Niagara Gazette

‘The 30-year-old Cooper has eclipsed 1,000 yards seven times in 10 NFL seasons since being drafted fourth overall by the Raiders in 2015. Cooper is entering the final year of his contract, which the Browns restructured in the offseason and now the Bills are on the hook for less than $1 million for the remainder of the year.’

‘The Guardian Cap gave Rapp an extra layer of padding on the outside of his helmet, and while it doesn’t give him a free pass to play recklessly, it did allow him to get up from a hit that many players may not have. Rapp made the decision to wear the Guardian Cap during the week, placing him on a short list of NFL players and the first Bills player to wear one during a game.’

‘“If you’re going to hit a guy, hit a guy and let him know we’re here to play some football,” Kincaid told the Gazette after the game. “… I think it’s just contagious, not only for the offense, but for the special teams and the defense. It gets the sideline going, it gets the team going and just sets the tone for the rest of the game.”’

‘That may be true and they snapped a two-game losing streak, but the Bills still didn’t feel like the championship-caliber team everyone saw over the first three weeks of the season. Instead of thumping a turbulent Jets team six days removed from firing their head coach, the Bills squeaked across the finish line.’

‘Allen had the fewest completions (9) of any quarterback with 30 attempts in a game since 1992 last week. He has one touchdown pass in his last two games and is averaging a career-low 189 yards per game.’

‘Since being hired as the Jets’ coach in 2021, no one has given Allen more fits than Robert Saleh. Allen’s passing yards per game drop by 11, his completion percentage by 10 and he’s thrown more interceptions in six games against Saleh’s defense than he has against other AFC East teams in 13 games over the same time period.’

‘Knox went from playing 74% of the snaps in the first seven games to 49.3% in the last five and nothing seems to have changed. He took a pay-cut in the offseason and has gone from being one of quarterback Josh Allen’s favorite targets — he was watching the draft with Allen when Kincaid was selected — to being a non-factor.’

‘“There’s more than the challenges with him of he’s an elite thrower,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “But there’s more challenges to Aaron than just that. It’s the mobility, it’s the mental part of the game, and just have so much respect for his game and what he’s been able to do over the years and how he’s done it. So he’s as good as there is.”’

‘“You just need the right opportunity, the right timing, the right people and all that,” Cine told the Gazette. “I’ve had to be patient ever since I got in the NFL, but I’m not pointing fingers. I’m not boo-hooing, I’m not going to blame anything outside of myself and some unfortunate things that happened very early on. All I can do is take this new journey, take this new clean slate and just not look back.”’

‘Receivers were not open and Josh Allen was erratic. It was almost like watching a game from Allen’s rookie season, only he never had a performance that bad. If the Bills didn’t need it to figure out how to improve, the tape would be worth burning.’

‘For the second consecutive week, the offense looked lost, unable to find any rhythm as Allen runs for his life behind an offensive line that doesn’t give up many sacks. The Buffalo Bills don’t have explosive weapons at receiver, that’s a given, but the group proved in the first three weeks that they are good enough to be successful.’

‘Injuries haven’t helped brighten the mood in Western New York since losing to the Ravens, but the Bills will need to have a solid performance to avoid another loss. And while one loss won’t hurt the Bills in the overall playoff race, conference losses — especially against playoff teams — plays a factor in seeding later in the season.’

‘“We’re not in college, it’s not like there’s a huge talent gap,” Smoot told the Gazette. “We’re in the NFL. Everybody gets paid and they get paid handsomely just like we do, too. At the end of the day, they got us. We just come back and regroup. It’s a long season.”’

‘But through four games, Samuel is sixth on the team in targets (9), catching eight passes for 48 yards. More problematic is that Samuel has played the fewest snaps of any receiver on the team, with his 68 plays being 23 behind No. 4 Marquez Valdes-Scantling.’

‘Defensive tackle Ed Oliver was listed as limited with a hamstring injury. Oliver was not on the injury report Wednesday.’