Bills turn back the clock, stay loose to pile up wins
BUFFALO — Editor’s note: Leading up to the Ravens-Bills divisional-round matchup Saturday night, The Baltimore Sun will be sharing bonus coverage from our colleagues at The Buffalo News.
The Buffalo Bills have thrown it back to 1990, and not just in the way they’re scoring points.
In a video shot last week by WKBWTV’s Matt Bove, the team — with quarterback Josh Allen right in the middle — breaks it down to a 1990 classic: M.C. Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This.”
The 14-second clip quickly went viral. It had been viewed more than 2.3 million times as of Thursday, with fans expressing just how much they loved seeing Allen and his teammates getting loose. While the video may be short in duration, though, it goes a long way toward demonstrating the atmosphere at One Bills Drive. As the outside pressure builds, the Bills are seemingly oblivious to it.
“We don’t feel that pressure, this team,” Allen said. “We love each other. We love playing this game. At the end of the day, it is a game, so we love having fun, but our guys work extremely hard in practice because they don’t want to let each other down. The type of atmosphere that’s been built here in Buffalo, it really is family like. I can honestly say I love all my guys here. When I’m on the field, I’m playing for those guys as much as anybody that I’m playing for. … We’re going out there and playing this for each other and trying to win football games, but we’re having fun doing it, too.”
One of coach Sean McDermott’s favorite expressions when selling players on coming to the Bills centers on allowing them to become the best versions of themselves. Part of that involves allowing them to show off their personalities.
“He’s constantly saying let your emotions show and be who you are,” Allen said. “That’s why he’s one of the best coaches in the league, obviously, and why we’ve had some success here. We’ve got to continue to build on it. Guys aren’t afraid to be themselves here. We’re OK with having fun. Winning’s fun, losing’s not and we understand that, so at the same time, there’s that balance in between where we’ve got to find a way to be serious most of the times and let loose when we can.”
A few weeks ago, team owner Terry Pegula even got into the act, filming some of the players engaging in a snowball fight after practice. Cornerback Tre’Davious White asked afterward if the Bills’ social media team put Pegula’s video in HD for him, because he swore the owner was using a flip phone to record. While Hammer Time has gotten a lot of love, the truth is it’s not a new thing. The Bills have been doing it all season.
“I think that was the first time you guys actually caught us doing that,” safety Jordan Poyer said. “I think we do that every Friday when we break it up. That’s just who we are, man. It’s the culture that we’ve built here. Guys are loose. We’ve been in all these situations before, so there’s nothing that fazes us.”
That was evident Saturday. While all of Western New York had its collective heart in its throat during the final minutes of the game against the Colts, Bills defenders remained calm.
“Nobody blinked in the Colts game last week,” Poyer said. “Guys just went out there and did what we had to do. Nobody panicked. That’s the type of team that we have, man. It’s a fun group of guys to be around. A fun group of guys to come into work with. We just want to continue that swagger and success going into this weekend.”
Poyer has been a part of the culture built by McDermott for four years. Newcomers to the roster have quickly picked up on how things are here.
“I feel like it’s been perfect here as far as, like, with the people I’m around,” wide receiver Stefon Diggs said. “My coaching staff not only trusting me, but trusting that I’m a guy that they can lean on at times — not only just football, but as far as leading guys and holding people accountable. Knowing that I’m going to do my best to be on my job and I’m trying to hold people accountable coming from a place of trust and love. I want the best for everybody.