Niagara Gazette

‘The only position of need the Bills didn’t address in free agency was cornerback. The options available are older and likely too expensive to be a Band-Aid. Booth and Elam are the two most likely to be available at No. 25.’

‘Beane is the tip of the power structure now. He built this team, and he’s more invested in Allen than anyone. The Bills led the NFL in defense last year, but in a passing league, it’s more and more about the offense. Beane can never do enough to support Allen, both now and in the future.’

‘“New York’s hostile and shameless greed was laid bare for the world to see yesterday,” Pagels said in his statement. “After intentionally and unnecessarily holding the Seneca people and thousands of Western New Yorkers and families hostage for several days, by strangling various bank accounts held by the Seneca Nation and our businesses, Governor Hochul couldn’t contain her excitement to boast about using her Seneca ransom money for a new stadium.”’

‘The biggest hurdles for the project could come in the form of politically strange bedfellows: progressive Democrats generally opposed to what they call “corporate welfare” and conservative Republicans who have traditionally frowned on using taxpayer dollars for projects benefiting private investors.’

‘So, splash! He went all-in on Miller, who turns 33 today and is presumably one of those pass rushers who maintains his skills into his mid-30s. The window is open. They’re favored to win the Bowl on most sportsbooks. But the quarterback talent in the AFC keeps getting stronger. Beane had to do it.’

‘You can’t blame Bills fans for sitting through Sunday’s game and thinking their team would have beaten either the Rams or Bengals. It is a bit provincial, and conveniently ignores the fact that Cincinnati’s coaches figured out what Sean McDermott and his guys could not — how to slow down Patrick Mahomes.’

‘He hopes to make it until next fall, not just to reach his 70th birthday in October, but to see Buffalo finally win a Super Bowl. The Tim Russert-popularized phrase, “Just one before I die,” has become common for Bills fans, but hits a bit too close for the Shufelts.’

‘That’s what makes the promotion of Ken Dorsey to offensive coordinator so critical. Daboll wanted to bring Dorsey to the Giants to be his OC, but apparently the thought of sticking with a superstar quarterback was more appealing than coaching a mediocrity like Daniel Jones.’

‘The parallels between the last two years and the 1988 and 1989 Bills are numerous, including a rapid ascent to the doorstep of the Super Bowl, regular-season revenge followed by a baffling skid ending with another division title, only for championship dreams to end with a thud despite the play of a strong-armed fourth-year quarterback.’

‘But by Sunday evening, Buffalo fans were processing the fact that the Bengals, a supposedly inferior team with a second-year quarterback and average defense, had stunned a Chiefs team the Bills couldn’t solve two years in a row.’

‘It’s hard to fault an offense that scored 36 points, especially when Gabriel Davis’ eight-catch, 201-yard, four-touchdown game was one of the statistically great playoff games ever. But the Bills hit lulls in the second and third quarters that allowed Kansas City to be the aggressor.’

‘But this one will be difficult to get over. It was one of the most shattering losses in league history, one that will haunt the franchise and its followers for years to come and should raise questions about whether Sean McDermott is the right coach to get Allen over the top.’

‘It takes two top teams to tango, to constitute a genuine rivalry. There should be high stakes, a belief that both teams are capable of winning it all, which certainly was not the case when Tom Brady was dominating the Bills all those years.’

‘It was a scary sight, and for Buffalo fans who had waited 25 long years to fill the stadium in Orchard Park for a playoff game, it was a glorious, exultant evening in bone-chilling, single-digit conditions.’

‘The next challenge for Allen is stringing absurd games together, and another MVP-caliber game in the AFC divisional round should make the rest of the country realize what people from Buffalo already know.’