Olean Times Herald

‘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.’

‘The “everybody eats” offense that led to some fun numbers for three weeks — remember 10 different receivers making a catch against Jacksonville, or nine against Arizona — has been picking at an awfully barren dinner table lately.’

‘Through three weeks, no one could credibly argue the Bills missed Diggs. But last week in Baltimore, those same questions about the lack of No. 1 sprang up again. It was only one game, but there just didn’t seem to be much available to Josh Allen in the passing game. Khalil Shakir accounted for 62 of Allen’s 180 yards in Baltimore, but 52 of those came on one spectacular play. Other than that, Allen hit Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid for a combined 98 yards but no one else had more than nine yards.’

‘Very little that happened Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium can be viewed as a positive or even a silver lining. Baltimore emphatically humbled Buffalo and exposed a number of areas that were already of concern, but just hadn’t come to light until this week.’

‘But if the first three weeks weren’t the most difficult, the next three should put that perfect record to test: all on the road, all against three opponents it’s easy to envision in the playoff field come January. If they get through the next three at 6-0, or even 5-1, it’ll be easy to anoint them as AFC favorites, or at least on par with Kansas City.’

‘Inside the locker room, as the Bills reflected on a perfect night to bring the season to 3-0, the excitement for Hamlin was still evident.’

‘Monday night was an all-you-can-eat buffet, a certified feast.’