On Sunday, the Bills are hoping their matchup against the Broncos is the beginning of a Super Bowl run that’s been a long time coming. The good news for Buffalo is that history may be on its side in the wild-card game.
Head coach Sean McDermott is in his eighth year at the helm of the Bills, who have consistently been title contenders in his tenure but have also consistently come up short. But on Sunday, McDermott’s squad will be tasked with slowing down Denver’s rookie quarterback, Bo Nix.
Historically, McDermott’s Bills have fared quite well against first-year signal callers.
Here’s what to know about the head coach’s success against rookie quarterbacks, which the Bills hope will continue vs. the Broncos in the 2025 NFL playoffs.
MORE 2025 NFL PLAYOFF NEWS:
Sean McDermott record vs. rookie quarterbacks
McDermott, who previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Panthers, was hired as the 19th head coach in Bills history following the 2016 season.
In his eight seasons leading Buffalo since then, McDermott has accumulated a 9-4 record in the regular season when his team faces a rookie quarterback. On top of that, McDermott’s Bills have a 2-0 record in playoff games while facing a first-year passer. Here’s a breakdown of those 13 games:
| Season | Week | Game result | Opposing rookie QB | QB stats |
| 2018 | 14 | Jets 27, Bills 23 | Sam Darnold | 170 passing yards, one TD, one INT |
| 2019 | 9 | Bills 24, Washington 9 | Dwayne Haskins | 144 passing yards, zero TDs, zero INTs |
| 2019 | 15 | Bills 17, Steelers 10 | Devlin Hodges | 202 passing yards, one TD, four INTs |
| 2020 | 12 | Bills 27, Chargers 17 | Justin Herbert | 316 passing yards, one TD, one INT |
| 2020 | 17 | Bills 56, Dolphins 26 | Tua Tagovailoa | 361 passing yards, one TD, three INTs |
| 2021 | 4 | Bills 40, Texans 0 | Davis Mills | 87 passing yards, no TDs, four INTs |
| 2021 | 9 | Jaguars 9, Bills 6 | Trevor Lawrence | 118 passing yards, no TDs, no INTs |
| 2021 | 13 | Patriots 14, Bills 10 | Mac Jones | 19 passing yards, no TDs, no INTs |
| 2021 | 16 | Bills 33, Patriots 21 | Mac Jones | 145 passing yards, no TDs, two INTs |
| 2021 | 18 | Bills 27, Jets 10 | Zach Wilson | 87 passing yards, one TD, no INTs |
| 2021 | WC | Bills 47, Patriots 17 | Mac Jones | 232 passing yards, two TDs, two INTs |
| 2022 | 5 | Bills 38, Steelers 3 | Kenny Pickett | 327 passing yards, no TDs, one INT |
| 2022 | WC | Bills 34, Dolphins 31 | Skylar Thompson | 220 passing yards, one TD, two INTs |
| 2024 | 16 | Bills 24, Patriots 21 | Drake Maye | 261 passing yards, two TDs, one INT |
| 2024 | 18 | Patriots 23, Bills 16 | Joe Milton III | 241 passing yards, one TD, no INTs |
Rookie quarterbacks facing McDermott’s Bills have totaled just seven touchdown passes against 17 interceptions.
The Bills do lack a Super Bowl title under McDermott, but his tenure in Buffalo has included a lot of winning. The team has made the playoffs in seven of his eight seasons. When it comes to facing rookie quarterbacks, that success has been no different.
On Sunday, Buffalo will host Nix and the Broncos, marking the third time McDermott’s team has faced a rookie QB in the first round of the postseason. Nix isn’t your average rookie quarterback, playing his way into Offensive Rookie of the Year conversations this season while leading his team to the No. 7 seed, but if McDermott’s record against first-year quarterbacks is any indication, the Bills could find success against Denver over wild-card weekend.
SN’S PLAYOFFS HQ: Live NFL scores | Full NFL schedule | Updated NFL bracket
Bo Nix 2024 stats
Nix has an argument for the most talented rookie quarterbacks that McDermott’s faced as a head coach.
After starting in all 17 of Denver’s games, here’s a look at Nix’s regular season numbers with his playoff debut looming:
| Games | Completions-attempts | Comp. % | Passing yards | AVG | Passing TDs | INTs | Rating | Rush yards | Rush TDs |
| 17 | 376-567 | 66.3% | 3,775 | 6.7 | 29 | 12 | 93.3 | 430 | 4 |
