News and notes from the Bills coaching staff addressing the media Monday evening
Injury updates heading into Week 6
Bills head coach Sean McDermott shared that there are no new injuries to report as of now coming out of Week 5's loss in Houston.
QB Josh Allen is not in the NFL's concussion protocol, according to McDermott.
"Josh was cleared, he went back in the game. That's what I know from our medical staff on the sideline," the Bills coach said.
Both CB Taron Johnson and WR Khalil Shakir are "improving" and the team will know more about their status when the Bills begin practice Wednesday.
Re-assessing the final drive 24 hours later
After having a full day to go back and review the way the loss unfolded, both head coach Sean McDermott and offensive coordinator Joe Brady shared their perspective.
"As it relates to the last series, I mean, listen, again, that's all me," McDermott said Monday. "I wish I had that back and we'll learn from that. I'm confident in that. We'll talk more today about our process and the communication that leads us to that, moving forward. I'm confident in myself. I'm confident in Joe. And that's a situation that we'll learn from."
In the aftermath of Sunday's game, McDermott shared that — in hindsight — the Bills should've run the ball at least once and force the Texans to start burning their timeouts.
Brady started his Monday press conference by saying that he was preparing for several different scenarios for how the end of the game could unfold. The OC pointed out that the Texans were in field goal range prior to the intentional grounding penalty, and he also noted that a punt from midfield could've resulted in a touchback. Those two scenarios would've made the Bills more likely to throw the ball once they got it back.
Still, when the Bills got the ball on their own three yard line, the agreed strategy between McDermott and Brady was to try to get a first down.
"You want to get a first down, that's the most important thing," he said. "Just the intent of what we're trying to get done there just to be able to get out of the end zone… you can't have a holding penalty and you don't want any negative plays to happen. And so, if we're going to be aggressive there, we got to be smart with the passes that we're doing."
Added Brady, "Everything happens fast....you're going through all the scenarios… We had communication. We were lock-step in what we wanted to do. It didn't work out in our favor. I wish for a different result, but I'm not going to second-guess."
Brady later clarified that the 'second-guessing' he's referring to was in relation to the decision to call pass plays in the moment. Brady said it's okay to reflect back on the call afterwards and learn from mistakes, but to not hesitate about a play call as its happening.
"When I say second guess, I'm not second guessing, in the moment," Brady said. "So, you always take a step back after a game, no matter what of a call, you're looking back, 'hey, you know Is that the right decision? Is that the right call?' You're doing that for everything."
Terrel Bernard makes instant impact in return
Bills LB Terrel Bernard had a welcome return to Buffalo's lineup after missing most of Week 2 plus all of Weeks 3 & 4 with a pectoral injury. Bernard played 100% of the Bills defensive snaps against the Texans and recorded five tackles and an interception.
"He did some good things, man. It was good to see 43 out there. I know he was really pumped up," Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said.
Bernard showed why he's such a valuable piece of the Bills defense with his fourth quarter interception of C.J. Stroud, perfectly reading the throw.
"That's what good players do in critical moments of the game," Babich said.
Bernard also made an important fourth down stop of Texans RB Dare Ogunbowale in the second quarter where he went up and over the line of scrimmage to meet the Houston RB in the backfield.
"It's really cool to see him back on the field, running the show," Babich said.
