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Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
10 Takeaways from Buffalo Bills loss to Jags and Matt Milano's injury
00:19:12
Bills lose game to Jags and Milano for season
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- [00:00]
A
Foreign welcome Back to the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel, presented by Connors and Ferris. Mike Catalana. I am Jenna Cottrell. We are here in London. The Bills losing to the Jags today. Before we do our takeaways, please be sure to, like, comment. Subscribe to the channel, share it with a friend if you enjoy our content. Lot to talk about in this game. The Bills, one of which coming out flat in this one this afternoon, just the energy level was super low. It felt like a lot of people talking about, could this be jet lag? The team came out on Friday, the game obviously on Sunday. What do you think? What do you think about that?
- [00:43]
B
Look, could there be something to it? They didn't say that at all. They said, no, it wasn't that. They were flat. No excuse for them to be flat. I think it's, you know, I think one of the guys said, hey, if we win, nobody would have said that they lose. They did lose. Josh Allen said it's inexcusable, said the captains have to step up. You know, Diggs addressed it, too. They just came out that way. And I don't get it. I mean, the crowd was jacked up. They were ready to go. You know, that happens with teams sometimes, but I think because of the travel, it gets added to it. Now, let me tell you something. This would have been a different, at least feeling different if you would have been able to stay at home. We know that we traveled over here. But to use that and say that's why they lost the game, I'm not going to give them that. They weren't taking that. Nobody on the team was saying this was why we lost.
- [01:31]
A
They didn't do the easy out of that. And whether or not that comes into play, I mean, Sean McDermott talked about following the sports science and the way that they designed to have this trip go in terms of rest and recovery and what they wanted, getting the bodies on time clocks, all that stuff for the players, they came out flat. And to me, it wasn't so much that maybe they weren't ready. I felt like it was more so. I think maybe it's the old saying of either in the NFL, you're humble and. Or about to be humbled. And I thought it was that. I thought this Jags team came out, they were well disciplined. They were tackling like all these little things. Fundamentally, they were playing sound football. And I felt like when the Bills, they. This is my opinion, but I felt like the Bills were just like, all right, we'll just press the touchdown button or we're just. We're. We are better than this team, which they are.
- [02:19]
B
Yeah.
- [02:20]
A
But they did not play like it in this one.
- [02:22]
B
Yeah. And you know what? All that was going on, the Bills were playing lousy and you look around and it's 11 to 7.
- [02:28]
A
It was so gross. It was so. And at one point I was like, the Bills offense has scored a touchdown. Ah, touchdown in this one. And the Bills defense, to their credit, had only allowed 11 points.
- [02:40]
B
They kept making plays, right? The defense kept making plays. Like they kept him out of the end zone with a fumble. They kept him at AJ Epanessa with the strip sack. We can talk about him. They kept making plays to stay in the game. And you still felt this way. And my God, Dan and I talk about it all the time. You and I have talked about it. The Jags game two years ago. This is a better Jags team than that team and they have an adult as a head coach. But you felt like they're still going to win this game. They're still going to win this game.
- [03:06]
A
Yeah.
- [03:06]
B
And then they didn't win the game.
- [03:08]
A
No. All right. We should talk about Matt Milano.
- [03:11]
B
That's the biggest takeaway from this game is Matt Milano's injury. Otherwise it's a loss, you know, to the Jags, who are a good team. Not great. They were in the playoffs, like whatever. This is an NFL team he played. And for all the different reasons it's Milano being out. It doesn't look good. Maybe by the time you guys see this, there's more out there. Jenna say out indefinitely with a knee. Jordan Poyer said to us, I just got the news about Matt and he didn't go into detail, but the guy doesn't say something about. I just got the news and we are praying for him. Yeah, that was bad.
- [03:43]
A
Yeah. That is definitely not a great sign. And it's tough. I mean, Michael, Micah Hyde even talked about like he's been a, a key piece of this Bill's defense for seven years. Like he is a guy.
- [03:55]
B
Yeah, yeah. I'm just thinking in my mind, well.
- [03:57]
A
With him and Micah and Jordan, would it have been seven years? He was part of McDermott's first draft.
- [04:02]
B
I was just thinking, who's the best players on this team? You go, Allen, Diggs.
- [04:09]
A
Vaughn.
- [04:09]
B
When he's helping, I think Milano ahead of Diggs or Vaughn. He's an every down player. He is so important to this team. I love Vaughn. He's an awesome, impactful player. That's why they have him here. But Milano Is a down in, down out, like that is who he is.
- [04:26]
A
All pro as well.
- [04:29]
B
He's a great player and I, I mean my hope and I don't know what we'll hear is that he can come back this year, but we don't know. It didn't look good, it didn't sound good.
- [04:38]
A
It's just so crappy for a team to lose Trae White the week before to a season ending Achilles injury and then to have Matt Milano go down so early and have it go the way that it has out indefinitely, knee injury, that's just, that's just a really challenging thing for a team to get over. One, you know, guy like that going down who's a corner piece of the first franchise is a challenge. But in back to back weeks it just makes sucks. It really does.
- [05:04]
B
And you know I always use the line, we've used it. Marv Levy saying depth is a great thing until you have to use it. But let me tell you something. When Trae White is out and Christian Benford is out for this game and Kyer Elam is playing, look, I give the kid credit. I went up to him, asked him to talk. He said he would and he did. And he said, basically said I felt ready. I, you know, wanted to make more plays. He was asked about being benched when it appeared he was benched for Jamarcus Ingram late in the game he just said, jamarcus just came up to me and said I'm in. So I mean no, but he got.
- [05:39]
A
Torched in this game as a human being. I feel bad for him because he's only tried to play and like obviously what he has been able to do has not been enough. And today the game that Calvin Ridley had or just in general, I mean Kahir was being picked on and that has got to be demoralizing to a player and kind of also to the teammates around you because. Yeah, because that also like you can play your, you can do your 111th and all that stuff but when you know someone is not to the same caliber as you and the other team knows that as well, that is tough. And this Bill's defense, I t I text or tweeted it like they were gas. They were on. I mean they played so well and a lot of these guys are coming in and out of the lineup. These faces that we don't really ever talk about. But to see Kair get picked on, that's also challenging and that's also tough because he's a former first round pick too.
- [06:32]
B
Yeah, and look, Micah Hyde would never throw it. He's not throwing a teammate under the bus. But he said, hey, look, you know, you got to step in. You got to be ready to do your job. And he said, we certainly wanted to play better or wanted to make more plays and do that. I mean, come on, when you're this desperate, you said it's demoralizing. I think it's demoralizing for the organization. This guy was a number one pick. I don't know how much the coaching staff likes him. I don't think.
- [06:58]
A
I don't think as a player, they do.
- [07:00]
B
Yeah. I mean, not about the guy personally. And he may work very hard, but, you know, a lot is expected. What is given is expected, right? A lot. And he is not coming through. I don't know what they're going to do. I mean, this is. I think they're going to be on the market for a corner. I don't think there's. There's very little doubt in my mind. You're going to need to bring another guy in. We don't know how long Benford's going to be out, but they're going to need another player. They can't trust him. We talk all the time about, who do you trust? Dane Jackson. Love that guy. Taron Johnson. Taron Johnson, I think I would say is an all time kind of a baller move where the cart comes out to him and. And they're ready to take him off. And he's like, no. And then he jogs off the field and he said, I thought it was bad when I got hurt.
- [07:46]
A
I mean, it looked like it was bad. That's what everyone assumed. He went down. He was obviously in a ton of pain. And, you know, I'm being on the sideline, I'm like, oh, my God, are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? He goes down, the whole team comes around him. You got Jordan Poyer on a knee. I'm like, whoa. And then a couple plays later, I'm walking down the sidelines and he's. He's sprinting at me and I'm like, whoa.
- [08:10]
B
Then the bill's announced he's out. He's questionable to return. One play later, he runs out on the field.
- [08:17]
A
But that is who that guy has been.
- [08:18]
B
It is.
- [08:19]
A
He plays the most snaps defensively of anybody.
- [08:22]
B
And by the way, I didn't mean to interrupt here, but what I was just going to say, I said that, like this was a move. That's just him. He's like, nope, I'm not going off on a cart. And when you have guys like that, it's great. But there were moments, Jenna, we talk about depth. It's usually when a guy or two is out there. There were moments where there was six substitutes in the game. There was six non starters on the defense. That's tough. I don't care how much you think these guys can play. When you got six of them out there, it really hurts. And like a guy, like, unbelievable coming back, it's his first game of the year. So it's very different in that way. But it's what they had.
- [08:57]
A
And Vaughn was on a pitch count like he was, you know, getting back up to speed, ramping up everything. Now, I will say the Bills, the turf was talked about. The turf was definitely talked about here.
- [09:09]
B
Well, Dion talked about it. Dion was all in, like, doesn't want to play on it. Like they know about. Plus, in this building right there, there is grass. They actually have grass. They play the English football, soccer on it, and they could play on that. I don't know why the NFL doesn't have the games here on grass. You know what? Pay for their field. The NFL, you got billions of dollars. You bring all these people in here.
- [09:35]
A
And you're making billions on this game.
- [09:37]
B
And now look, the Jags didn't have any real injuries today, and they're both playing on the turf. So you could. The team, the league will always say that. And Diggs was asked about it, and Diggs just smiled and he said, yeah, some things in this, in my world, I don't have an opinion on or I don't have, you know, the ability to say anything. I don't love it. They should have grass. It would be better for the players. There's too many injuries. It should not be 100% injury rate. Not every injury is due to the turf. But this stuff's not real. And there's real grass that they could buy. Look, there's a big hole in the top. They could have grass here, right?
- [10:10]
A
No, I agree. There's a big hole at the top.
- [10:13]
B
Well, I'm saying is this is not a dome. And by the way, it feels like a dome.
- [10:17]
A
It does. Yeah. Well, it was. It was gorgeous weather today. It was. It was. It was a beautiful day.
- [10:22]
B
Yeah.
- [10:22]
A
The crowd. Did I talk. Did we talk about the crowd yet? No, the crowd was super into it.
- [10:28]
B
Yeah.
- [10:28]
A
I was really impressed. I saw, you know, it's an international game. I don't know what to expect in terms of actual Bills fans here. Bills jerseys and I felt like I was blown away by the amount of Bills fans here. There was also just, like, random NFL fans here wearing random NFL jerseys. But still, it's really cool to see all this support and this place. It's not the same as a home game, obviously.
- [10:49]
B
Right.
- [10:50]
A
But in terms of the crowd and how into it they were, I mean, this is. This was an incredible experience.
- [10:56]
B
And I will say I talked to a ton of Bills fans today who from Western New York that go to games in Orchard Park. They. They're going to come home and tell you guys who aren't here.
- [11:05]
A
They.
- [11:06]
B
They love the place, absolutely love the place, and they can't wait. Now. There's some things here that are different than it'll be when they do build it, get it done in Orchard Park. But they were all in on. Oh, my God. I love it. I love the atmosphere. I mean, really like the. The top. I love the way the back stands are that go straight up. You are on top of the field. I mean, you really are. The. The. The stands are close.
- [11:28]
A
Like, even all the way up, you're still so close to the field. Like, you might be higher up, but you're almost. It feels like closer to the field.
- [11:35]
B
I was not as special as you to be able to be on the field, but the press area for these games is in the crowd, which is very unique. It is. There's a couple of places in the league where it's open air and you like in a dome, but it's the only one. But honestly, it was cool for us because we got to feel. Sometimes you don't feel it as much up there. You got to feel it. And it was a great location, great seat, great place to watch, and the fans were into it.
- [12:01]
A
How was your meal?
- [12:03]
B
Pregame? Was this thing. It was some kind of sliced beef or something. It was some kind of Mac and cheese. I walked tentatively with some of the food here. Nice people. Super nice. And I'm sure they're very good cooks. But I went Italian two nights and had a burger another night. I went American. I was American. Oh, the Italian food was great. And then half time was these little, like, chicken strips.
- [12:28]
A
Yeah. No, we didn't have a halftime meal.
- [12:30]
B
Oh, I would have brought you something.
- [12:33]
A
You always say that. Okay, back to the game. Let's talk about if we're going to stay with the defense. We talked about kind of generally earlier. The one bright spot.
- [12:43]
B
A.J.
- [12:43]
A
A.J. Epanessa balled out.
- [12:45]
B
Yeah. Before, when he would make a play, it would be like, oh, AJ Made A play now it's like I'm expecting it. He's setting, he was making plays. All he had that one off sides that kind of hurt. But his game was fantastic. I mean that strip sack. If somebody were to say to you guys gonna come in, step up, make that play, you'd be like, oh, by the way, Leonard Floyd was banged up too. He hung in there, but he was hurt too. But you would think it would have been Von, right? Showing up. Von was not really impactful in the game. It's his first game out there. But Epanessa was, he was really, really good. Deflecting passes, the strip sack, coming at huge times, tackle for loss. Like that guy is playing himself into.
- [13:26]
A
A contract a thousand percent. He was someone that you're right before. It'd be like, oh, AJ made a play. And we talked a lot on this channel about how we needed to see more from AJ how we didn't know why he wasn't the one traded as opposed to Boogie Basham. But it makes a lot of sense now seeing the play that he's been able to develop really kind of a breakout, breakout season that he's been having. So that has been definitely a bright spot. Spot. You talk about Leonard Floyd though having. Getting banged up.
- [13:50]
B
Yeah.
- [13:51]
A
Daquan Jones also going out with a pec injury. I didn't really see that, but from where I was sitting or sitting, I was running around. Yeah. But I didn't really see that. But he is. I feel like Matt Milano is like the guy everyone knows in terms of if you're a Bills fan, like huge. And then on the other side it's the unsung hero is Daquan Jones and him going out as well. Could be. That could be big too.
- [14:16]
B
Let's talk a little bit about the offense. I thought Josh had a odd day. Ended up throwing for a ton of yards. The two deep balls to Diggs. Now I thought on that first one he said, I asked him about it and he said, gotta get the ball in his hands or some phrase like that because you cannot overthrow him on that. He underthrew him a little and I think it could have been a touchdown.
- [14:40]
A
I think so.
- [14:41]
B
But you can't overthrow them and not get the completion. They got like what, a 40 yard gain or 45 yard gain. The second one, Diggs took it on himself. You know, I'm sure Stephen A. Would say Diggs is mad. Some guy tweeted out Diggs being mad on the sidelines as a network guy, a bigger guy, you know, national guy, Diggs. We saw Diggs and Allen and Gabe sitting together in the locker room talking about the game, talking about what happened. And Diggs said, I'm taking that on me. That's a 50. 50 ball. My quarterback gives me a shot, and. And I didn't make it. The ball was a little underthrown. Diggs went up to get it. The angle made it tough for him, and the guy made a heck of a play.
- [15:17]
A
My thought process is, it's the heat of the moment.
- [15:20]
B
Yeah.
- [15:20]
A
And. And these guys, it really is like every down is like another the memory resets type of thing. Every series, the memory resets. I can understand why Diggs was frustrated, because the Bills offense, it felt like, oh, sorry. I thought they were. I don't. Why are they yelling?
- [15:36]
B
Dude, you're yelling. We're talking.
- [15:38]
A
Okay. Plus, they must not know.
- [15:42]
B
Yeah. No.
- [15:43]
A
I can't remember.
- [15:44]
B
No. And the other guy I was going to mention was Gabe Davis. He had that one drop that hurts. The first drop he's had this year. But he made some phenomenal plays. The catch he made late was special. I know. He scored and they took it away. And he's like, screw you. I'm going to.
- [15:58]
A
The refs were horrendous. Horrendous.
- [16:01]
B
Here's what I wanted to say. I thought the calls were bad. And look, we're looking at it from a Bill's perspective, but there were 19 accepted penalties in this game. I said, hey, Roger, you want these people to enjoy the game? Tell these guys to put the flags in their pocket. For a while, it was just everybody.
- [16:17]
A
They were roughing the passer one on Josh. I was like, what are we doing?
- [16:20]
B
Yeah. It was just flags, flags, flags. The whole time. Sean Smith, the ref, your crew, flag happy. I just saw them walk out. I said to him, what's the deal? No, I didn't say that.
- [16:31]
A
Also, the one on Poyer. I thought Dan Fates had a phenomenal tweet. Like, what is Poyer supposed to do? Like, gently hug him till he falls to the ground?
- [16:39]
B
Hightower from the Patriots tweeted out, like, what are we supposed to do on that play? As a defender? Like, the guy. Is he. How does he know who has the ball or not? It's on a tip.
- [16:49]
A
Yeah.
- [16:49]
B
Terrible.
- [16:50]
A
Yeah.
- [16:50]
B
And one last thing. I wanted to bring up the people here. I thought the people here were awesome. People in London were great. And thank you. I heard from more people about Buffalo. Plus, they were wondering. They felt bad for Dan not being here. We did, too. And they wanted to know, where's Jenna? All set up. Because I was in the stands talking to a bunch of fans and I said, jenna's on the field. She's all good. But great response on Buffalo Plus. And we just had a local reporter from here in London come up.
- [17:17]
A
That was cool.
- [17:18]
B
And he was. I went, what an awesome voice that guy had.
- [17:20]
A
Yeah, yeah, he was really ugly, too. He wasn't.
- [17:27]
B
Yes. He's a handsome man who could talk. And he was like, mike, Jenna, I watched your video. I'm not doing. I'm not going to pretend to do his voice. It was.
- [17:36]
A
You were trying.
- [17:37]
B
He was MI6 kind of voice. Like, he had that. You know what that is?
- [17:40]
A
No.
- [17:40]
B
Yeah. It's like the FBI for them. Or CIA. One of. One of the two. Anyhow, he had that voice. He had the cool voice. But he said he watched our video to prep for the game. Now, that tells you the power of Buffalo Plus.
- [17:54]
A
Unreal. No, it was really cool. I was running up and down the sidelines and people were saying hi. Always appreciated.
- [18:00]
B
Here's his card if you want it.
- [18:01]
A
No, I got a boyfriend, but thanks. All right. Anything else?
- [18:06]
B
Nah, I just. I wish for the Bills fans, we were bringing home a win.
- [18:10]
A
Where does this. Where is this team at now?
- [18:12]
B
I think injuries is the biggest thing right now. They got to get healthy. They're playing the Giants at home right now while we're recording this. The Giants are still playing. A good team. Not a great team, but you're coming home. They just got to get healthy and see where they are. And really, some tough games on the schedule will be coming up. But if they get healthy, I think they'll be fine. The Milano thing is just going to hang over this team.
- [18:33]
A
Yeah, agreed. All right, well, thank you for joining us here on the Buffalo plus channel, presented by Connors and Ferris. For my Catalana, I am Jenna Cottrell. Please be sure to, like, comment and subscribe to the channel as well as share it with a friend. Friend. A Bills fan, if you will. We would appreciate it. Check out the Buffalo plus store. Buffaloplus store.com if you order over 25 over. Over 25 more. Yeah, words are hard.
- [18:58]
B
For the shipping.
- [18:58]
A
I will pay for the shipping.
- [18:59]
B
Look at that.
- [19:00]
A
Look at that. All right, from London, we have really enjoyed our time here. Thank you so much for tuning in. We appreciate it. For Mike. I'm Jenna. Thanks for watching. I forgot what I was saying.
- [19:11]
B
Stop this. Let me just.