From the Locker Room

Presented by

'Never heard this place like that' | Buffalo credits Bills Mafia for tremendous atmosphere in Seattle

Oct 28, 2024 at 12:35 PM

Dorian Alerte

Contributing Correspondent

Although the Bills were on the road, Lumen Field looked like a home game for the Buffalo Bills as they went on to celebrate their 31-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

"Did you hear them out there?" McDermott said after the game. "I've never heard this place like that in all my years in the NFL. Been out here a number of years, I've never heard that. And that's a testament to the Bills, testament to the Bills fans and the organization, for the tradition that they built over the years."

"I thought our fan base showed up today big time. Not surprising, but never taking that for granted. The red, white and blue of the Buffalo Bills showed up all the way out here in the Northwest, and couldn't be more grateful."

Bills QB Josh Allen was greeted by the thousands of Bills fans that were still in attendance at the end of the game following the win.

"I do want to shout out Bills Mafia because that was a crazy scene walking off the field right now to the thousands of fans that were still here," Allen said. "Appreciate them for coming out, and hopefully they enjoyed the game today."

Sounds like Orchard Park. 😎#BUFvsSEA | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/XSNPmWgqVR
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) October 27, 2024

The Bills won their third game in a row against a Seahawks team that were looking to build off of their previous win against the Falcons. The Bills held QB Geno Smith, who led the league in passing yards, in check for much of the day. In the first half, the Seahawks had only one-yard rushing, which was the second-fewest rushing yards the Bills have allowed in a first half this century.

"Good to get a win," head coach Sean McDermott said. "Anytime you can win, you'll take it. Hard to win in this league, and especially on the road, especially here, they've got a track record of playing great at home… Defense went out and held them, which was big from a momentum standpoint."

En route to the win, multiple Bills had their best performances of the season. Stepping in for injured DT DeWayne Carter, who was placed on IR on Friday, DT Austin Johnson caught an interception that led to a touchdown.

"Catch it," Johnson said. "When you get those opportunities, you've got to definitely take advantage of them. If there was no one in front of me, I would have ran. ... If you've got a ton of people around you and the offense is rolling and doing an amazing job like they are, I'm just trying to get the ball back to the offense and let them keep on doing their thing. They had an amazing day."

Related Links

Bills fans were deep at Lumen Field on Sunday. And they were loud. Geno Smith after the game said it "kind of felt like we were on the road at times." pic.twitter.com/5pkq0KttEN
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) October 28, 2024

In the process of recovering from his own injury, WR Khali Shakir showed why he has the best hands in the NFL, hauling in nine of his 10 targets for 107 yards, his first 100-yard game of the season.

"He's as steady as they come," Allen said. "Every week, he seems like he's getting a little bit better and more comfortable and confident and cutting. He just continues to make plays for us…. Love the guy, and he does whatever's asked from him."

Not only did Shakir step in, WR Keon Coleman built off of his 100-yard game against the Titans with 70 yards on 5 catches and a touchdown on Sunday.

"Just growth one week at a time, growth, development. Adam (Henry) is doing a really good job with him," McDermott said. "We've got good guys in that room that help young players develop and teach them the right way, teach them the right habits, the right routines, Monday through Saturday. That's what leads to what you saw today.

Coleman had an opportunity to catch the touchdown on the left side of the end zone, but the pass was broken up. He made up for it two plays later, as he elevated over CB Tariq Woolen and caught the one-handed touchdown.

As he's said before in the season, this touchdown was more of the same for Coleman- a "simple play call."

"We miscued on the first one. Told him, 'Just put it even higher, you give me another shot at it.' He gave me another shot, I went up there, made the play," Coleman said.

To add to the offense's big day, RB James Cook had his first 100-yard rushing performance of the season. Cook got involved early and was able to seal the game away with his second touchdown of the day in the fourth quarter.

"When he's running hard like that, and that second touchdown, when he lowered the boom… he can be an angry runner, and you saw that today," Allen said.

Allen, who threw for over 280 yards for the second week in a row, was quick to give credit to the coaching staff for the confidence that this offense had.

"I just think the confidence that's instilled from the top down, especially in the offensive side of the ball, with Joe (Brady) and our offensive staff putting guys in positions where they know what they're doing," Allen said. "They do it fast… It takes guys learning it and understanding it, but going out there and executing at a high level, everybody knows their spots, and when you got that you got a dangerous team."

Shakir said that all of the piece of the puzzle are working together and that they are ready to take on whatever challenges are ahead of them.

"Just as the season goes on, everyone starts to understand what their role is," Shakir said. "That's a part of the game. Everybody being on top of their job throughout the week and the week and the preparation that we're putting in, as far as the place throughout the week… Our room, is so dynamic and I truly believe it's one of the best in in the NFL… Whatever challenge is in front of us, we just put our head down and grind out the week and come out on game day ready."