The Bills came into Sunday’s game against the Bears amid bad vibes after a poor preseason by the offense and reports of problems between coach Doug Marrone and some in the team’s front office, but they shrugged it off for a 23-20 overtime win.
After the game, several Bills credited quarterback EJ Manuel for showing them the way to a victory. It wasn’t his play, but his words that lit the path to the winners circle. Manuel asked to address his offensive teammates at the team’s Saturday night meeting and used the opportunity to good effect.
“We were fired up,” center Eric Wood said, via ESPN.com. “We’ve taken a lot of heat lately. I think it all culminated in the past couple days. I think we were kind of fed up with everybody talking about us as poorly as they were.”
Running back Anthony Dixon and wide receiver Robert Woods also said that Manuel’s words hit exactly the right note for the team with the longest postseason drought in the NFL. Changing that will take action beyond what Manuel did on Sunday -- 16-of-22 for 173 yards, a touchdown pass, a touchdown run and an interception -- but quarterbacks have to lead in a variety of ways and it sounds like Manuel’s got the fiery orator part of things down pat.
