Olean Times Herald

‘“I’ve been watching him for a long time and he just does a lot of crazy stuff that only he can do,” defensive end A.J. Epenesa told the Times Herald after the home regular season finale against the Jets. “And just watching him this year, I don’t understand how it’s even a question. He’s set records for the program, he’s set records for the NFL, he’s set records for just the Bills overall. And he’s doing it without a star on his side, you know what I mean? I don’t even think it’s a debate. I watch him play each and every week and I’m amazed every single time and I watch plenty of other football, I see what other guys are doing, obviously they’re doing well but I think Josh has skyrocketed past them.”’

‘For the Bills, draft position is meaningless. They hope to be picking as close to 32nd as possible. If the 1 p.m. games had no suspense for Bills fans, the 4:25 slate barely had any more. The Denver Broncos, needing a win over Kansas City to fend off the late-charging Bengals for the No. 7 playoff seed, crushed the backup-laiden Chiefs, 38-0. Denver went up 14-0 in just over 10 minutes and 24-0 at halftime. Kansas City had no qualms, clearly, about letting a division rival into the playoffs, and now Sean Payton’s team, led by rookie QB Bo Nix, is Buffalo’s problem.’

‘With a 33-0 lead over the Jets, Buffalo’s unofficial victory cigar came out in the form of Mitchell Trubisky with a quarter left in Sunday’s game. The game’s outcome had long been decided, but with that substitution, the Bills could rest as the AFC’s No. 2 seed, and Josh Allen could likely rest his 2024 regular season and MVP case.’

‘Allen didn’t have a great game on Sunday even before he knocked his right elbow on either a Patriot helmet or the cold, hard turf (he wasn’t sure which) early in the fourth quarter. He temporarily lost feeling in his throwing hand — and temporarily sent any Bills fan watching into a panic. Before anyone else knew it was a problem, Allen tried to throw deep to Dalton Kincaid on the next snap, but the ball slipped and fluttered out of his hand so badly it negated a clear case of pass interference for being an “uncatchable” ball.’

‘The good news for the Bills defense is they didn’t allow another point until New England’s last drive of the game, with 1:13 remaining. What changed in the second half? “It was a couple of things,” linebacker and captain Terrel Bernard told the Times Herald. “A couple plays there where somebody might have been out of the gap or we weren’t necessarily on the same page all the way through. I think that and then in the run game, suffocating the line of scrimmage a little bit more and forcing it to a drop-back passing game, not letting them win first down. I think that was a huge part of why we were more successful in the second half.”’

‘The Bills would need to win out and have the Chiefs lose two of their last three (Texans, at Steelers and at Broncos … a stretch that’s not exactly easy even with a healthy QB) in this scenario.’

‘The Bills had the ball 12 times in Sunday’s 48-42 win and scored six touchdowns and two field goals. They only went off the field without points after a missed Tyler Bass kick, the end of the first half, one punt and the final play of the game, an Allen kneel-down. So Detroit succeeded twice, at most, in keeping Buffalo without at least a good chance at scoring.’

‘Campbell, by the way, has actually faced the Bills twice as a head coach: he finished the 2015 season as Miami’s interim coach for 12 games, including a 33-17 loss in Orchard Park to Rex Ryan’s Bills. I have to admit, I didn’t think much of Campbell when he made his memorable introduction to Lions fans, talking about biting kneecaps off in 2021. He’s now considered one of the game’s premier leaders, having revitalized a long-suffering Detroit franchise with an aggressive and emotional coaching style. Don’t be surprised to see the Lions trust their offense to get a yard or two on fourth down in an unconventional spot.’

‘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.’