The final game of the farewell season, and Buffalo sends it off right with the thirty five to eight victory over the Jets.

As the Bills say goodbye to Hei Mark Stadium, Welcome into Bill's postgame Live.

He's Bill's wall famer, Steve Tasker.

I'm addi klab What a game fueled by mostly backups.

Buffalo's offense was on fire, so efficient.

The defense forced the Jets off the field drive after drive.

Yeah, they played really well.

Mitch Trubisky.

You got to tip your hat to him.

Twenty two of twenty nine, seventy six percent completion percentage.

The offense looked really good with every backup offensive lineman they could put in there, Cedric van prand Granger, who quit himself extremely well.

He's been waiting behind Connor McGovern for a chance.

Never gets one tonight.

He played, and he played well.

He's a mature guy.

And the offensive line did their job extremely well.

Trubisky made great decisions.

He had one bad decision that was dropped as an interception.

Uh, but you know you can see the the play right here.

Dawson Knox goes in for the touchdown that on the opening drive and Trubisky just kept it up.

They really played, you know, a nice game.

A lot of a lot of guys who have not seen a lot of action executed.

And that's you know, you get your guys down there where you've got your backup offensive line.

Uh you know, I mean Kean Coleman was in there.

Khalil Shakir didn't play very much.

Ray Davis had on a night he had all the guys, you know, just the backup players going in getting a chance.

You know, they're trying to rest guys.

Joshed it, he took a snap, that kind of stuff.

You got to tip your hat to the coaching staff for having their guys ready to play.

Certainly, the Jets were doing in the same boat as the Bills.

They're looking at guys trying to find out about their roster next year.

Their tear it down in this offseat.

They're trying to rebuild from the ground up.

So you were playing against the guys who weren't even Jets in a lot of cases at the beginning of the year.

Bill's coaching staff did a better job in this game, no question about it.

And their players came out and played, and what a night to send the stadium off.

There was stuff all through the stadium live for the people who were there, stuff going on, video on the scoreboard.

All the old dudes were back.

It was fun.

It was a great night, great night to be a member of the Mafia.

And I gotta say, the old red helmets really popped.

Man.

Look at it right on the desk, right here.

The red helmets.

The Bill's uniform combo was elite against the Jets as they had their final regular season game in high Mark Stadium, their last ever possibly game in a Highmark Stadium before they move across the street to the new high Mark Stadium for the twenty twenty sixth season.

Talking to players about these red helmets, Tredavious White was like, Maddie, We've been trying to make this happened since I've gotten here.

I'm so excited we got to wear it.

My favorite part was the Red Sox tied it all together perfectly.

It looked great.

The team comes out of the tunnel and the fans were into it.

You know that fans were into it, and you forget how good the Red Sox.

I'm with you, Maddie.

The Red Sox make it pop.

Yeah, the Red sox and on tack, capped off with the red helmet, the blue jerseys, the clean stripes on the shoulders.

There's just nothing, but you know, nothing to dislike about that whole get up.

And of course the team came out and piled on the Jets, which was icing on the cake.

Look good, play good, feel good.

That's the motto, and the Bills did it in Week eighteen against the Jets.

Buffalo had already punched their ticket to the playoffs, so in tonight's game, you didn't have to play the starters.

That's why Bill's quarterback Josh Allen took a snap and then sat down, got the start so we can continue his start streak.

And it was all about the back in this game.

You love to be in a place where you're in the postseason and you have a chance to rest some guys and let some backups truly get a shot at things.

And it really helps.

Because you need depth in the playoffs.

You get a good look at some of these guys.

And say, Okay, we're happy with what we have as we move into the dance.

Yeah, and it's also a chance because you know these rosters are gonna churn that it's kind of the state of the National Football League right now where young players backup players, they're going to try and get a hook on with a team where they can actually get on the field.

It's Buffalo's pretty good roster, and it's hard for these guys sometimes to make their way onto it, particular when you got a guy like Josh and James Cook, Kinkaid and knocks hard for the skilled players to get out there.

Khalil Shakir, these guys wanted a chance to get some stuff on film show that they belong to the National Football League.

It's important on a personal basis, but it's also when you're in the locker room, Maddie, you know, you're in there with these guys.

You're practicing every day.

You've been there for four and a half five months, all through the off season, and to never get a chance for the young for Mitch Trubisky to show Josh he's what he can do, because they're friends, say, you know, and it's good for Josh to see it.

And it's great for James Cook to watch Ray Davis and those guys and Ty Johnson, those guys carry the load.

It's fun for you know, for Spencer Brown and Dion Dawkins to sit back and watch Vandermark and said Van prand Granger.

It is fun in the locker room for the guys who are there every week to take a week off and let their guys come out and play and play well.

It is a blast and it's really good for the vibe in the locker room.

It'll be good going forward.

The Bills finished the regular season twelve and five.

They have forty nine home wins since twenty twenty.

That's most in the NFL over that span.

You talk about having fun in this game, well, Bill's quarterback backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky wanted to know every single player incentive that could hit ahead of this game because he is He wanted to make sure he could help his brothers out.

He's now in the locker room after this game.

Was hear what he had to say?

Cool?

What's up?

How are we doing good?

How are you.

So rich?

Just tell us what was the atmosphere like?

And you know you getting the nod on this final farewell game right here?

It was awesome.

I mean, the fans showed out as usual, Bill's Mafia, the best fans.

It was a fun night.

We're just trying to stay focused on like giving them a good show, executting well and pump points on the board.

The great the guys did a great job rallying all week, and uh we just really wanted to perform well one last time in the stadium for them, and uh that amosphere special.

I had to They started to play.

Slow music at the end there I had to get off the field.

Uh it was pretty cool.

It's it was awesome man.

Now, I mean, you know this is just second to state here and you know this is the final game in the stadium.

So what I mean, what are their emotions for you?

Like, you know what I mean just being here.

I'm just grateful, grateful for this opportunity.

I mean, all glory to God for giving us just this opportunity to play this game, bring bringing me and my family to Buffalo, to experience these fans, these teammates, in.

That locker room.

It's just a special place to be and you really don't understand it.

So you get here, and that's why I wanted to come back, to be a part of something special and bigger than myself.

So just to go out there one more time execute with the boys have some fun and put on the show.

It was.

It was a fun night, Mitch.

What does it do for guys who don't really get as much time to play to have a.

Week like this to get reps before the playoffs?

For sure, I think it's huge for development and just like overall confidence of the team, you see the next guys stop in and step in and perform well.

I mean a bunch of old linemen played tonight, a bunch of guys on defense, wideouts, running backs mixing in.

I think it just builds confidence throughout the team.

And I just saw a lot of excitement for guys who were who knew they were getting the not and getting called upon to to just go even harder in practice, lock into the game plan and really put a good performance out there for for the for the squad.

Sean was pretty boy with us.

At least would be playing with this week?

Or how much?

When did you have a good sense of how much you did punch today?

Pretty much like when I was taking all the reps in practice.

Uh, Wednesday and Thursday, I.

Had a good idea of it and I kind of knew that was how it was going to go.

So I had a pretty good idea.

They told me I was going to play a good bit.

I thought it was smart what we did.

Would Josh allow him to rest, and I think it's important that he keeps those that start street going, which is pretty cool.

And I just love being his teammate.

And so I just figured out throughout the week how kind of was going to go when the coach did a great job of communicating like what that plan was going to look like a personal level today, just that I could execute this offense and really just showing my teammates that I can come in there and make plays for this for this offense and and just and just run it.

So, uh, I just wanted to leave the guys today and put on a good performance for the fans.

And uh I thought it all started with preparation throughout the week and really the guys just having confidence in me to go out there and and let me play my game.

There's still, like I don't.

Know, seventy percent of the stadium is still out there right now.

If you put into words just what it was like to be a part of this game this morning.

I think those last three victory neils to end the game where it was probably like the coolest like Victory Neils I've been a part of.

The fans were going nuts.

It's kind of just soaking it all in.

I thought it was really cool, and it's you just can't duplicate that.

You can't.

It's there's just so many memories and everything wrapped into the stadium.

It's just I think it just means a lot to everybody involved, and it was it was good to go out the way we did tonight.

D you're preparing for the Jets, are you able to kind of look at some possible matchups with different playoff teams as well?

Now, we were really just focused on the Jets and the game plan, the job at hand.

So we really just locked into that and we'll find out who we play.

Shortly, I'm sure.

And went and where and we'll go from there.

Notunt of sack amount of pressure, just kind of talk about you know, your center in sixty two and Will he was out there.

Yeah, I said.

They did a great job of communication all week.

I mean, he was locked in, we were excited to go.

Me and him have a great connection and it's great communication for from blitz pick up to going through all the run game and everything those guys up front.

I mean, they did a great job for me tonight.

Kenny Clean and Uh, I mean, I couldn't be more thankful for them that they go out and perform the way they.

Did so so I could just go back there and throw the ball.

So they're love those guys, and they played at their tails off tonight.

Than two yard pass for Regie Gilliam was to get him.

And that was awesome.

I mean, Reggie does so many things for his team, special teams, blocking, can run the ball, catch the ball.

He's a special athlete and it was nice to getting him an explosive catch down the field.

I heard the fans chanting for him in the red zone.

We were trying to get him one.

But when you got the fans chant your name, the defense kind of knows what's coming a little bit.

So he's just an incredible teammate and whatever you ask him to do, he's gonna go out there and give you a hundred and ten percent.

He's he's a special player for this team.

You got to talk about that first touchdown, Dawston not to maybe or Darkson may take you out the dinner.

He might, he might.

We'll see about that.

Yeah, it'd be a real nice stake the Jets on.

All season now fout an interception.

Was that something you knew going into the state of something you thought about at all way?

Yeah, somebody said that throughout the week, and it was kind of like when a pitcher's throwing a no hitter, you shouldn't mention that, And I was just like, man, you can't say that for the last one.

But I just wanted to go out there and protect the ball as always, be smart, find our playmakers and just going back to the guys blocking up front, it just allowed me to go out there and find completions.

The way they were giving me time and the protecting me.

Those at the red helmets, those are.

Sweet, aren't they something special about it?

It's just the nostalgia being in the stadium looking like the old Bills.

It was pretty sweet.

So I was a big fan of them all week looking at him, and it just it felt pretty special.

Thank you guys.

That was Bill's quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who completed seventy six percent of his passes four touchdowns.

Password and Trubisky said that was the right way to send it off, and we'd now like to welcome former Bills safety George Wilson to the conversation Who's with the Bills from two.

Thousand and four to twenty twelve?

George Happier Here Happier part of the conversation.

Now walking into the stadium today knowing it was going to be the last one at Heimark Stadium, what moments flooded your mind?

For me?

It was Monday night football against the Dallas Cowboys when I got my first career start once I made the position change to safety.

I got a pick six on for Romo.

And to open up that game, and it really propelled me into the second half of my career.

As a defensive back.

Another one comes to mind where we finally ended the streak against the losing streak against the Patriots in twenty eleven, very electric atmosphere.

We put up a lot of points on them, We got about four or five turnovers off of their offense, and it was just a great memory and just pulling up the snowflakes starting the fall.

It was like God was graceless, just the perfect I'm beyond to close out how mark after victory today we.

Also had the time we had a conversation just a minute before he came on about you know the fact that the guys behind you, you know, Trubisky, Ray Davis, and you know the offensive line and all those guys defensive linemen.

You know, it's a chance for those guys who've been on the practice field in the locker room.

They're close friends with all of these guys, all the star players.

Everybody knows so well.

But it's the the finger quotes others who've got a chance to come out and play, And how fun is it for those guys come out and play so well and win a game like that while you know all the you know, the Josh Allens of the world are standing there watching.

It's it's a lot of fun watching those guys do that.

Yeah, yes, indeed it is.

And I've been on both sides of that.

You know, I've been a starter, I was a reserved and those guys, you know, those are the hidden heroes.

Those are guys giving you the looks weekend and week out, preparing you for the games on Sundays and at the toa of the opportunity to play at the end of the season's some meaningful snaps.

Be able to.

Hear your name called over the Pa Speaker, let your family see you make some plays on television.

I think it just.

Really goes a long way to really boost them arale in the locker room.

And it's gonna be a fun film session where guys joke in and laughing and praising you for you know, all the work and your sacrifices that you made.

The does it does make the starters, and it's it's great for them to see their buddy, their guys on the team be successful and still be a part of it.

Even you know, Josh is over there in a poncho for the whole game, and so are all the offensive linemen.

All those guys are over there in baseball caps.

But to go out, it's way better than any preseason game or anything like that.

This one counted.

It's always gonna count and if this one is particularly historic because it's the last game in that stadium, that it does speak to the culture.

And you know, who knows how it's gonna You know, you don't know how the game is gonna turn out before it kicks off, but it does speak to the culture that the team put those guys out there and it and it worked out so well.

Yeah, I agree, I mean in between drives, after the scoring drive, after defensive stops, the starters were running onto the field, greeting the guys coming off, coming off the field, celebrating with them.

But I think it definitely going into the playoffs, having our reserves play so many snaps, making plays tonight, it really is gonna incentivize them and excite them to go back to work, give an even better look now that we're preparing for the tournament, the playoffs.

Every game matters, and it's.

Gonna make guys care that much more because they got a little taste of playing time today.

Speaking of incentiviz, it was so fun to see so many different players hit incentives today, see them get into the end zone, see them catch a pass and the arms go up, and you know, judging money in the bank for so many players.

The all time record at heim Mark Stadium two forty seven, one sixty three.

McDermott's record at Hei Mark Stadium is fifty six and nineteen.

So many seasons to remember.

George, you talked about the ambiance walking into the stadium, the snow falling, You were in the crowd watching it all happen tonight.

What was the atmosphere, like in the crowd.

You know, I think it was excitement, but also it was bittersweet.

You know, there's so many families that have created memories, fathers and sons, parents with their children, you know, grandparents bringing their children, you know, the introduction to Bills mafia and understanding what it means to be a Bills fan through and through, and so there's so many families that had so many memories and that is connected to the team.

I mean this unlike most NFL cities, there's not too many communities where the football team's performance on Sunday sets the tone for the work.

We went on Monday more and this is no better place.

A blue collar city, blue collar people, they're hard working people, they're passionate about their Bills.

And it was a lot of excitement, but I think it was a lot of a lot of a lot of bittersweet moments and memories, just trying to hold onto the past but be hopeful as we look to the Yeah, you.

Can see is we're cutting away.

There's a lot of tears being shipped and I you know, you know people, you know, I've been here in town for decades now, and you know, just story after story about people who had their first date at a Bill's game, met at a Bill's game, got proposed to at a Bill's game, have been married in the stadium, that the whole thing.

Wedding pictures on campus.

Here are different spots going to I met a guy today, went to his first game with his grandpa who's obviously no longer with us.

Story after story after story.

And that's one of the reasons why the Bill's Mafia is so different, because it's baked into your family heritage.

If you're from Western New York and you go out and you see the Bill's Mafia now is worldwide and they're everywhere, but the connection is always back to this region.

They always have somebody who told them who grew up, or they had a dad who they've never even been to Buffalo, but their dad was from Buffalo, or their mom was from Buffalo.

You could see that played out in the emotions on people's face tonight, and it's hard to remember that it's not going anywhere, just it's just moving across the street, moving the party.

But like we were talking about this too many, we don't even know what it's gonna be like for us in the news.

We don't know where we're gonna sit.

We don't know where the booth is, our tickets are, you know, we got I got no, I got no.

I don't know where I'm gonna park.

I got no idea.

So and that, you know that change.

It's scary.

You know, it's scary for all and not you know what I mean.

It's just gonna be like hash.

I hope it's okay.

You know, you know it was okay.

And this building it is hard to say goodbye.

They're gonna walk us into the new stadium like little ducklings for this tour.

Okay, Steve, this is.

Where you're gonna go to watch the game.

And your coat here, put your goloshes there, leave your book bag there.

This is your locker.

Yeah, it's exactly right.

The Bills called Heimark Stadium home for fifty three amazing seasons, and talking to players throughout the week, you could tell this game meant something to them as well, reflecting on their time as a Buffalo Bill up until this moment, and also hearing about what they're going to do in their pregame routine to make sure they soak it up those last the very last seconds that they have in that stay and make sure they do it right, make sure they send off Heimark Stadium in the right way.

Dion Dawkins said, I'm going to remember driving into the stadium, basically driving through the parking lot where fans are tailgating, and the fans are setting the tone for.

Us before we even hit the field.

I'm vibing off of what they are doing in the parking lot.

Amazing stories to hear from our players as well, George, as you went through this game and reflected on the moments, here's a Buffalo bill.

Did any moments get you teary eyed?

Tonight?

Walking in the stadium with my son, it was reflective, just wishing I had more opportunities to show them this stadium.

Another one was when we were leaving the field at halftime, just having the thought, this is the place that birthed my NFL dreams, and this is the last time that I'm going to walk off of this field.

That was something that was very emotional.

It was something that I really wasn't expecting, but it was something that I that I I honored.

I didn't try to brush it aside, and I just took a moment to spin around, take a view one more time, take a deep breath, and just enjoy the roar of the crowd one last time before walking off the field.

Very very sentimental, and a moment I remember the rest of.

My life so awesome.

I want to do a huge shared album with everyone who is at the game tonight, the fans, the media, members, the players.

Any pictures taken, I want to see them all because you're capturing a moment in time that means so much to so many.

George, thanks for stopping by the studio and coming on to reflect on the last game at Heimarch Stadium and all the games that you played in here as a bill.

Thank you for the opportunity always play.

All right, as we move on, we're gonna hit Ray Davis, who was on the podium after for this big win.

I drink this yeah, okay.

O great?

Just what was working for you today?

You know, just trusting myself and believing in this scheme, and you know, going out there and just taking an opportunity I was given today, man, And you know, I just want to show everybody I am who I am, and you know I deserve to be in the league, and and I have all the confidence in myself to go out there and play ball.

I also had a great game.

Is what was it like seeing, you know, another one of your running back teammates have a great day?

Man?

I love it, you know, I love to be able to see the production from all of us, right you know, Jimbo setting the tone, is setting the pace, and you know, then me and Todd just going out there and doing what we got to do, whether you know we're.

Running the ball, pass, pro catching, whatever it is.

You know, just being able to see the success that all the three of us continue to have has been pretty fun.

And we all feed off each other, you know, we all communicate with each other, and that's a good thing.

As soon as we come off the sideline and James is talking, Ties talking, I'm talking, and.

Uh, We're just trying to continue to be the best group we can be.

Being a part of this game, knowing that it's probably the last one here, knowing what it means to the fans.

It was special, you know, to be able to see what it meant to just some of the guys.

You know, there's guys who have been there for a decade read and you know, there's guys who've been here for quite a year, who put their blosd, sweat and tears on that field, right So to be able to see just see the guys embrace it and to go out with a win, and and and let the city of Buffalo feel special, know that this was a special one for them.

It's pretty cool.

I've been here for two years, so obviously it's been special throughout the two years that I've been here.

But to know that I was able to play a little bit of a small part on that field to bring some happiness and hopefully everybody goes home and get drunk and just embrace it.

Kind of because of the score and what it was, did you get a chance to maybe take a second and really look around during the game when everybody was singing and everything.

Oh hell yeah.

I mean when Bryce said I came on, I think it was pretty fun.

Man.

I was waiting for it, and they did at the perfect time.

But just see the fans, man, we been through We've been through a lot.

You look at the first game of the season, you know, we came back, we fought, and we were able to win that game, and you just see the excitement from the fans, and then you look at the last game of the season, so you know, I'm pretty sure they'll they'll have they'll enjoy us for a while.

Now you get red helmets.

Red helmets, man, they were cool, and you know, I think I think again, I think we have the best uniforms in the NFL.

I think, you know what I'm saying, the old school, the mixture of the old school, mixture of the new school.

So it was pretty cool to wear.

I'm taking it though.

Would you like the way about the way Mitch played.

Today, Man, Mitch is a dog.

What he almost threw for almost close to three hundred yards or something like that.

Man, I mean, he was poised.

He came in the pocket every time and just continue to tell us to keep our heads up and keep going, to keep fighting, don't let up.

And to be able to see his energy and how he how.

He played and you know, again he stepped up to the plate and did what he had to do.

And that's why you know we got Mitch, cause he's gonna step in and do what he has to do.

All right, Thank you, have a great day.

That was Bill's running back Ray Davis, and what a day for him.

A career day for ray Davis as he goes one fifty one on the ground, average seven point two yards per carry.

He was handed the rock twenty one times.

This was a game that was all about him.

He's a bowling ball out there, bulldozes through defenses and you can see his talented two years in the NFL.

Absolutely, Ray Davis was an absolute monster tonight.

He was an absolute monster.

He averaged seven point two of carry on twenty one carries.

Just absolutely tore him up.

And we kind of you know, there's a lot of people out here love him, like watch him play, hope the best form stuff, but you didn't know he's gonna have a day like that.

And Reggie Gilliam also deserves some flowers too.

He had a fantastic game, made a couple of catches, and there's the guy who's you know, Reggie Briggie at fullback and fullbacks you know never get flowers.

He deserve some today.

Great game.

The offensive line played extremely well.

You just got to be really happy for Ray Davis.

He carried the load.

He was the engine that made the offense work.

Mitch Trubisky benefited from him because once ray Davis got going, the play action was there, and Mitch Trubisky is of twenty two, of twenty nine and just crushes it.

So he's he's you know, you really got to just love how this game turned out.

Really a storybook ending for the stadium, and it's a lot of fun for all these guys who are gonna think back on this state and think back on this and say, and I was there, I was I played in that game.

It was big, we won.

It was awesome, A lot of fun for the Bills players on every part of the roster.

I know how fun it was for Josh and for you know, Khalil Shakir and all these guys to stand over there, for you know, for Spencer Brown, Dion Dawkins, Connor McGovern to stand over there and watch these guys play and play so well.

It's got to be just an absolute hoot for them.

What a fun night we saw on the broadcast.

They cut to a shot of Josh Allen with the headset.

On and he is smiling ear to ear, and you just.

Gotta know Alan is absolutely loving watching his boys have so much fun.

On the field.

Thirty five points scored by the offense.

Mitchell Trubisky went off for four touchdowns.

Of one forty two passer rating.

In his third season with the Bills, Trubisky said, I'm feeling so much more comfortable in this system.

Heading into the year, Trubisky said, I want to do a better job with my ball placement, and I want to do a better job of really controlling things and being efficient.

Trubisky did absolutely that today.

His ball placement on some of those throws were fantastic.

Yeah, I'll say this too.

You can say what you want about you know, about the rosters around him, and but Trubisky was on time here, which tells it if Mitch t Bisky wants to go someplace and have a chance, if he's going to go, you know, if he ends up on the Jets, I mean, for crazy, the Jets, you're going to look for a quarterback this offseason.

This kind of thing too.

It wasn't so much that he was playing a bad roster with his and the Bills were playing backups.

Mister Bisky was on time mentally, So you can bet the clubs and coaches, NFL coaches are out there thinking, you know, the guy knows what's going on.

His lights are on.

He can make the right decision, he can make the throws.

Let's take a look at him, you know that kind of thing.

And because of the fact that you know, he was running an offense against on time with executions, so if they can do it around him, he proved tonight he can get it done.

So the game for whatever you think about the execution, whatever the Jets are this year or what they are not, this is a game that happened as fast as an NFL regular season game happens.

Guys are running full speed, guys are playing hard, and it's happening fast, and Trubisky was on time and on the money, made the right decisions.

He had one mistake, it was a dropped interception.

He had a one forty two quarterback rate and he was twenty two of twenty nine.

Had a running game tonight that worked for him, So you know, when it's working around him, mister Bisky be a guy that can win games in the NFL.

And that's what this is kind of about.

For those guys tonight, you want to carve out a career for yourself, but they had a lot of fun doing it tonight too as well.

So it's hard to have envisioned this game going any better for the Bills than it did.

It was a party on the sidelines for sure.

The Bills pick up their twelfth win of the regular season, and with that win, head coach Sean McDermott now has twelve wins in four different seasons as Buffalo's head coach, the first Bill's coach to do so in Bill's history.

We're gonna go over to McDermott, who's now on the podium right now.

Last once right, Great to get a win, Real, proud of the guys, real, proud of the staff, the way they got the guys ready to go.

Great environment, special environment.

Really appreciate the fans showing up the way that they did and staying there the whole game.

Just looking up in the stands from where I stood on the sideline, didn't look like many people left at all, which is not surprising, but very much appreciated.

I want to thank the staff who worked to get the stadium ready.

When you think about it, eighteen plus inches of snow and all the work that went into getting the getting the stadium number one, you know, playable and number two safe for everyone who who came to the game tonight and can't bank, everyone enough who who chipped into that effort and gave their time and energy to get us ready to go here.

So it means a lot.

It means a lot to me and our team.

And had a chance to get over here last night and met some of the workers, pretty special people, you know, hearing their stories coming from all over Texas.

One of the guys I met worked at Harvard and yet showed up as a Bills fan to help shovel shove the stadium out, which is pretty cool anyway.

I really appreciate that and again, great to get a win.

I'm now looking forward to to getting ready for the playoffs here.

So with that, I'll take your questions.

Sean as a sendoff goes for what could be the last, very wet, last game year, the celebratory appeal to that game with you know, and and to win the way you did.

What did that mean to do?

Yeah?

It was important, you know, I said it last week at the beginning of the week, And this game was important to us as an organization, it was important to me as a coach, it was important to us as a staff, important to the players, and I really appreciate them taking it that way and their approach and you know, when you have it was a delicate balance as you guys saw of hey, the health of some of the players, keeping other players managed in terms of their rep counts, and giving some some young guys opportunities and some new guys who have joined us opportunities to play so we could see what what they bring to the table.

And so it was a little bit of a of a challenge during the week.

But I thought the staff did a final job, as did the players, really focusing in on, you know, our standard and and how we play and and and it showed up, you know, on the field early.

So you know, I to my cap to those guys and the way that they prepared and came out ready to play.

Did you have a chance to look back at the crowd.

Oh yeah, they didn't lead, They didn't I mean through this game.

What was your feelings that way?

I mean, I've I've felt a little guilty at times looking up in the stams.

I'm supposed to be coaching, you know, but I guess I haven't done that a lot, just because you're so focused trying to do your job.

And but but when we got to a spot where in the fourth quarter after scoring and we were getting our kickoff team ready, just taking a taking a second or two to look up into the stands, people singing mister Bright's side, And I mean, come on, how do you where else does that happen in the NFL?

Right?

That type of togetherness, that type of fellowship community love, you know, of their team and and of each other.

And I'll never forget it.

Special moment.

A couple of downsides that looked like with Crater and a max do you know anything?

And and the math seems like it's at a significantly to heat on.

A kick anything.

Yeah, you know, it happens in the second quarter.

So we started putting a plan in the place, and then we get into a halftime and we're told he's you can't go at all.

So yeah, it's we'll have to see what it looks like tomorrow.

I'm sure they'll get some some films of it and and we'll know a little bit more.

But yeah, unfortunate.

What have.

Yeah, a little bit of an ankle, you know, really would have preferred not to have one of Herem or Trey out there, but we were in a situation where we're out of ups and didn't have another corner to go to on the active you know at that point, so I think Dame Danes practice squad.

Yeah, and so we were out of practice squad ups.

We had two already being used, and so it's unfortunate there.

But we'll see see where it goes here.

Well, you are aware at all about the about the Houston game and the possibility of if they had washed, you could have gotten to the fifth seed.

I mean before the game, Yeah, were you at.

Least paying attention or even wondering what.

Was going on?

Oh?

Yeah, yeah, I had it.

I had I had it on and uh in my locker, yep, I was aware.

So yeah, how telp was the James Coke decision and kind of with trying to get him the rushing title, but he's such a key part of what.

You wanna do going for Yeah, I mean, I'm sure if he got hurt, you know, people probably not let me walk.

They'd make me walk home or burn my car.

I don't know, you know, but the that's the you know, that was part of the give and take of the week of Okay, how how long do we go?

I gave him a quarter, as I told Joe during the week I was like, all right, he's going to have a quarter and no more.

And then after as I got closer and closer to the game, I'm like quarters too much.

So I'm probably not a great gambler in the casinos.

But it helped when we knew what what Jonathan Taylor in the afternoon he had and so but we also wanted to know where in terms of tonight's game, where that could go.

And it felt like it was I still pray that you know, he wins it, he deserves.

It felt like we could get him to you know, one fifty, somewhere in one fifty in terms of the the spread between him and Derrick Henry and we'll see, did the best we could and trying to be fair, fair James, and yet take care of the fair to the team as well.

So, John, what's the transition like Medley for you going from this, you know, this celebration, as you said, and understanding what it meant to the community, to the fans community, and where your head was with that knowing come up next is the you know, the be all end all the playoffs, so lot, how do you how.

Have you transitioned already?

There no honest say already there, Vic.

That's that's what we do.

That's that's who I am.

In terms of my wife would tell you, I'm I'm pretty good at compartmentalizing things.

So yeah, that's that's where my head is already right now, is ready to ready to put in the work to get ourselves ready to go to play our best football.

That's what this this time of the year, that's what it takes.

You can't beat yourself.

You gotta play good, solid football and uh, you know, we'll have a big challenge ahead of us here.

Talk about a lot of last times at this stadium.

I know, like I hear people saying.

Last time at four o'clock or have I ever heard some of that talk?

But is it possible you use this, I mean for the right this and stuff.

You guys still when you play on outside, which would you practice in the stadium.

Yeah?

Maybe, I don't know.

I'm my mind is yeah, no, my mind is uh not there right now.

It's a interesting thought to him, so possibly, I I don't know.

I mean, I'm just my mind is focused on putting the work for this next game here.

So to marw yes, yeah, I appreciate Jeff Zurich our equipment guy.

His staff do a great job and it was in my locker.

Jeff shot me a picture of it last night, and uh, it was pretty cool, you know.

So I want to make sure honor coach coach leave.

He's been great to me.

What a class act.

Everybody knows, you know, every all Buffalonians and Bill's fans know him.

And it's really special when and I think I've said this before, when a coach who had who is a true legend, is also a class act and has been very very generous to me, has shared uh you know, wisdom with me over the years.

His family's embraced me and my family and we did.

I hold him in high regard and and his entire family are just true class people.

Why was it important to get Dalton Kincaid some some actions.

Well, he hadn't really you know, he hadn't played in a little bit and had been kind of you know, practicing not practicing.

You guys are aware, we talk about that almost every day.

So I thought it was important that we got him going a little bit, but not too much to where he was too sore to come back and practice this past week.

So just just some momentum some wind at his back a little bit here.

I thought that was important for him and he did, he did, and he did a good job.

Loved him, Yeah, I loved him.

Yeah.

Will we see them again?

I don't We'll see.

I don't know.

That's a private question for for the for ownership.

I don't know.

Did you get a chance at any point this week into hang out with some of them, you know, Jim, all the guys that were here at ju.

Uh I saw I Suh, I saw Jim and Uh Anthony Brown's pharmacy on Friday night.

Yeah, you think I'm lying.

I I did er.

I was uh picking up something that I hear Jim's voice at the cash This is a true story.

Cash register and it's like six o'clock on Friday evening and I walk up and Jim was there, and so we shared a couple couple minutes of a conversation and it was good to see him.

And then I saw I see you know, Steve every day.

And then I saw Andre uh before the game, met his son, and so I mean, it's really it's really special that those guys are all you know, most of 'em are around quite a bit, and but in the community, and and they're awesome.

They've been so supportive of of us, what we do, how we do things, and appreciative of the way we go about handling things.

So it's it's been great.

It's been a great partnership.

I was real key you reflect on your first game here as head coach to this frame.

One here at Hunt.

Uh, probably a little less hair maybe than I had then, the way I remember it was a full head of hair back then.

I don't I do what you guys saw.

But that was a joke that yeah, No, I mean it's you know what what nine seasons does to you?

What the the lessons you learn as a as a coach, but also the lessons you learn as a man, the way you develop gratitude, the way I've developed gratitude for so many things over the years, And maybe that's just the journey of life, right and even tonight, like you know, taking the time, like I said, I did, to maybe get outside of my job for a second to appreciate and take in the moments of watching the fan as doesn't happen you know all the n you know everywhere, or that's a once in a lifetime, like I said, that's not that's that's that's not coach speak.

It's you don't get an opportunity like that a lot, especially when you're down the sideline trying to do trying to do a good job.

So yeah, and you just learn over the years and you're you appreciate things, I think more and more because life moves fast, trying.

Because you kind of turn out you you mentioned already being kind of in playing well as a Succeeed, you do a mentality that you have to kind of cultivate this.

Week to prepare for when you guys have to set out the truck and you're on the road the.

Next couple of weeks.

Yeah, we're gonna have to be a tough football team.

That's where it starts.

And you can't beat yourself.

So there's more to it than that.

But you know, we're gonna gotta it's an important week for us here obviously, and we've got a lot of work to do, and gotta check the injury report because we've got some injury popped up again here.

So I think that's the first step to know who's available for us.

That'll be that'll be a first thing tomorrow morning.

Idem on the to do list here.

All right, Thank you guys, appreciated that.

Sean yep.

This week's game is presented by Heimark Blue cross Bowshield, the official health plan of the Buffalo Bills.

Because Life McDermott said they wanted to do James Cook justice in this game.

Wanted to be fair for Cook and fair for the team because James Cook could be the rushing title winner of the twenty twenty five season.

Had fifteen rushing yards today, so that brings him to sixteen twenty one on the season, one hundred and fifty two rushing yards ahead of running back to Derrick Henry who plays tonight on Sunday Night Football.

Yeah, it's a tough balance.

It's a tough needle to thread, particularly since the Steelers Ravens play tonight.

He's got on a finger quote, it's a comfortable lead, one hundred and something yard and right, yeah, one fifty.

It's a hard needle to thread.

You need James Cook to be effective in the playoffs.

The ultimate goal is the super Bowl and you're the sixth seed.

I get it.

It's a long shot.

You gotta win three road games and all that.

It's a big mountain.

You're not gonna climb it without him.

You need him, And yeah, you'd love to get him the rushing title, you really would.

I think the club would love it.

James would love it, His teammates would love It'd be good for your team.

I would say something about your what you've accomplished this year.

It's a big feather in the cap.

It's a huge accomplishment, not just for James Cook, for everybody, for Joe Brady, for the offensive line, for Josh for goodness sake, just being the guy to hand it to him.

Everybody wants it for the guy, but you need him, and this game was a laugher.

You didn't need him.

Sometimes it happens that way.

They gave him a shot at it.

He's got a chance.

Maybe it'll happen, and if it does, awesome.

But that is a really difficult needle to thread for any organization, and the Bills did their best.

Fingers crossed that James Cook gets it.

I know a lot of us will be watching every single play unfold as Sunday night football is set to begin here shortly.

The Bills are the number six seed in the playoffs.

That means they'll face the Jacksonville Jaguars.

On the road.

Jaguars have had an incredible second half of the season.

Trevor Lawrence has really come to life.

Their offense has been great, and their defense has stopped a lot of different teams.

Their offense is playing as well as any offense in the league right now.

I mean they're on a heater a ton of game.

They've won a ton of games in the row.

I told this to Brownie over that I don't know if you want to show up in the playoffs or in the NFL, you know, on a big heater.

Jacksonville has won like eight games in a row.

That's hard to do.

Because if they're going to go on and that all their hopes and dreams are gonna come true they got that means they'll have to win like a twelve games in a row.

That's hard to do even in the regular season, let alone with against three playoff teams and then a you know, fourth one in the Super Bowl.

It's hard to do.

The Bills dropped one last week to the defending World champions by a point.

You all saw, you know, the two point conversion, you know, and that's I'm okay.

I don't want to have to win my fifteenth game in a row to get to the super Bowl.

Jacksonville is playing extremely well.

There's no they're no joke.

They are real.

Trevor Lawrence with change with their head coach.

I can't remember his name right now, that the Liam Cohen And yeah there it's gonna be rough road playoff game.

The Bills in their history are zero and two in the playoffs against Jacksonville.

It goes back a while, but remember they were the team that the Bills broke the drought again, went down to Jacksonville, got beat.

Yeah, but I'll say this as well, I ain't nobody's standing in the line to get a chance to beat this team.

The best team.

In the second half, we'll see the Bills to play.

It is a ten round fight.

When the Bills face a really.

Good opponent, it is not over until.

The clock strike zero.

That's right, That is totally right.

Steve.

You called Buffalo home in terms of the team you played for nineteen eighty six to nineteen ninety seven.

You love to hear so much.

You said, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna stay here.

Yeah, we never left seven Pro Bowls, your first team All Pro, five different times.

Your name is on Hei Mark Stadium.

How can you put into words what Hei Mark Stadium means to you in your career.

Yeah, my wife and I got here, picked up and we were here overnight.

I couldn't have found Buffalo on a map, so we show up.

We have five kids, they're all married.

I have grandkids.

I have a number eleven and number twelve grandkid on the way.

Buffalo has become more than just a place where I have worked and lived at his home.

Yeah, we're lifers here, and you know, changing from this side of the street to the other side of the street, it's not going to change that.

I was very proud of the fans today, the way they showed up.

I had a chance.

As you might know, I'm I'm a tailgater so and because of because of because my name's on the wall, and because I'm on one bills live.

Every day we do some content.

We shoot some content for some tailgate tailgate tag along on Tuesdays.

You'll see it on Tuesday.

We did it today and then after that I get a golf I have a golf cart, and Ilu and I can stop at some special places where I always stop.

Today I had a chance to stop with some friends of mine.

And this is a group of guys who grew up Bills Fans.

They're local guys.

They both come from they all come from big families, so they're lifers and they've got deep roots here.

So you know, they're the guys that are gonna they were going to stage a photo of them going over the fence without paying, because that's what they did as kids.

I pull up and we were they were in a quiet well quiet, I say, quiet.

I pull up and they're having a tailgate and their friends and I were I'm sitting around.

I was smoking a cigar and we're and I was.

I had glass bottle of water and they were all having beers and I'm standing there and I said, wait, wait, what is And I listened.

And my wife even notices too, she was at the game today.

We touched bases before we went in.

I said, quite quite quiet, and we all got quiet around the fire and we listened, and out through the trees on the other side of twenty A, it was, you know, two hundred yards from twenty A off back.

It was back in those trees off of twenty A there between the two nineteen and abed and it's all back in there.

You could hear people the excitement in their voice everywhere.

It was like Woodstock.

It was like the apocalypse.

It was like something was happening right then.

Forget people were just having fun.

It was a crowd noise before the crowd gathered.

Driving in today and seeing tailgate after tailgate after tailgate after tailgate, I mean you can tell sometimes when it's beefed up for these games.

I it was packed.

Every person here was part of a tailgate.

They didn't show up, make their way into the stadium and just sit down.

They were all there all day to say goodbye to the stadium and to in some way say thanks to all old guys like me and guys like George was just with us.

I can't say enough about that atmosphere and the Seohn said of the fellowship that goes on at games like this, there's nothing else else like it.

And it's probably going to continue in the new building.

But like you said, you don't know what change is going to bring, and certainly nobody wants to see too much change about what we saw today.

Yeah, it is a special place, for sure.

You are busy man today.

I mean busy.

You were the legend of the game.

Down on the field, pregame, getting the getting the entire stadium amped up and ready to go.

Second quarter you went on the CBS broadcast, did a great job, and then a halftime you're down in the field with all the bills legends.

I had a great If those are you in the stadium, you probably saw the hat I was wearing, the big I had a huge fur hat.

Incredible, all right.

So I had this big hat, I had a baseball cap and I was coming in with my wife and my oldest son.

He was here and he had the hat on, and I would like to say, he said, Dad, you know you need I totally boguarded that hat from him.

I said, I need that hat.

I need that hat to be on the field.

So I stole my son's hat and gave him my baseball cap and wore that big fur cap on the field because you know, let's go right And it was fun.

I got to tell you I was proud of therm and I I said, you can do the part you want.

You can do the first part is that you just tell me.

He goes, I'll do the hey A part.

It was and It was awesome.

It was.

It was so awesome.

And I told the Jim, the cameraman, he goes, what are you gonna do?

After I said, let me just put the put it up in the eye and I'll just drop the mic because that's it.

It's not gonna happen there anymore.

Ye.

And there it was fire you know, fireworks the whole bit.

People were going crazy and you could tell people it moves.

And I know the old guys that were there, Andre and Jim, those guys were Darrel was choke.

They were all choked up.

It was cool.

It was a cool day.

And I got to tell you, I appreciate the organization, Terry and the Bagoula family and all the and all the guy Pete and Brandon and the entire staff.

And we have, you know, the PR staff, the media relations staff, the business and development staff.

We have you know, one hundred two hundred people working in the building with us or we work with them, and they all they were all all hands on deck today.

They was they was absolutely phenomenal.

And congratulations to the organization for pulling off a great day for everybody.

I can't say enough about that.

It was it was really good to be a part of.

As we say goodbye to Heimark Stadium, fifty two incredible years in that stadium.

It was a daylight today where you look around to the people next to you and you see the smiles, you see people exchanging different stories and memories, and you realize we're all just one big family, and that's something that's not going to go anywhere.

That's going to go right across the street to the new high Mark Stadium.

So many incredible games in high Mark Stadium, so many memories, so many memorable plays.

I go back to twenty twenty two, the final game of the regular season, coming off of the Damar Hamlin cardiac arrest episode, and Nihim Hines returns the opening kickoff ninety six yards to score, and you feel like the world pauses.

For a second.

There are some games and some plays in that stadium that you won't ever forget.

But you know what, Bill's Mafia, the party is not over.

We're just moving across the street.

The party is going to continue.

I can't wait for all the newness.

I can't wait for the Bills fans to experience it for the first time, for everybody to head in there and get to make that place.

I'll say this, it's, you know, saying goodbye to this, to the the old high Mark and that stadium for all the names it was over the years, but now it's high Mark.

It's going to be the new high Mark.

I'm gonna give it a minute before I start thinking though.

But you know you gotta have a housewarming party.

So let's go.

A house warming party.

Put it on the schedule.

The date is TBD, yes, but we want to see you there.

That's it for us to night for Steve Tasker.

I'm Maddie Glad.

We thank you so much for tuning into Bill's postgame Live all season, and don't worry, we're back next week for the start of the playoffs.