Bills OC Brady balances game prep, head-coaching interviews

On Friday night, the Saints and Chicago Bears announced they had completed interviews with Brady. On Saturday, Brady is expected to talk with the Jaguars.

Per NFL rules, assistant coaches on teams playing this weekend are permitted to accept interview requests (three hours apiece) until the day before their team’s game.

On Thursday, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who has already met with the Jaguars, called the process, which forces candidates to steer two ships at the same time, as “unfortunate.”

What does Bills coach Sean McDermott think?

“It’s been awhile since I’ve been through (the process), and I can tell you from what I experienced, it’s challenging to balance both – to be as prepared as you want for both situations, playing and interviewing at your best,” he said before practice Friday. “I do appreciate the league in their approach – it’s changed over the years. They’re trying to get it to where it’s fair and conducive to being your best.”

The NFL has attempted to allow candidates to focus on their playoff games by limiting them to virtual interviews.

McDermott said he and Brady “communicated over the last couple of weeks,” on how to best carve out time for the interviews and provide advice.

“At the end of the day, Joe has my full support, No. 1 – he’s earned that,” McDermott said.

Bills rookie running back Ray Davis remains in the league’s concussion protocol after being injured last week against Denver and is listed as questionable to play against Baltimore. Davis was a limited practice participant (non-contact) again on Friday.

If Davis isn’t available, one option for the Bills could be practice squad rookie running back Frank Gore Jr.

Reserve offensive lineman/jumbo tight end Alec Anderson (left calf) practiced fully after being limited on Thursday and will play.

For the Ravens, coach John Harbaugh told reporters that receiver Zay Flowers (knee) has a “chance” to play. Flowers missed last week’s win over Pittsburgh.

Since his trade to the Bills, receiver Amari Cooper has 22 catches for 301 yards and two touchdowns. He was acquired for games like Sunday night. Former NFL MVP Matt Ryan, now an analyst for “NFL on CBS,” agreed.

“Especially on third down, when you need to have it and there could be 1-on-1 matchups,” Ryan said in a phone interview. “You make a move like that midway through the season with this in mind – ‘We’re going to play Baltimore or Kansas City and we believe Amari Cooper in critical situations can win a 1-on-1.’ I do think this is the kind of game a player of his caliber can make plays with the game on the line. That was a massive reason (general manager) Brandon (Beane) went out and got Amari.”

In eight career games against the Ravens, Cooper has 32 catches for 452 yards and two touchdowns.

Depending on the game-time temperature at kickoff (6:30 p.m.), the Bills could be playing one of the 10 coldest home games in team history, and maybe top five. The forecast calls for a low of 10 degrees.

According to Pro Football Reference, the five coldest home Bills games are zero degrees (29-23 over Raiders in January 1994), seven degrees (47-17 win over New England in January 2022), 8.9 degrees (16-14 win over the Jets in December 1993) and 12 degrees (37-21 win over the Raiders in December 1988). Allen played in the 2022 Patriots game.

The coldest kickoff temperature of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s career is 17 degrees in September 2022 (a 17-9 win over Atlanta).

Carl Cheffers is Sunday night’s referee, and it will be his first Bills game and second Ravens game of the season – his crew called 16 penalties in Baltimore’s 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 12. The home team was 11-5 in his crew’s games. … The Bills were 5-3 in one-possession games, and the Ravens 5-5 (each of their regular-season losses). … The Bills have tightened up their third-and-long defense in the last three games. The New York Jets, New England and Denver went a combined 5 of 18 when needing at least 8 yards.