Olean Times Herald

‘On the New York side of the border, there’s a predominance of Buffalo fans, and though there are some Pittsburgh faithful, it could be argued that there are even more Cleveland disciples dating back to the days when Olean’s WHDL was part of the Browns radio network.’

‘“I want the Steelers to win and I think they’ll win, but I also like the Bills. I support them,” she said, hedging her bet. “The game’s going to be good either way.”’

‘A Bills win on Sunday could also help ease Bills’ fans anger from the 2004 season finale. That year, a Bills win over the Steelers in the final game would have put Buffalo into the playoffs. Pittsburgh, entering the game at 14-1 and playing for nothing (the Steelers were the No. 1 seed) beat Buffalo 29-24. That kept Buffalo out of the playoffs and put the New York Jets in, despite the fact that the Jets lost to Oakland that day. Maybe a win Sunday night which would put the Bills in the playoffs and put a big dent in Pittsburgh’s plans, would be some sort of payback, albeit 15 years later.’

‘MCDermott concluded of facing Tomlin on Sunday, “The first thing that comes to mind is respect, and I think Mike would probably feel the same way without putting words in his mouth. It’s just more, he’s got a job to do and I’ve got a job to do, and when you’re around this league long enough you develop relationships, but you also know each of us (has) a job to do. I think we both understand that.”’

‘Heading into the game, the Bills are a 1-point favorite but Buffalo’s coaching staff has no delusions about the difficulty of Sunday’s task, despite a 5-1 record on the road this season.’

‘Buffalo’s ‘D’ held the Ravens offense to 257 yards … 20 fewer than their previous low against Pittsburgh. It also limited the Ravens to 118 rushing yards, 18 under the next worst. But it wasn’t enough.’

‘Well, it’s not as if the sky is falling … but Bills fans are suddenly wondering if it might.’

‘“They were doing a great job on defense,” Jackson said of the Bills. “They were in cover zero. They hit us with that a couple times and it was successful for them. But that particular play, G-R (offensive coordinator Greg Roman) called a great play and Hayden just did his job and ran the line and it was successful.”’

‘Yesterday, the team was introduced and a short video was shown on the Jumbotron. Eight members of the Final Four team were in attendance Gene Fahey, Matt Gantt, Greg Gary, Paul Grys, Paul Hoffman, Mike Kull, Dale Tepas and Vic Thomas. Missing were Basketball Hall of Fame center Bob Lanier, who is battling bladder cancer, and coach Larry Weise, injured in a fall last week and hospitalized in Rochester.’

‘This is the game where the Bills can convince the doubters.’

‘“John Harbaugh has been with his staff building this for ‘X’ amount of years … the continuity, the consistency, being able to build it the way you want to build it,” McDermott said. “You’re seeing good football players at all positions. Talented, not just on the offensive side, but the defensive side and special teams. You can always count on them being well-coached (and) having a good kicking game. They’re a motivated football team week-to-week and they’re a physical football team because of (Harbaugh’s) leadership.”’

‘This year, in the AFC, 10-6 is going to be good enough for a Wild Card spot, but there’s a scenario where Buffalo finishes 10-6 and doesn’t get in. That said, the Bills can actually clinch a playoff spot this week if four games go their way. If Buffalo beats Baltimore, Denver tops Houston, Tennessee downs (or ties) Oakland, and Tampa Bay beats (or ties) Indianapolis, the Bills would clinch a playoff spot, and here’s why…’.

‘“It’s good to play meaningful games in December, that’s the goal, and that’s where we’re at,” he said. “We’re sitting in December, our record is what our record is, but I can’t stress this enough, it’s a week-to-week proposition (this time) against probably the best team in football right now. You just look at the last six weeks, the (Ravens) numbers are staggering.”’

‘According to the NFL flexing rules, only games originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon may be moved into the prime-time spot. Games scheduled for Thursday, Saturday and Monday nights are untouchable.’

‘Talk about emphatically answering every criticism and doing it on the biggest stage, before the largest audience of the season.’