Buffalo Bills pass rusher Von Miller addresses the media on Wednesday, as he gets set to face his former team in the AFC Wild Card Round on Sunday in Orchard Park. (Courtesy of the Buffalo Bills)
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00I think this is your 14th or 15th playoff game coming up.
00:04How do you get the strike of balance between, you got to kick it up a notch
00:10in the playoffs, but you don't want to put more pressure on yourself?
00:14Thanks.
00:1514 playoff games, you know more than me.
00:20For me, I kind of find relief in the playoffs.
00:26For one, I've had 14 games.
00:28You don't play in these playoff games.
00:31And I've been on teams where we weren't supposed to win.
00:35And we weren't supposed to win, and we win, and we weren't supposed to win, and
00:39we win, and I've been on teams where we're supposed to win and we lose.
00:42So I just know how important it is, not necessarily the actual game.
00:48It's the small moments that lead up into the game.
00:51The anxiety is already gonna be what it is,
00:52the nervousness is gonna be whatever it is.
00:54And for me, I'm able to just break it down to truly one day at a time.
00:59And not even one day at a time, but one moment at a time.
01:01So we just had practice, win practice, and we got meetings,
01:06do my best in meetings, and that leads up to the game.
01:09For me, it kind of increases the confidence and kind of drives down the anxiety.
01:14So I'm able to, whatever plays that I'm in there, just give the most and
01:17play how I play, and a little bit of favor, and a little bit of luck from God.
01:22And there you go, Super Bowl MVP.
01:25What are your emotions going into facing the Broncos in the playoffs?
01:31I had two days to really think about it, and it's all love.
01:36I can't even start to play that delusion of it's hatred,
01:42or I can't even start to play that game.
01:46I will put myself so far in a place that's not even close to being
01:52the reality that it would be hurtful to the way I wanna play.
01:56I love those guys.
01:57I love everything about the Denver Broncos.
01:58I pay close attention to the Denver Broncos.
02:01I haven't even talked to Bo Nicks, or follow him on Instagram, or
02:04nothing like that, and I feel like I know Bo Nicks just by staying in touch with
02:08Broncos country, and staying in touch with the Broncos.
02:12They know they're building a new facility.
02:13They got new jerseys, all the new players from Mims, and all the guys.
02:18I've never met these guys, but I feel like I've met them because I keep,
02:22I pay so close attention to the Denver Broncos.
02:26Still close with Patrick Sertan, Courtland Sutton, Gary Bowes.
02:29We probably talk once or twice every single month.
02:31Last month, we never even had the idea that we would be in a playoff game
02:35playing to each other, playing against each other.
02:37But me and Gary Bowes, we talk like this.
02:39When I'm on the phone with Gary Bowes,
02:41it doesn't feel like he's on the Denver Broncos, I'm on the Buffalo Bills.
02:45It just feels like we're in a locker room on whatever team it is, and
02:49we just catching up with each other.
02:51It's all love and respect.
02:52And when I watch those Broncos games, yeah, some players that I don't know, but
02:57the infrastructure of the team and the people from Patrick Smythe,
03:03and Flip, and all the guys that have been there, that's still the same.
03:07It still looks so familiar when I watch these games.
03:09So can't even start to play that, it's the Denver Broncos, I wanna win.
03:13It's nothing but love with those small three to four second bursts when I'm
03:18playing in the game, that 60 minutes when I'm out there, I wanna win.
03:22I wanna win the game, I wanna beat the Denver Broncos.
03:25It's all love at the end of the day, but those small three to four second bursts,
03:29I gotta go through these guys to get where I wanna go.
03:31And it's kinda weird, but that's just how crazy the NFL is and the universe is.
03:37So instead of trying to fight it, I just embrace it.
03:40It's a cool event to be able to play against this new and
03:43improved Denver Broncos.
03:45The last time that they made the playoffs was last time we won a Super Bowl.
03:50So it's a full circle moment, and it's nothing but love and
03:53respect for the Denver Broncos and Broncos country, for sure.
03:56Bowles, you mentioned him, he's had a great year.
03:58What do you see from him now that you saw him when he was just a rookie in 2017?
04:03What do you think about it?
04:04Like I said, I'm biased.
04:05And whenever you ask me about one of my guys, I'm gonna say the same thing.
04:08I feel like he's one of the best left tackles in the league.
04:12I've seen him grow from when he came in to the guy that he is now.
04:16He's the longest tenured Denver Bronco on the team.
04:19And it's crazy because when he came, it was probably year seven.
04:22It was probably year seven for me when I was there.
04:24And now he's the longest tenured Denver Bronco there.
04:28So it's an incredible moment.
04:32Gary Bowles is one of the best tackles in the league.
04:35He's playing really, really good.
04:37Yeah, and he's gonna play really good on Sunday.
04:40We just gotta find a way to be able to make plays.
04:43He's played against some of the top pass rushers in the league, from Khalil Mack,
04:46and all the other pass rushers that he goes against, and he does an excellent job.
04:51So we just gotta find our small windows to go in there and make plays.
04:54And not only the offense, I pay attention to the defense.
04:56Two of the Denver Broncos, from Jonathan Cooper to Nick Benito and
05:00Zach Allen, those guys are rushing up.
05:03I think they just broke the Broncos sack, most sacks in a season by the Denver.
05:09I'm telling you, I pay close attention to the Denver Broncos.
05:12I love the Denver Broncos.
05:14It's just those small three to four second bursts when I'm in the game.
05:19I have a job to do and I wanna win.
05:20For you and just all the playoff success you've had and experience,
05:25how do you share that message with some of the younger guys on this team as you
05:28go into the postseason?
05:29First and foremost, for me, I have to understand that it's year 14 for me,
05:35but it's year one or two or three or four for those guys playing in the playoffs.
05:40So I gotta meet them where they're at.
05:42And whatever portion that they're willing to take, I gotta give it to them.
05:46I can't force too much information.
05:48I can't force my mindset.
05:50And I think as I get older and I mature, I get better at that.
05:56It's not about my experiences with the Denver Broncos or the LA Rams.
06:01I can use that and reference that, but
06:02this is a totally different team with totally different players.
06:05I can't, it's not a cookie cutter work.
06:06This is how we did it in 2015.
06:09This is how we did it in 2021.
06:10And this is how we gonna, I can't have that approach.
06:12It's a different team with different vibes and different players.
06:16So I always lean on my experience and all the things that I've done to be able to
06:21meet them where they're at and give them the information, whatever they can excel.
06:25So as a leader, I've gotten better at that.
06:27And whether it's G, I'm not gonna talk to G about coming in,
06:33you gotta do this, I'm gonna talk to G.
06:35And if he asks me something about the game, I'm gonna give him my point of view.
06:38I'm gonna give him what helps me and leave it at that.
06:41I'm not gonna overfeed any of these guys when it comes to information.
06:44What's convinced you, or what in your mind makes you believe that
06:50this is the year for the Buffalo Bills?
06:52You asking me.
06:55You asking me, we're here and now we're playing a different Broncos.
07:01Those six years that we didn't make the playoffs, I truly felt whether it was
07:05Case Keenum, Trevor Simeon, whether it was Paxton Lynch,
07:11whether it was Brandon Allen, it didn't matter what quarterback.
07:14I felt like we had a chance to go to the Super Bowl.
07:16So I'm not the best to ask cuz I'm just so
07:20optimistic with the guys that I'm with and the game that I play.
07:23But reality is, we have a pretty good team.
07:27And I don't have to use my optimistic brain to force that.
07:31We have a really good team.
07:31We have really good coaching staff.
07:33We got a really good quarterback.
07:35We play really good defense.
07:37Now we're in the postseason.
07:38You gotta take it one day at a time, as I said before the game.
07:41And my opinion isn't one on Sundays or Saturdays, it's one today.
07:45It's those moments that we're in right now that builds up the confidence.
07:50So whenever you play in a game and you hit with high-pressure situations,
07:54you're in a comfortable mind state to be able to make a half-second decision
07:58faster than the other guy, or to jump on the ball, or not be nervous, or
08:02to jump the snap count, or not jump the snap count, or be stronger in a run.
08:06You're able to think clearly because you've played the game 40,
08:1150, maybe 60 times leading up into the actual game.
08:15And it's easier for me to do that in the postseason compared to the regular
08:19season, because you have 18 weeks of different variables.
08:22Now it's just one week, and like I said before,
08:25you break it down to one day and just small moments within that day.
08:29You've played seven blowout games where some of the starters haven't had to
08:34play a lot in the fourth quarter, and then you got the rest against New England.
08:38Just how do you feel for a week, number 19 of the season?
08:43Me personally, I'm rested.
08:45I played three snaps versus the New England Patriots in a week before I played
08:4914 snaps, and most of these snaps are pass versus situations where it's me
08:53delivering the contact, not somebody else running against me or making tackles.
08:58If I have four tackles in a game, it's probably three sacks and
09:02one tackle for all.
09:05So not a whole lot of pressure on my body, and it's just a testament to the type of
09:10guys that we have here and the rotation that we have.
09:13I'm fresh and I'm ready to go.
09:14I'm ready to go out there and play as much as I need to play or
09:17as little as I need to play to get the win.
09:19Whether it was after wins or losses, during the regular season we heard Sean and
09:22you guys in the locker room say it came down to the trenches,
09:26it came down to up front.
09:28How much of, is it that simple in the playoffs that it just comes down to
09:31who wins up front?
09:32Yeah, I'm not giving any betting advice.
09:38I'm especially not talking about this game, but just football in general.
09:41Like a clear indicator, a really good indicator of who's gonna win the game
09:46is the offensive line, defensive line combination.
09:49Especially when you start the game, cuz some offensive lines or
09:52some defensive lines are expected to win those matchups.
09:54And then you watch the game and it's a little soft here and
09:57it's a little soft there, it's a little firm here, it's a little firm there.
10:00But the clear indicator of who's gonna win the game is the offensive line,
10:03defensive line combination.
10:04And we have one of the best offensive lines here in this league.
10:07It's a little tougher to decide this week versus Denver Broncos,
10:10cuz they have a really good offensive line and a really good defensive line as well.
10:14But we have a really good offensive line and a very good defensive line as well.
10:17And that's a clear indicator of who's gonna win the game,
10:22especially at the start of the game.
10:23Is it soft, are these runs just two yards, or
10:27are they making contact at two yards and it's falling for seven yards?
10:30That's the offensive line being nasty and creating those extra yards.
10:34So really don't know what's gonna happen now, but a clear indicator of who's
10:38gonna win is that offensive line, defensive line combination.
10:41I like that, I like the pressure being on us, I can control that.
10:45I would want it to be a variable where I can control.
10:48If it was wide receiver, cornerback play, then I just feel like, okay,
10:51I can only do so much.
10:53But if it's all on me and my guys, then we control the game.
10:58And I feel at peace with that,
11:00knowing that all I had to do was do my job and we'd be all right.
11:03You know John Elway as good as anybody.
11:07He regretted, he admitted regretting passing on Josh back in 2018 this summer.
11:12And what do you make of that and how Josh has
11:17kind of welcomed people who doubted him and showed them wrong?
11:22It's crazy that John Elway just not realizing that in 2025,
11:2725, I knew that in 2019.
11:31No, but we made a great pick with Bradley Chubb.
11:35We made a great pick with Bradley Chubb, but obviously hindsight is 20-20.
11:38I'm sure if Elway had that back, we had a chance to get Kyle Shanahan as well.
11:44And it was just too perfect.
11:46You had Daddy Shanahan was there, won two Super Bowls, and now Kyle Shanahan.
11:51And now we get Kyle Shanahan and Josh too.
11:53It might have just been too perfect for him to make that decision.
11:56Sometimes the easiest decisions are the hardest ones to make.
11:59But I don't think he made a bad decision with Bradley Chubb.
12:02Bradley Chubb was a great player and Case Keenan was our quarterback.
12:05He just came off the Minnesota Miracle as well.
12:08So I don't think that was a mistake.
12:10But obviously, we had a chance to get Josh Allen and had Kyle Shanahan.
12:15And we went with Coach Vance Joseph too.
12:17Coach Vance Joseph is one of my favorite coaches ever, hands down.
12:21So definitely not any mistakes, but hindsight is always 20-20.
12:24And regret will eat you up till you old in age.
12:29And I don't think he really regrets it because, like I said, Bradley Chubb was
12:32a great pick.
12:33But seeing what Josh Allen is and what he panned out to be and
12:38what he still can be, I think any GM that passed him up in that draft was like,
12:42man, we could have got him.
12:44Von, why is Greg ready to be a difference maker in the playoffs this year?
12:49I think cuz he's, I mean, he's shown it.
12:50He's shown it before.
12:51He's at 18 weeks to really build up that confidence.
12:53It's not like he's been a mediocre player.
12:56Now it's the playoffs and now he's gonna turn it up.
12:58He's been our best player on defense this whole entire season.
13:02And I think that confidence is, it'll wrap around his
13:08morale and his self-esteem and he'll be able to go out there and
13:11be a player that we all know he can be.
13:14He's been super close on making a lot of big plays and
13:18he's been there on a lot of big plays.
13:20And just for some odd reason in the playoffs, especially in the NFL,
13:24those one game seasons, it just brings out the most in players.
13:28And I'm anxious and
13:29excited to see that next step that Greg takes naturally.