Shaq Thompson challenging defense to be Dogo mindset a week after the Bills answered his urgent call

ORCHARD PARK — Scattered above lockers is a picture of a white dog. Its teeth are showing and foam is flying from its mouth as if it’s about to pounce.

There are three types of dogs. The first is docile and fits into a purse. The second is muzzled and can never be let off its leash. And then there is the Dogo, friendly around familiar people but rabid when those people are in danger.

Buffalo Bills linebacker Shaq Thompson asked for and was granted permission to speak to the team before Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. And when Thompson stepped to the front of the room, he implored them to be Dogos.

When the kicker’s foot hit the ball on the opening kickoff, he urged them to flip another switch and leave it on until the game was finished.

“Outside of the pads, we're socialized,” Thompson told GNN Sports. “We're finding we love each other, we protect our brothers. But when we get on that field and cross that line, we got to be head-hunters. It's time to go."

Thompson first heard the analogy from former Carolina Panthers special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey. The Dogo Argentino is a mastiff-like breed, consisting of the Cordoba fighting dog, bulldog fighting dogs, a Bull Terrier and a Mastin del Pirineo.

Dogos grow to 90-100 pounds, built with a good nose, speed and stamina to be used by big-game hunters tracking wild boar and pumas. Some countries have outlawed such breeding practices.

Thompson knows the Bills must be hunters during the last five games of the season because they are in a strange situation. At 8-4, the Bills are two games behind the New England Patriots — with a rematch on deck — for the AFC East lead and the best record in the NFL. But the Bills are also currently sitting in the final AFC wild-card spot.

Since starting 4-0, the Bills have only won back-to-back games twice, defeating the Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs coming off the bye. And it’s possible the Patriots can clinch the division by beating the Bills in two weeks.

“I don’t think we can afford to be inconsistent. Not now,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “Not that you can ever be, don’t get me wrong. But our backs are against the wall. That’s the way it is and that’s our mindset.”

Inconsistency has plagued the Bills in all three phases — offense, defense and special teams — at various times throughout the season. But no unit has been more mercurial than the defense, which has a habit of flipping from bad to go, not just from game to game, but half to half.

Since giving up 399 yards rushing to the Dolphins and Buccaneers, surrendering over 30 points in those games. But the Bills have surrendered 166 yards on the ground and 30 points total over the last two games.

“Shaq coming into the team meeting, helping us realize … especially the defensive players … showing us our identity,” Bills rookie defensive tackle Deone Walker said. “At least I can say that from a defensive perspective.”

Answering Pittsburgh’s physicality might have been the easy part for the Bills. No matter how dysfunctional the Steelers are, no team is going to fare well without entering the game knowing wins won’t be pretty.

Pittsburgh’s heavy dose of two- and three-tight end sets force opponents to meet them at the top of the hill, where one team is eventually going to roll back down. But now the Bills get the Cincinnati Bengals, who play a completely different brand of offense.

As the NFL shifts back to a more balanced approach, the Bengals and quarterback Joe Burrow are still slinging it around the field. Even with Burrow out nine games with a toe injury, the Bengals still didn’t stop chucking.

Veteran Joe Flacco averaged nearly 42 attempts in six starts, a glaring number because he only averaged 35 with the Baltimore Ravens in his prime. Only the Arizona Cardinals have called more passes than Cincinnati’s 495.

With Burrow back in the lineup last week against the Ravens, the Bengals called 49 passing plays.

“Every game has been a dogfight with us. That’s the mentality, right? Never give up, right?” Thompson said. “I would just say we got to play better. That’s it. And I’m not speaking for the team. I’m just speaking on the defense. … We challenged the defense (against Pittsburgh) and the defense did a great job. But now I’m asking the guys, we did it once. Can we do it twice?”