In the preseason, a win or a loss won't have any implications on a team's regular season standing. For Davis Webb and Jake Fromm, their mindset was to win the game no matter what.
"We come out here to win, and that's the culture that Sean and Brandon have set," Webb said.
With Josh Allen sitting out of the Bills' first preseason game, all eyes were on Mitch Trubisky, Webb and Fromm. Trubisky only threw two passes in his preseason debut with the Bills, but it was Webb and Fromm who made some big plays and led the Bills to defeat the Lions. Sean McDermott saw a lot from both Webb and Fromm and hopes they can build on it for next week's game.
"I thought they both played well," McDermott said. "Again, great to see both of them have success. They work extremely hard and we're going to continue to try and give him as many reps as we can."
Webb went 11-16 for 90 yards with a passing touchdown and had two rushes for 26 yards. He looked in control of the offense and even said that Allen's playstyle has rubbed off on him with the way he took off out of the pocket on those runs. As a player, Webb was eager to get out there and play against someone other than his teammates. But the coach in him was excited to see Fromm get some playing time and come in clutch to get the win against Detroit.
"It was cool to see Jake get in there and throw that deep one to Speedy [Marquez Stevenson], for both of them in their first game in the NFL," he said. "… I think a lot of guys stepped up, played really good tonight and we got two more."
The last time Fromm came into a game off the bench was his debut as a freshman at Georgia in 2017. He said he had to get in the mindset of a relief pitcher in baseball for Friday night's game. Fromm's first two drives ended in sacks, but with the confidence of his teammates and fellow quarterbacks, he came back for the third drive ready to answer the call and lead the Bills to victory.
"For me, I really didn't know what to expect one way or the other," Fromm said. "It's just a huge blessing to be on the field. After the year I had last year, to be able to be part of this organization, be able to feel that they trust me enough to go, 'Hey, let's go win one in the fourth quarter.' It feels awesome, a huge blessing for me and really thankful to have the opportunity to do this.
The biggest play of the night came from Fromm on fourth down. Needing ten yards to get the first down, Fromm found Marquez Stevenson open deep left and connected on a 42-yard pass that put the Bills in field goal range. McDermott wasn't surprised that Fromm was able to make a big play that helped the Bills win the game.
"Well, the thing with Jake is he's been there before," McDermott said. "You go back to when Brandon had scouted him with his staff and some of the film that I looked at, he's been in big games before in those moments. He just doesn't seem to be fazed by those moments and so that's a great sign."
The Bills quarterback room is competitive but at the end of the day, they just want to make each other better. Fromm has the luxury of being able to learn from experienced veteran quarterbacks in Allen, Trubisky, and Webb. Fromm knows that he wouldn't be as far in his development as a player if it weren't for his teammates in the QB room.
"Throughout the game, we're all one team and we're all one unit," Fromm said. "Just communicating back and forth, 'Hey, who's seeing what, what are we seeing?' We had a really good feel throughout the whole game. Whatever everybody was seeing, and whatever everybody was feeling. Super thankful for those guys, feeding into me and they have given me all the tips and tricks I needed to go and have a little bit of success."
Both Webb and Fromm were able to show their teammates, the coaching staff, and Bills Mafia what they can bring to this team. After one preseason game, it shows that this Bills quarterback room is different and that their bond is unbreakable.
"It's fun to see your teammates succeeding," Webb said. "I asked Josh on the sideline, 'How are you feeling? Are you bored?' He said, 'No, I'm really enjoying watching you guys play. This is pretty special.' So, I think we have a pretty good room and we all root for one another, and that's unique."
