Niagara Gazette

‘But with the Bills already in possession of the AFC East championship and the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, they are expected to rest some starters. That will give Grable his first extended NFL action. I’ve been on the sideline, I’ve been in the meeting room, there’s no problem doing that. I’ve been having fun just being around those guys and they’ve been showing me the way.”’

‘Just because they may not actually want to play doesn’t mean players don’t want to be named to the team.’

‘“I’m biased because I’m pass-rushing, but I think we’ve been rushing pretty well for a while,” Miller said. “The quarterback has just been getting rid of the ball super fast. I think the (release) time last week was 2.3 and you watched the Denver game last night, (Cincinnati’s) Joe Burrow’s holding onto the ball, 4, 5, 6 seconds. So I think everything just came together.”’

‘Pass-rush consistency is still an issue, but Rousseau is seventh in the league in tackles for a loss (16), quarterback hits (24), knockdowns (15) and pressures (35) and developing into one of the best all-around edge rushers in the league,’

‘“Not to say that we weren’t in the past, but it’s a different bond,” Allen said. “A real sense of tightness and sense of family in this locker room. We’re going out there, we’re happy for each other’s success. We want everybody to succeed and we want to help do our part.”’

‘To decipher Rapp’s value, look no further than the games the Bills have allowed the most passing yards. Rapp was playing injured or out in four of the five games Buffalo allowed more than 250 yards through the air, including the last three games.’

‘Bishop’s NFL beginnings were stunted when he injured his shoulder on the third day of training camp and his recovery extended almost the entire preseason. He was already battling veterans Damar Hamlin and Mike Edwards for a starting job and Hamlin seized it through his knowledge of the defense and injuries to prolonged Bishop and Edwards.’

‘Sixty years have passed since the Bills defeated the San Diego Chargers, 20-7, to win the AFL championship on Dec. 26, 1964, the first of back-to-back championships. All 13 members remaining from the 39-man roster are in their 80s, the last remnants of the franchise’s only teams to hoist a championship trophy.’

‘“Everything was competitive and that included the press,” Pro Football Hall of Fame executive director Joe Horrigan said. “They used to travel with the team, so there was a bond. They traveled on the same plane. It wasn’t like today, getting credentials, it was just an extension of the team, and they were very proud of their team. … It was this homegrown atmosphere, like everybody involved in the AFL had this connection to each other, and that really carried over for a couple years into the merged league.”’

‘He’s among the favorites for the league Most Valuable Player award this season.’

‘Eleven years before O.J. Simpson won the 1973 NFL MVP, 29 years before Thurman Thomas managed it and nearly 35 years before Josh Allen was born, Gilchrist was the first Buffalo Bills MVP. He was also the franchise’s first unicorn.’

‘“Knowing they’re going to bring pressure, you know they’re going to get to the outside,” Torrence said. “So you got to make sure you got the backside. My job was to get to my man and push up fast. Once I got to him, I pushed him fast and I saw Jimbo running right behind me.”’

‘Sunday’s win over the now 3-12 Patriots — a team that looked to be somewhere in the middle of trying to win and tanking for a better draft spot — probably isn’t a regular recipe the Bills want to use, but it’s one every contender needs to pull out on occasion.’

‘“It’s definitely one of those weird years for me,” Smoot told GNN Sports. “Two years ago, getting back from my (Achilles) injury, last year was a weird year. And then coming in this year, I’m thinking it’s going to be the year I’m coming back and I’ve had some freak injuries. So it’s been tough. My faith has been the thing I’ve been leaning on throughout the whole time.”’

‘Since those losses, teams have rued the occasions they presented Allen and the Bills with man coverage. Allen has gone 51 of 79 for 710 yards, with nine touchdowns and two interceptions and nobody learned their lesson like the Lions.’