In last Sunday's game, the Bills outgained the Steelers in total yards with 371 yards compared to Pittsburgh's 252 yards. Unfortunately, just because Buffalo had more yards doesn't mean that they scored enough points to win the game.
The team fell short in the 23-16 loss and Sean McDermott told the media before Wednesday's practice that the offense needs to figure out more ways to score points this week against Miami.
"Yards do not matter," McDermott said. "That's not what wins games, points matter, right? That's what wins games so that's what we're into is points and why we didn't come away with more points, so that's what we're trying to solve. We had opportunities as we all know, and I think that the first step is awareness of those opportunities and then solving why we didn't cash in on those opportunities."
Josh Allen noted after the game Sunday and again after practice on Wednesday that there were many plays that he wished he had back but knows he can learn from them. One of those plays was an overthrow by Allen downfield intended for Emmanuel Sanders. That one play could have made a big difference in the game and Allen understands going forward he needs to take advantage of the opportunities that the defenses give him.
"When teams like the Steelers, like the Dolphins give you an opportunity to hit one of those now you better do it because they're not going to give you another opportunity to do so," Allen said. "So, it's just being smart with the football and taking advantage of the opportunities that are given. But ultimately, just trying to find completions and stay ahead of the sticks. That's what we were really good at last year."
Stefon Diggs tried to keep a positive attitude throughout Sunday's loss to the Steelers. He found himself getting frustrated with himself at times because he wished he could have done more to help the team score more points. Diggs was targeted 13 times and led the team with nine receptions for 69 yards. After isolating and rolling back the tape following the game, Diggs knows what adjustments need to be made this weekend in Miami.
"We just got to execute at a higher level," Diggs said. "We did some things well; we didn't do some things well. When you watch the tape it's never as bad as it seems and it's never as good as it seems."
Allen can reach a big milestone on Sunday - with 23 passing yards he will record 10,000 career passing yards. The Bills quarterback is 5-0 in his previous matchups against the Dolphins and has thrown at least 200 yards and two touchdowns in each of his career matchups against Miami. After a down week for the offense against the Steelers, Allen is looking to bounce back and is focusing on correcting one thing in particular.
"The execution of plays just wasn't where it needed to be,'' Allen stated. "It starts with me there. Again, we've learned from some things. We're excited to get back out on the field and play some football again. … Sunday will be a good test against a really good in-division opponent. They're playing well. Going back to last year, they played really well. But this year's a new year. What we did last year, what they did last year, really, what we did last week and what they did last week, it doesn't matter. It's a game-plan week-to-week league. And we've got to go out there and execute."
Jordan Poyer knows how this team can bounce back from a Week 1 loss
No team around the league wants to start off their season with a loss, but it happens for half of the teams no matter what. The Bills players know that they will learn more about themselves from a loss than they would if they would've won. Safety Jordan Poyer has faith in his teammates that they know how to get back on track this weekend in Miami.
"You just continue to work," Poyer said. "This is the NFL, after week one we obviously fell short and, you'd like to think that we came in ready today ready to go. We have that 24-hour rule and put that game behind us. We understand what we got to do to get better in the areas that we need to get better at and just continue to move forward."
Stefon Diggs enjoyed playing with Bills Mafia back in the stands
Sunday's game marked the first time Stefon Diggs played a football game with a packed house in Orchard Park. More than 69,000 fans were in attendance for the Bills home opener and Diggs felt like he was a kid again, and it made that game more enjoyable for him.
"It was like what you dream of as far as a packed stadium, it's loud," Diggs said. "You kind of take it for granted throughout my years as far as having those packed stadiums and having that momentum shift or like that energy throughout the game. … So, coming back to it and having that refresh of just fans and having that energy and things being electrifying it kind of brought you back to being a kid again when things were fun."
