Bills' defense finally discovering key to victory much to Sean McDermott's glee

Buffalo Bills' head coach Sean McDermott has noticed a change amongst the defense since an embarassing Monday Night Football loss

Buffalo Bills cornerback Maxwell Hairston makes an interception catching the ball meant for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy during second half action against the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 2, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sean McDermott has leaned heavily on the word "process" since taking over as the Buffalo Bills' head coach in 2017.

Establishing a process that attracts believers has arguably been McDermott's greatest accomplishment for an organization that was mired in a 17-year playoff drought when he took the reins.

Building a formidable defense is also a year-to-year process, and it requires any new additions to adopt the Bills' method of operation. Although the group got off to a slow start, the process has yielded impressive results over the past two games.

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After struggling as one of the NFL's worst run defenses over the season's first seven weeks, including a deflating Week 6 performance (211 yards allowed) against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football, the Bills limited the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City to 4.0 yards per carry over back-to-back victories.

"Just in the attitude, I believe. Attitude — that's a key step in everything, right, is attitude and understanding how we want things done, and that takes time," said McDermott on what allowed the defense to flip the switch coming out of the bye week.

Furthermore, the Bills have surrendered only three touchdowns over their last eight quarters of game action.

"Attitude on the field. Not that it was bad. It's just at another level right now," said McDermott.

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Buffalo's defense clearly set the tone during the Week 8 and 9 wins.

"You've got to be nasty if you want to play good defense. If you're not tough as a defense, what do you got, right?" said McDermott. "If you want to play finesse defense, that doesn't work. So I'm really proud of the staff defensively, led by Bobby [Babich], and then the way that the guys have embraced that attitude and that nastiness."

In other words, the Bills' defense is buying into the process, and McDermott is seeing the results on the field.

Nov 2, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) is sacked by Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard (8) and defensive end Joey Bosa (97) at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

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