Bills Continue Odd Trend, Keep Ground In AFC East With Week 16 Win

The Buffalo Bills apparently play better when their head coach can’t see as well.

Buffalo improved to 11-4 with a 23-20 win over the Cleveland Browns. Sunday marked the team’s fourth straight victory, and there’s one commonality from that stretch.

CBS Sports showed a graphic with some hard-hitting statistical analysis during the Week 16 contest. The Bills entered the game 3-3 when Sean McDermott wears glasses, but they improved to 8-1 without them after the head coach shunned his eyewear on Sunday.

VERY VERY IMPORTANT STAT pic.twitter.com/OMSHj7Vyah

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 21, 2025

McDermott’s only loss without glasses came against the New England Patriots in Week 5. The Bills split their next six games, falling to the Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans on the road after the 51-year-old changed his look.

McDermott explained in early November, per ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg, that he was struggling to get used to wearing glasses during games.

“It’s something I tried to do a few years ago, and I just couldn’t get adjusted to it,” McDermott said. “Just living 40 some, 50 some years without glasses and then trying to do it in a game, didn’t work for me. Right now, I have no choice. So it’s out of necessity more than anything.”

Did McDermott feel weird wearing glasses on the sideline? Did he get superstitious and ditch them after three losses? Or did he simply switch to contacts?

Regardless of the reason, Bills fans won’t want to see him in glasses following CBS’s thorough research.

Buffalo’s win means the Patriots could fall into a tie atop the AFC East if they lose to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night. However, they could still win the division with victories over the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.

The Bills play the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday before closing the regular season against the Jets.