The 2012 season has fallen considerably short of expectations, but Bills players are determined to push their disappointment aside in preparation for Sunday's season finale against the Jets. Going out on a winning note is one of the things the players in Buffalo's locker room are emphasizing.
"To put everything in perspective we obviously haven't accomplished the goals we set out to for our team this season," said George Wilson. "We're not going to make any excuses for it. We have to take ownership of it. We've got to finish it out on a strong note this week. There's nothing we can do right now to change what has happened up until this point. We can only focus on the Jets this week."
Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has expressed his disappointment in his personal game this season, admitted it's not easy to think what might have been.
"With all the disappointment that's happened this year, with all the injuries, the criticism, all the different things, I think towards the end of the year, when there's no playoffs, when there's not a whole lot to play for in terms of this win catapulting us to somewhere else, it's tough," said Ryan Fitzpatrick. "You always at the end of the season kind of evaluate what went wrong, but this is a game where they're not really playing for a whole lot in terms of playoff implications. But it's a pride game, and it's a game to go out there, and as Chan put it, who hates to lose? You go out there, and we hate losing and I'm sure they do too, so we've got to go out there and prove we're the team that hates to lose more."
It's a division game and that adds some measure of incentive, especially knowing that the Jets have won eight of the last nine against the Bills.
"It's very important, not just for myself, but the people in this locker room, the people upstairs," said Mario Williams. "For the fans, for the way the season is going. Obviously, it's not going the way any of us wanted it. But we got to come out and we got to win, some way somehow. No matter what it is, no matter what we're doing schematically. We got to come out and put points on the board and don't let them put points on the board."
"It's the last week. We've got to give it our all," said Stevie Johnson. "Obviously there are no playoffs, but we're going against the New York Jets. They don't like us, we don't like them and basically it's going to be a physical battle and whoever hates to lose is going to be the team that wins this game. Right now we're feeling like we've got to take this."
