The Bills have made the playoffs for the second time in head coach Sean McDermott’s three years with the team and there are some similarities between this year’s team and the 2017 edition.
Both made the playoffs as Wild Cards and will be on the road against the AFC South champions to kick off the playoffs. This year’s team didn’t need a miraculous win by the Bengals to get them in the back door to the playoffs, however, and this year’s team outscored their opponents over the course of the year.
They also have a much stouter defense and a slew of players who played in the postseason with Buffalo in 2017 or with other teams, which left tackle Dion Dawkins said adds up to a very different feel this time around.
“Absolutely, because we made the playoffs off what we did, not something someone else did for us,” Dawkins said, via the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “It’s as simple as that. We’re a different team. We’re not pushovers, we’re not anybody’s little brother.”
Dawkins and the rest of the Bills will try to extend the different feel to Saturday’s game. They bowed out 10-3 against the Jaguars two years ago and will hope for a better result this time around.