By Katherine Fitzgerald

Copyright buffalonews

Defensive coordinator Bobby Babich was happy for the Buffalo Bills to get the Week 1 win, but he and his players still felt the defense fell short of their own expectations. On Sunday, the New York Jets ended up on the brutal receiving end of the Buffalo defense’s bounce-back performance.

“The guys just wanted to put a certain product out there that they knew was up to, up to par with what, what we stand for,” Babich said Monday, a day after the 30-10 win.

For Babich, the improvements came from the unit acting as one.

“I just think we’ve been talking a lot about our connectivity on defense,” Babich said. “Making sure we’re connected not only with our communication and all the things you would think of, but with our style of play and making sure we’re all on the same page with the way we want to play the game.”

Babich credited that message from starting with head coach Sean McDermott and later also praised the assistant coaches on the defensive staff. Still, the motivation is internal for the players.

“The thing I’ll say about our guys is there’s a lot of pride in that room,” Babich said.

The defense showed it on Sunday in a statement game. The Bills held the Jets to just 154 yards – the lowest yardage allowed for the Bills since December 1990 – after allowing the Baltimore Ravens 432 yards in Week 1. Now, they will have a quick turnaround to get ready for the Miami Dolphins.

“And not only football, but life’s about how you respond,” Babich said. “And the guys certainly responded. We’ve got a new challenge ahead of us, certainly a very difficult challenge. And the guys started off the right way today and we’ll see how the rest of the week goes.”

Here are other takeaways from the coordinators’ news conferences on Monday.

Bosa and the Babich family

Bobby Babich is no stranger to getting calls from his dad, former coach Bob Babich. But on Sunday, part of his call mixed in some reminiscing. Bob Babich was the linebackers coach for the San Diego Chargers in 2016. There, he overlapped with edge rusher Joey Bosa.

Nearly 10 years later, Bosa had a two-forced-fumbles game for the Bills, and the elder Babich saw a rejuvenated player.

“He called me after the game, and he’s like, ‘Man, Joey Bosa looks like he’s having fun.’ Which I thought was pretty cool,” the younger Babich said.

Bobby Babich has every reason to be pleased with how Bosa is performing so far for the Bills. But it’s also the mental journey for Bosa that has impressed Babich, as the 10-year veteran finds joy in the game.

“Joey Bosa’s had a lot of success in this league, and people take it for granted how glorious this is to be an NFL player or coaching. Absolutely it is a blessing in how lucky everybody is to be in this league,” Babich said.

“But at the same time, you can run into obstacles. You can run into adversity and certainly that fun can wane. But he’s doing a great job, man. It’s cool to see a smile on his face. He works his butt off, which is really great, not only just to be a coach, but for our young guys to see what it takes to get to the level that he’s gotten to in his career.”

Money Mitch

Bills backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky had to get ready quickly when starter Josh Allen sustained a bloody nose midway through Sunday’s game. And Trubisky wasted no time.

His 32-yard completion deep to Joshua Palmer on third-and-7 impressed offensive coordinator Joe Brady.

“You guys know how hard it is to play quarterback in the NFL, and to come in on the road in a critical third and long,” Brady said Monday. “It’s not like (Trubisky) got an opportunity to like, ‘Hey, let’s just take a quick little snap.’ No, no opportunity for any of that. And it wasn’t a first and 10 where you might be able to, hey, sneak a run in there, and boom, he comes in, gets to a man alert, and lets it rip with an absolute dime.”

Trubisky eventually finished the game for Allen once the score was out of hand. But the earlier snaps confirmed to the Bills why he earned a roster spot.

“That’s why he’s here, right?” Brady said. “He’s played a lot of reps. He’s a starting quarterback in the NFL, and we’re fortunate to have him as our backup. And in those opportunities, he doesn’t blink.”

Tuesday injury report

The Bills’ injury report Tuesday was the same as Monday’s walkthrough estimation. Defensive tackle Ed Oliver (ankle) and linebacker Matt Milano (pectoral) did not practice.

Nickel cornerback Taron Johnson (quad), defensive back Cam Lewis (shoulder) and linebacker Shaq Thompson (hamstring/hand) were limited for a second day. Lewis wore a red non-contact jersey during practice. Defensive back Jordan Hancock (shoulder) was listed as a full participant.

Additionally, practice squad defensive tackle Jordan Phillips was not present during the open portion of practice. Practice squad members are not included on the injury report, so his status is unknown.