Olean Times Herald

‘In other words, there’s more to this game than the two teams’ records, particularly for Buffalo.’

‘“(I’m) giving guys plenty of chances in the passing game getting us into the right play and doing all of those things that a quarterback needs to do; but first and foremost, the energy and the confidence that these guys need to play with, I’m trying to do as best I can in that regard. We’ve really done a nice job the last few weeks in playing off each other and playing with confidence.”’

‘In short, the Dolphins are on a two-game win streak and were highly competitive in the three games preceding it.’

‘To date, they’ve scored 20 touchdowns — 10 each rushing and receiving — or barely two a game.’

‘“We didn’t score enough points today,” coach Sean McDermott said. “There were some good things, but overall there were too many opportunities we didn’t capitalize on. We have to be a threat to score more points.’

‘We knew this game was coming … we just didn’t know when.’

‘Buffalo wide receiver John Brown caught five balls for 77 yards and has now caught at least four passes for 50 yards or more in nine straight games, a team record. He was previously tied with Andre Reed.’

‘To which Bills quarterback Josh Allen added, “It’s not our job to question (the schedule and quality of opposition). That’s what you (media) guys are for. We’re focused on coming here every day trying to be the best version of ourselves, trying to play to our standard, what Coach McDermott has set forth for us …the foundation that he’s laid for us, being playoff caliber and trying to try to live up to that each and every day, on and off the field, so the results that we’re seeing right now is obviously we’re winning games.”’

‘Incredibly, Cleveland has yet to win a home game. After being blistered by Tennessee, 43-13, in the opener, the Browns dropped more respectable decisions to the Rams (20-13) and Seahawks (32-28) on the First Energy turf.’

‘The 6-1, 287-pound defensive tackle, taken with the ninth overall pick, has been pretty much invisible even as coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier have touted his “disruptive” presence and how well he gets along with his teammates. The numbers contradict his alleged impact.’

‘The Bills won the last of a three-game homestand because, 1. They unleashed rookie running back Devin Singletary and 2. They figured how to slow the Redskins running attack to a walk.’

‘However, the reality remains that the opposition Buffalo has beaten at the halfway pole is a collective 9-41. That’s a .220 winning percentage if you check the arithmetic.’

‘The win improved Buffalo’s record to 6-2 at the season’s halfway point, the best start since the 1993 team opened 7-1.’

‘“There’s lessons out there all the time that we can learn from, and so, as it relates to football, there’s teams every year that go through adversity that are able to keep their eyes on the target and fight through it. That’s what I expect we’ll continue to do. There’s going to be more adversity, that’s what comes with losses. There’s going to be more challenges some smaller, some bigger, (but) I expect us to continue to grow through those.”’

‘“We’ve got to stand up, we have to get it fixed and improve in that area and get to the point where they can’t be balanced on offense. That’s the goal. We’ll work towards that because teams will look at that and say, that’s what we need to do as well.”’