The Bills have made the playoffs twice in the last 20 years.
But the Bills have made the playoffs twice in the last three years, a sign of the remarkable progress made there.
By clinching their postseason berth with last night’s win over the Steelers, the Bills are continuing to push forward under the leadership of coach Sean McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane.
“We still have work to do, but we’re a work in progress. We have by no means arrived,” Beane said, via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com. “We’re thrilled that we made the playoffs, that’s obviously the first goal . . . but we’ve got two games left. We’ve got a big division game against a team that we have not beat since Sean and I have been here.”
McDermott talked last week about how they had “moved the needle” by the simple act of being on Sunday Night Football, since it was their first appearance since 2007.
And what an appearance it was, with five takeaways as they kept the pressure on the Steelers and rookie quarterback Devlin Hodges throughout the night.
Central to those efforts were members of Beane and McDermott’s first draft class (included two-interception Tre’Davious White, Dion Dawkins, and Matt Milano), who have now earned playoff spots the majority of their careers.
“They had a plan, and their plan was to get guys here that can learn, can adapt and can believe in what the coaches are preaching,” Dawkins said. “Three years, two playoffs — it’s special. We have a group of dudes that people bond with and love, it’s just a brotherhood.
“This is normal now, this is normal. . . . It’s a whole different team, but it’s expected now, you know. We don’t like to be just brushed underneath the rug like we are here, and we aren’t going anywhere. It’s finally time to get that and respect, you know.”
There are still goals in front of them, beginning with next week’s game against the Patriots, a team that knows something about sustained success.