

Contributing Correspondent

In thrilling fashion, the Bills improved to 7-2, defeating their division rival Miami Dolphins 30-27.

"Praise God. Great win. Great home environment as always and what a story T-Bass hitting a franchise record kick," McDermott said.

Bass lined up for the game-winning kick that went right up the middle and sealed the game with 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

"You can see it after the kick… I looked back and it seemed like the whole team was off the sideline giving him a big hug and huddled around him," LS Reid Ferguson said. "He's definitely not going to forget that, and I think that's just a testament to how much guys love T Bass, and how much he's been fighting to get over this hump."

It was a back-and-forth battle throughout the entire game, seeing three ties and seven lead changes in total.

"Every week it's hard, you can never take a week for granted," McDermott said. "We can be better… But when you can win a close one like this and it's back and forth… We hung in there. We were taking some punches early. And at halftime I thought we reset a little bit with more work to go through."

In the third quarter after the Dolphins took a 13-12 lead, QB Josh Allen and the offense looked in the direction of the rookies. Allen threw a short pass to RB Ray Davis out of the backfield, who ran up the right sideline and broke a tackle from CB Kendall Fuller, from there he had nothing but space as he found his way into the end zone for the longest play of the game - a 63-yard touchdown.

"That was the biggest thing in my head, was make sure I make him miss," Davis said. "After that, I kind of just blacked out from there. I heard the whole crowd, so I assumed nobody was around me. Thanks, Josh, for believing in me. Being able to make that pass, and being a rookie, to me that shows he has a lot of trust in me to go out there and make a play, and I'm just blessed that he was able to have that faith in me."

Related Links

When asked what it meant to have Allen's trust, Davis said that it shows that Allen sees the type of work that he is doing.

The rookies continued to make an impact as Allen connected with WR Keon Coleman for the two-point conversion and gave the Bills a one touchdown lead over the Dolphins.

"Kudos to Keon," Davis said. "Throughout each week, he shows you something spectacular about him. I'm proud of him. That's my roommate, so we always talk about as much as we can to be able to go out there and just doing what we love to do."

This Bills rookie class has continued to make plays, and Davis made sure to let everyone know that it is not just him and Coleman making plays, but the entire class.

"You got to give our whole class a big round of applause," Davis said. "You got Javon (Solomon) going out there making plays. Same thing with Cole Bishop making tackles on special teams. (DeWayne Carter) when he was in there. I can go on. There's a lot of us guys who are stepping up to the plate. Kudos to those boys… I'm really, extremely proud of our whole rookie class."

McDermott also gave the class praise to this rookie class for the plays that they have been making adding that this class was ready to play because they have earned the opportunity to play.

"We'll play young guys when they're ready to play and they earn it, and when they earn it, they play. When they're out there and take advantage of the opportunity, they'll get more opportunities," McDermott said.

"I've always been comfortable playing young guys, you just got to earn it," McDermott said. "To Brandon's credit, and our scouting staff, this group this year has come in as not only talented, but it's coming with a lot of really good intangibles."

With the win, McDermott also achieved his 80^th career win as the Bills head coach.

"Good win for the home team and the guys, the boys in blue as Kyle Williams used to always say," McDermott said. "The boys in blue came through today. So, it's, great environment out there."

McDermott tied Jimmy Johnson, Brian Billick and Bruce Arians for 60^th on the NFL's all-time wins list. While he did not have much to say, DT DaQuan Jones said that this win was huge for McDermott and that he is happy to be part of it.

"It's hard to win games in this league and to have 80 is amazing," Jones said. "Just to be a part of that it's cool too, so I'm happy for him. He's a great coach. One of the most smartest, humble guys I know. The way he carries himself, and on and off the field, he's definitely a model person and I'm happy that he's reaping the benefits that he deserves."