Bills 'staying with the process' to find success this postseason
Jan 08, 2025
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WROC) — Regular season success isn't the problem for the Bills, as they've made the playoffs for the sixth year in a row. It's finishing the job in the postseason that has been the challenge.
As Buffalo takes on the Broncos on Sunday for a Wild Card Weekend matchup, it won't be making too many changes in its preparation.
For Greg Rousseau, his inspiration comes from a champion that meant a lot to him in his childhood.
"I'm a Heat fan, and I used to watch the Heat lose to the Pistons over and over. When they won in 2006 when they ended up beating the Mavericks, it's not like they did anything different to get over the hump," Rousseau said. "Dwyane Wade was still playing good ball, they kind of had the same pieces. So you just have to keep on staying with it, staying with the process."
Staying with the process seems to have been the Bills' philosophy all year, and it's earned them the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
"There's no reason to change, there's no reason to add some secret recipe, add some whatever it may be. What we've been doing is good enough, and just keep harping on those details, harping on all those fundamentals," AJ Epenesa said.
Last year, the Bills lost to Kansas City in the AFC Divisional Round, ending their Super Bowl hopes. Rasul Douglas reflected on that season and the difference from where they're at now.
"I feel like last year we kind of peaked too early, because I think we were like 5-6, and we had to win every game to even make it a contest. So I think we kind of peaked maybe too early, and we couldn't just sustain it," Douglas said. "This year I think we're just kind of playing ball, and we haven't peaked at all yet."
Even if the Bills haven't hit their highest point yet, Sean McDermott recognized the path to the Super Bowl isn't linear. Although Buffalo has recently struggled in the postseason, this year could be the turnaround Bills fans have been waiting for.
"There's very few teams that go on a very clean, straight line in terms of their path to their goals. Most of the time, there's a journey of some ups and downs and some learns as you go through things in dealing with some adversity," McDermott said. "So no different for us in that way."
Looked to as the leader for Buffalo, Josh Allen keeps a quote in the back of his mind as the Bills look to make a playoff run.
"A quote that my college coach had, it was, 'you dance with who brung you,'" Allen said. "You know, we're not going to try to change anything. Don't have to do more or less, just trying to continue in doing what we're doing and make sure that we're, like I said, executing at a high level."