Olean Times Herald

‘There’s plenty to second-guess about this loss, but to put it plainly, Buffalo didn’t do very much well at all when Josh Allen wasn’t on the field. The special teams units made some big mistakes and the defense had an abysmal day trying to catch up with Nacua, Kupp, Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams and the Rams offense.’

‘For the better part of a decade, Hyde and Poyer were the leaders of McDermott’s defense. After wins or losses, you could count on both to face the media and give an honest accounting of that game. And they played most defensive snaps of every game when healthy, and even some when not. Hyde and his family also made roots in the area, starting an annual charity softball game at the Buffalo Bisons’ ballpark. He also made one of the best plays in recent Bills playoff history with his out-of-nowhere interception of Mac Jones to deny a touchdown. Hyde won’t be looked at as that cornerstone starting safety now, but McDermott is happy to have his leadership presence.’

‘In the third quarter with a 21-3 lead, after its defense produced a fourth-down stop, the Bills drove to a first and goal at the San Francisco 7. Allen threw a short pass behind the line of scrimmage to Amari Cooper, who reached back for a touch catch but was immediately swarmed by defenders. But Cooper saw help coming and pitched it back to Allen, who did the rest of the work.’

‘After an offseason roster makeover, the Bills were the ones expected to be merely fighting for a playoff spot this time of year. Instead, it’s clearly San Francisco who enters as an underdog and in a “must-win” scenario.’

‘“I didn’t see him until he was already like 10 yards downfield, when (Allen) was just running people over, running through tackles,” center Connor McGovern told the Times Herald. “But the big thing on that play was I didn’t know until afterwards O’Cyrus had a great block (on Jones) an inside move and he takes him and throws him literally across, past me. And that just gave Josh this huge open hole and he just took off. So credit goes to Cybo on that one.”’

‘Buffalo and Kansas City have played in the playoffs three of the last four years, and with both teams well on their way to division titles, that number may well become four out of five.’

‘Even on a day when Buffalo let another star running back, in this case Jonathan Taylor, run wild at times, it was a solid day for the Bills’ ‘D.’ Taylor racked up 114 yards on 21 carries, but more than half of those (58) came on one big play. And even that drive, Indy’s first score of the game, showed a bend-but-don’t break quality with the Colts settling for a field goal in the red zone.’

‘“We knew it was going to be a low kick just so T-Bass could put a little juice on it,” Brown said, recalling the play in the locker room. “Protection was good.”’

‘But those many mistakes only became so glaring because of how well the Bills pounced on them. How about the roughing the passer penalty for Seattle’s Derick Hall just before halftime? Allen’s third-down incompletion should have set up a field goal try for Tyler Bass to make it a 10-3 lead in the second quarter’s last minute. But Hall drew a flag for an unnecessary push on the Bills’ QB, canceling out the third-down stop (and an illegal shift penalty on Buffalo). It was hardly a vicious hit, but well after the ball was out and high enough to draw a flag. Two plays later, Allen hit Dalton Kincaid for a touchdown. Happy National Tight End Day to him.’

‘Part of the same 2013 QB draft class as EJ Manuel, Smith played against the Bills four times, most recently a decade ago: Nov. 24, 2014. On Monday Night Football, Smith backed up Michael Vick for Rex Ryan’s Jets and entered in the third quarter of a blowout 38-3 Bills win. Kyle Orton quarterbacked the other side, coached by Doug Marrone.’

‘The Highmark Stadium public address announcer introduced Colt and his family before a video on the scoreboard (also posted to Bills social media pages) highlighted Colt’s fight against leukemia starting in 2021 and his relationship with Josh Allen after the quarterback visited him at Oishei Children’s Hospital. Colt received a bone marrow transplant from his younger brother, Jack, in 2021. He needed another transplant in 2023 after a relapse.’

‘“I played for a couple different teams that have done it, including Alabama, collegiately,” Cooper told reporters Sunday. “It seems like a different feel every single time. It seems like a different ‘Coop’ chant every single time. Just grateful, appreciative. It was something special about the one today.”’

‘On paper, it’s a significant price for what could be a three or four-month rental. But if Cooper plays well in Buffalo’s offense, and catches on with Allen, the Bills have much more cap flexibility in the offseason to work on a new contract.’

‘Remember those preseason odds from August that put the Jets a nose ahead of Buffalo to win the AFC East? New York entered the night with a chance to take first place and ended it in third. And the Bills, despite their discouraging losses to two current division leaders (Baltimore and Houston) sit mostly unchallenged, with two games in the win column and head-to-head road victories over both Miami and the Jets.’

‘Curious how often teams actually win immediately after a coaching change, I looked over the last decade in the NFL (since 2015). Saleh is the 23rd head coach to lose his job during the season since then. Over the previous 22 changes, 13 interim coaches won their debut the following week and nine lost. Considering these are usually bad teams we’re talking about, that’s not a bad win percentage (.591) at all. Of the nine who lost their debut, the last three all lost by three points or fewer, but the previous six lost by double digits.’