Bills go Into Dolphins Game Relaxed, Focused and Unwavering in Belief

They have purged the 34-31 loss to Tennessee before their off week from their memory bank.

A week off has worked wonders for the Buffalo Bills, even though coach Sean McDermott confessed on Wednesday that it really isn't in his DNA to get away in the middle of a season.

But some of the players did in one form or another, and it has helped them flush the results of their most recent effort, a 34-31 loss at Tennessee on Oct. 18.

Not that it mattered, because they never lost their belief.

"I think we're a mature team," safety Jordan Poyer said. "I think the guys handled the bye week the way they were supposed to, resting and recharging, self-scouting, self-reflecting I know I did a lot of that. And just find ways to help our team get better. ... That's just the name of the game, just continuing to get better. But we're refreshed, recharged, ready to go, and we're excited to play.

"I always try to do the 24-hour rule. Obviously some losses are a little bit harder to swallow than others. But at the same time, like I said, I've been in this league long enough to understand whether you win or whether you lose, you've got to be able to prepare for the next week."

Poyer has no doubt the players all carry that mindset.

"We're not going to sit here and dwell on something that happened two weeks ago," he said. "We're a damn-good football team, and we know that. What's the point of thinking about [the Tennessee loss]? Obviously that loss hurt.

"We're moving on from it. We're ready to go against the Dolphins."

Each time we've come out of the bye, the message hasn't changed a whole lot from what the guys experienced going into the bye. ... The consistency is what resonates with the players. — defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.

Last year, the Bills faced a similar situation heading into their off week, which came after allowing the Arizona Cardinals to win on the last play of the game: a Hail Mary pass that came down in the hands of DeAndre Hopkins in the end zone.

Buffalo not only rebounded two weeks later against the Los Angeles Chargers but never lost again until facing Kansas City in the conference championship game.

They have never lost under coach Sean McDermott after off weeks, which in the regular season are incorrectly labeled by the NFL as "byes." There are no byes in the NFL until the playoffs begin.

His consistent approach is a big reason behind that, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier believes.

"It just seems like he's taking the approach that all the things we may have accomplished, no matter what the year, it was the consistency in his approach," Frazier said. "I think that it matters to the players. Each time we've come out of the bye, the message hasn't changed a whole lot from what the guys experienced going into the bye. ... The consistency is what resonates with the players."

Added quarterback Josh Allen: "I definitely feel comfortable, just given the situation of what Coach McDermott preaches to us, how guys handle things, how professional guys on this team are handling their business, handling the bye week, coming back being ready to go."

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.