From the Locker Room

Presented by

'I'm proud of everybody that stepped up' | Bills offense rallies in Joe Brady's first game as OC

Nov 20, 2023 at 09:30 AM

Patrick Warren

Contributing Correspondent

Less than a week ago, the Bills locker room was quiet from the outside, and nearly empty once reporters were allowed in following Buffalo's loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.

This Sunday, music blared from inside the locker room after the Bills' 32-6 win over the New York Jets in front of a roaring crowd at Highmark Stadium.

After a tone-setting tackle by fullback Reggie Gilliam, who forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, the Bills did not look back, leading for the entire game after the first 90 seconds.

The win was more than just a much-needed divisional win over a team that opened the season by upsetting the Bills on the road. As interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady's first game calling the plays, the Bills win was a validating result of a long week for the offense after Ken Dorsey was relieved of his play calling duties.

"First and foremost, it was a tough week just because a lot of us spent a lot of time with Dorse and respect him not only as a man but as a football coach and all he's done for this team over the last however many years," said center Mitch Morse. "I didn't envy Joe's position by any means. We executed. He gave us a game plan that we knew we were able to dial in, the simpler the better, and then it was about executing that game plan and I think that's a great job for the first week."

Quarterback Josh Allen, who threw three interceptions in the Bills' first game against the Jets, threw three touchdowns Sunday night – the first time he has done so in his 10 games against New York. Allen was sacked five times in September, but just once on Sunday. His lone interception came on a Hail Mary heave to end of the first half.

Allen credited his teammates for their ability to rebound from the coaching change and come out with a win.

"We have a lot of true professionals in this room," Allen said. "It wasn't an easy week, I'll tell you that. I'm proud of everybody that stepped up and filled roles that they maybe didn't expect to fill this year."

Allen, who leads the NFL with 26 total touchdowns, said that the Bills would continue to take the season one game at a time. After speculation throughout the season on what the issues were affecting the Bills' ability to move the ball downfield, Allen reaffirmed his confidence in the offense.

"This isn't an offense that was broken," Allen said. "We've been playing close to where we need to play and today felt like we played close to – not as good – as we can play, but we played obviously better."

The Bills offense scored on seven of their 11 drives – excluding their final drive to end the game. Their 32 points were the most since defeating Miami in Week 4.

"It was just a good day for football and it was just a fun atmosphere," Morse said. "I'm really happy for Joe and for us as a team, it's not getting destination disease because there's still a lot of football left and if you want to continue to do what we want to do, we're still fighting a very steep uphill battle."

Brady, who called plays from the booth on Sunday, has been in Buffalo since the beginning of the 2022 season as the quarterbacks coach. Facing a short week and a wealth of new responsibilities, Bills head coach was pleased with what he saw from Brady this week.

"Joe picked up where we needed him to right away," McDermott said. "When we made the switch, there was no hesitation. He went right to the offensive staff and the offensive staff really came together and collaborated in a team way, in an effective way."