Olean Times Herald

‘But Allen’s epiphany isn’t limited to impressive passing numbers. He’s reduced his anxiety-inducing runs to an average of four per game, though he still has three rushing TDs, his decision-making has improved dramatically and he’s become a respected leader in the locker room almost overnight.’

‘The Bills, a quarter of the way into this season, have used an unexpectedly potent offense to drag a disappointing defense into a place among the NFL’s elite teams.’

‘Still, the Bills defense remains disturbingly suspect.’

‘It’s the eighth time Buffalo has had a 4-0 start, the first two (1964, ‘65) ended with American Football League Championships. Two other teams that started with that record missed the playoffs (1975, 2008).’

‘Both teams have more giveaways than takeaways but based on the defensive numbers and playing in a covered, state-of-art stadium, this game could well be an entertaining shootout. It could also be a double bonus for the Bills as, with a win, and the possible loss by the Patriots (2-1) tomorrow at Kansas City (3-0), Buffalo could finish the day with a two-game lead in the AFC East.’

‘So far this season, the Bills’ rushing defense (106 yards per game) ranks 24th in the NFL while the passing ‘D’ (275 yards) is 27th. Those 26 points and 381 yards per game rank 16th and 21st in the league, respectively.’

‘The Bills are scoring an impressive 31 points per game … but give up a way-too-generous 26. The last two games it’s even worse. In wins at Miami (31-28) and home with the Rams (35-32), Buffalo’s ‘D’ averaged surrendering 30 points and 444 yards in those games. The cliche is that “defense travels” so that isn’t good news for the Bills, who are at Las Vegas and Nashville the next two weeks.’

‘For the 10th time in 30 starts, he had fashioned the game-winning drive, eight of them fourth-quarter comebacks and that’s a statistic which can’t be dismissed as mere coincidence.’

‘The Bills have now started the season at least 3-0 for the 11th time in the franchise’s 61-year history. It’s the third time they’ve done it in consecutive years, as it also happened in 1964 and ‘65 and 1991 and ‘92.’

‘This is the stretch where we find out if the Bills are for real.’

‘But this will be L.A.’s first real test as Dallas is only 1-1 because of a miracle onside kick that sealed the Cowboys’ rally from 15 points down in the final five minutes against Atlanta. And Philadelphia is 0-2, the same record as Buffalo’s first two victims – the Jets and Dolphins – opened with.’

‘Sure enough, Buffalo is one of the NFL’s 11 remaining unbeatens courtesy of a 27-17 win over New York to begin the season and a 31-28 decision Sunday against the Dolphins in Florida. But, it’s worth noting that both games were closer than they should have been, the first due to turnovers and missed field goals, the second because of the absence of two critical starting linebackers.’

‘Best of all, Allen ran a modest four times for 18 yards and didn’t suffer any of the big hits he absorbed earlier.’

‘Then, of course, with the loss of power at Hard Rock Stadium, WGR engineers had to find a way to get Murphy and Tasker a video signal even though none was available from CBS. Of course, their broadcast was not only disrupted by the 20-plus minute power outage that knocked out the network telecast, but also the 36-minute lightning delay that necessitated the Bills’ broadcast crew unexpectedly having to fill that half hour.’

‘The only healthy starter is A.J. Klein, the free agent signee from New Orleans. Meanwhile, Tyrel Dodson, a practice squadder last season who was also injured in the opener (neck), will start for Edmunds. That leaves two linebackers, currently on the practice squad – former Bill Deon Lacey and trade acquisition Andre Smith, who was subsequently cut – vying for the other outside backer spot. Buffalo’s only other linebacker is kicking teams specialist Tyler Matakevich.’