5.) Sean McDermott
The Cardinals are heading to Buffalo this year to take on Sean McDermott and the Bills. Since taking over the head coaching duties in 2017 for the Bills, McDermott has turned around the franchise from what it was in the Rex Ryan-era. The Bills have only had one non-playoff appearance under McDermott (Josh Allen’s rookie season) and have won four consecutive AFC East championships. While McDermott does win, he has been noted as a coach that “plays to not lose” rather than playing to win. The Bills are the type of team where once they get a two or more touchdown lead, there is an argument that the Bills don’t play aggressive beyond that.
However, McDermott really proved his worth last season as not was he calling the defense, but the Bills’ defense suffered a numerous amount of injuries throughout the season. From Tre’Davious White (achilles), Matt Milano (leg), DaQuan Jones (torn pec), and many others throughout the season, McDermott kept the Bills’ defense competitive in each game.
Jonathan Gannon and McDermott are both defensive-minded coaches so it would not be surprising for this game to be a defensive game, despite both Josh Allen and Kyler Murray leading their respective offenses.