1. Players get set for a new beginning heading into Week 12
In an NFL season full of COVID-19 protocols, players around the league were not allowed to travel during their bye week. For the Bills, this meant staying in the Western New York area with time to rest, rehab and workout at the team facility. Wide receiver Cole Beasley thinks the late Week 11 bye fell at the perfect time for his team.
"It's good to get away and kind of reset and start over mentally," Beasley said. "It almost feels like it's a new season, a new beginning. This is one of the latest bye weeks I've had in my career I think. I actually like it better. You grind, grind, grind and then you get a bye week late. Now we have six games to go and you have time to refresh and get your legs back up underneath you. So we hopefully have some fresh legs for the next couple of weeks."
Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds has been dealing with a shoulder injury through most of the season and said coming out of the bye his shoulder is feeling better. Edmunds explained at this point in the season most players are not feeling 100%, so it was beneficial to have a week of rest before the final six games.
"I think our bye week fell at a really good time," Edmunds said. "It was late in the season when a lot of guys are really starting to feel it. It's starting to get a little cold outside so a lot of guys feel it even more with that. I think it fell at a really good time and benefited us a lot. Guys got healthy, guys got some rest for their body to finish up this last stretch that we have."
Scroll through to see the best photos from Buffalo's practice as they prepare for Week 12 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Trent Murphy (93). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17), Stefon Diggs (14). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Stefon Diggs (14), Dane Jackson (30). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Darron Lee (52). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Corey Bojorquez (9). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Stefon Diggs (14) and Josh Allen (17) handshake. Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Matt Barkley (5). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Mitch Morse (60), Daryl Williams (75). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Sean McDermott. Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Matt Barkley (5), Harrison Phillips (99). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Brian Winters (66). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Reid Ferguson (69) and Corey Bojorquez (9). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Cody Ford (70), Daryl Williams (75), Ty Nsekhe (77). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Zack Moss (20). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tyler Kroft (81), Brandin Bryant (74) and Josh Norman (29). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Zack Moss (20). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Zack Moss (20) and Andre Smith (59). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tyler Kroft (81), Dion Dawkins (73). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tre'Davious White (27). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Devin Singletary (26), Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Devin Singletary (26), Josh Norman (29). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tre'Davious White (27). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Devin Singletary (26). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Gabriel Davis (13). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Cole Beasley (11). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Andre Roberts (18) and Josh Allen (17) handshake. Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Stefon Diggs (14) and Gabriel Davis (13). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Gabriel Davis (13). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Gabriel Davis (13). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Gabriel Davis (13) and Josh Allen (17) handshake. Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Stefon Diggs (14). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Jake Kumerow (87) and Josh Allen (17) handshake. Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Cole Beasley (11) and Josh Allen (17) handshake. Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Gabriel Davis (13). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Norman (29). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Jordan Poyer (21). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Stefon Diggs (14) and Josh Allen (17) handshake. Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Norman (29). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Jake Kumerow (87). Buffalo Bills Week 12 practice, November 24, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
2. How reliving bad plays can help the Bills defense
Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier explained one way he and the defensive staff used their extra time from the bye week was by going through plays that weren't up to their standard, some of them being run plays where they allowed too many yards. Buffalo is currently ranked 28th against the run allowing 135 rushing yards per game. This is something the defense certainly wants to improve on as the regular season comes to a close.
Safety Jordan Poyer shared the defense is correcting mistakes by walking through plays that hurt the team thanks to the deep dive Frazier did. Poyer said the team is able to understand their missteps more by taking the time to walk and talk through it.
"We came in yesterday and kind of had a walk through practice," Poyer explained. "A lot of it was stuff that we have seen that is that has hurt us before. And what was nice about it is we were able to sit down and talk about it in our meetings beforehand, these specific plays.
"I think it definitely helped to kind of open our eyes. It's one thing to talk about it, but it's another thing to see it and understand this is how we're being attacked and this is how we got to fit it. Like I said, just continue to get better and I definitely think yesterday and today we're on that page."
3. What Jon Feliciano's attitude does for the team
Offensive lineman Jon Feliciano has now played in three games this season after recovering from a pec injury. Many offensive linemen say they feed off Feliciano's energy, and he is the type of glue player the offensive line was missing. Left tackle Dion Dawkins said he's learned a lot from Feliciano and the attitude he brings to the game.
"He has great energy, and honestly the key word is just savage," Dawkins said. "He plays with that savage mindset and savage mentality every play. That's why coach loves him. That's why I love him. That's why I'm happy to call him my teammate because he's just him and he's not afraid to be him. He understands this league and he just plays hard, and he plays to the whistle. That's him, I'm going to stand by it. He's a savage. he's been doing it for a little while now and I support it, and I learned from him."
