AFC Notes: Bills, Jets, Patriots

“Let’s not give more credit than we need to give credit to Bill Belichick in this one,” McDermott said, via NFL.com. “Whether it’s Bill or anybody else — they beat us, right? You sit here and you tell me when we start with an average starting field position at the 40-yard line and he starts at the 23-yard line — and I’m rounding up in both cases — and we were 1 for 4 in the red zone, and they were 0 for 1 in the red zone? You give me that ahead of time then I like my chances. I like my chances. So, with all due respect, it’s not a Bill Belichick-type thing. It’s what are you doing with the opportunities you got? What are you doing with the opportunities you got? We turned the ball over at the plus 30-something yard line. It’s sloppy football. It’s sloppy football. So, I’m very comfortable in that situation.”

• The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia writes he’s getting the same vibes from McDermott when he discusses the offense and OC Brian Daboll as he was in 2017. Buffalo fired OC Rick Dennison at the end of the season that year. 
• Buscaglia notes the Bills have an issue at running back because they don’t have one player who can do enough things at a high level to sustain production. Zack Moss is the most physical but misses too many reads. Matt Breida has the speed to threaten the edge but not much else, while Devin Singletary is small and slow but generally has the firmest grasp on the mental side of the position. 
• McDermott was specifically asked if he felt Daboll was doing a good enough job: “Well, I didn’t think honestly we took advantage of opportunities tonight. I really didn’t. I mean, the ball’s at the 40-yard line. You know? We’re one for four in the red zone. So we’ve got to figure that part of it out.” (Matthew Bove)

Jets

For the first several games of the season, Jets OC Mike LaFleur looked out of place as an NFL play-caller. But he’s settled into a rhythm and the Jets have improved from the bottom of the barrel to 21st in the league in total offense. Not overwhelming success, but it is something to build on. 

“I think you naturally get more comfortable, right?” LaFleur said via Brian Costello of the New York Post. “And not just on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday, how to approach the guys in terms of, not that I’ve ever kind of worried about that, but again just what the message has to be for this team, rather for this unit I should say, [head coach Robert] Saleh’s got the ultimate message. But the pulse of what our offense is going through, the goods and the bad. And just trying to push the right buttons for each individual on our offense. So, getting more and more comfortable but, again, I think it’s just our guys just getting more and more comfortable and us starting to gel a little bit.”

Patriots

• Patriots HC Bill Belichick said running the ball as much as the team did Monday night allowed them to save their passing plays for the rematch vs. Buffalo in a few weeks: “We can use our whole passing game. All the pass plays that we have they haven’t seen.” (Ryan Hannable)
• Belichick mentioned to ESPN’s Monday Night crew that the reason for the turnaround from 2020 to 2021 is simply because they have “better players.” (Zack Cox)
• Belichick praised CB Myles Bryant‘s play during Monday night’s game: “After two years here, I think everyone has a lot of confidence in him always doing the right thing in every situation.” (Cox)