Two Bills Drive

‘“You turn on the TV, you look at the paper, across the boards from every sports channel, no one’s picking the Bills,” Hughes said of what he and his teammates saw all week. “The NFL is not like college. It’s not where someone can write up wins on a blue board. You’ve got to come out here and play four quarters of football and let the chips fall, because anything can happen.”’

‘Ivory rushed for 56 yards on 20 carries, an average of 2.8 yards per touch, and had three catches for 70 receiving yards. That included the Bills’ longest play of the day, when he corralled a short pass from Josh Allen and galloped 55 yards into the red zone to end the first quarter.’

‘“He’s done a good job of just keeping his confidence,” fellow linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said of Milano. “They’ve been on a rotation any way with him and Ramon, just getting some fresh bodies in there going back and forth, but any time Matt is playing with confidence, he’s out there making plays. Obviously, he did a great job of that, flying around today. Getting a sack, an interception, just causing a lot of havoc out there.”’

‘“I see him scramble,” Ivory said, “and we’re taught to travel with the ball, with the quarterback, so that if he does see a guy come open, he can toss it to him. On that play, I see him roll out and I broke towards the ball. We connected eyes and he just led me. That was it.”’

‘You name it, the defense had it Sunday.’

‘The Bills were 8-2 last year in games that they won the turnover battle and were 0-6 in games they lost it.’

‘Jerry Hughes vs. Riley Reiff. The Vikings’ seventh-year left tackle was off to a good start to the season, having allowed no sacks and four hurries the first two weeks. But Reiff had a long day against Hughes, who beat him clean on a speed move to force the second Kirk Cousins fumble. It broke open the game, setting up the Bills’ third score and a 17-0 lead. Reiff is the No. 11 highest paid OT in the NFL, at $11.7 million a year. He yielded a sack and three hurries to Hughes.’

‘Allen’s first half was absolute dynamite: 12 of 19 for 172 yards, one touchdown and a passer rating of 110.0. It would have been even better if it weren’t for four drops. Those dropped the overall grade a little. The Bills didn’t have to throw it much in the second half, meaning Allen finished 15 of 22 for 196 yards and a 111.2 passer rating. It was good to see No. 1 receiver Kelvin Benjamin make a couple of catches after two early drops, including one that might have gone for a touchdown. Eight players caught passes, with Ivory using a 55-yard pickup to lead the team with three catches for 70 yards.’

‘“I don’t know what guys are supposed to do,” said Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams, a 13-year veteran and the most experienced player in the building. “They’re trying to legislate contact out of football and there’s some things you just can’t.”’

‘Vikings 33, Bills 17.’

‘The Bills have won three of the past four against Minnesota. Buffalo will play in U.S. Bank Stadium for the first time.’

‘Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen will have to contend with overload safety blitzes against Minnesota very similar to what he faced against the Los Angeles Chargers. Vikings All-Pro safety Harrison Smith sacked San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (11) in a 4-on-3 overload blitz in Week 1.’

‘”It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “I appreciate Brandon Beane and coach McDermott believing in me, bringing me in here to really help this team do what they need to do. Just to be here is a blessing. To be out last week and not on a team wasn’t fun at all, but it’s a definitely a learning experience. To be here now, I’m truly honored.”‘

‘I don’t know if I would use the word panic, but rather pressure. McDermott knows his defense couldn’t continue to look the way it did through the first six quarters of this season. That was supposed to be the strength of the team. The Bills spent big up front on Star Lotulelei and Trent Murphy, traded up in the first round for Tremaine Edmunds and added defensive tackle Harrison Phillips in the third round. That’s a lot of investment on that side of the ball. The results through the first two weeks are absolutely unacceptable.’

‘I love Sean. I came up and did an interview with him last year, right before their playoff game, and I just like everything he stands for. He’s a no-nonsense guy, he holds people accountable, wants you to play hard. He’ll make the tough decisions. I just think there’s an energy and a truthfulness about him that reminds me a lot of myself when I was young, you know? What you see is what you get.’

‘Cordon and her attorney, Tanya Mitchell Graham, on Thursday offered a reward of $20,000, but said other well-wishers and friends had added another $20,000 to the reward.’

‘Not only did Minnesota lead the NFL in third-down defense last season, the Vikings posted the best percentage on third downs of any team in at least the last 42 years, since 1975.’

‘Ryan Groy is struggling at center, but the larger issues appear to be at guard. It wouldn’t be a shock if the Bills decided to replace Groy with Russell Bodine, not so much because Bodine is a better center, but because it would allow them to move Groy to either left or right guard. The biggest problem area seems to be with John Miller at right guard.’

‘The numbers for big nickel through two games are brutal. Rivers, Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson combined to complete 31 of 36 passes (86.1 percent) for 336 yards (9.3 yards per attempt) and four touchdowns through the air. That equates to a quarterback rating of 133.3.’