One of Bills head coach Sean McDermott’s messages to his team after Sunday’s 24-9 win over Washington was that their 6-2 record did not hide the fact that the team needs to improve over the second half of their schedule.
Plenty of other people would agree with that, particularly those that believe their record is as much a product of the NFL’s schedule makers as it is a credit to the Bills themselves. The six wins have come against teams with a combined 9-42 record and their losses have come against the two teams on their schedule that currently have winning records.
McDermott may be selling the need to improve, but he’s not discrediting the Bills’ success because of how things have played out for their opponents.
“We control what we control. That’s what we do,” McDermott said, via the Buffalo News. “We don’t make the schedule. We didn’t make the schedule last year and there are probably good odds that we won’t make it next year. We’re focused on who we play this week.”
This week brings a game against the 2-6 Browns and beating them might not make anyone outside the Bills think differently about the overall quality of the team. As the old saying goes, however, you are what your record says you are and the Bills’ record says they have a really good chance of being in the playoff mix heading into the final weeks of the regular season.