Olean Times Herald

‘The Bills’ 14-7 triumph was reminiscent of another NFL era and needed a major contribution from Tennessee kicker Cairo Santos but, as the cliche goes, “It’s not how … it’s how many.”’

‘The win marked the first time the Bills have won their first three road games of the season since 1993. The last time the Bills started 4-1 was 2011.’

‘Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota ranks eighth in NFL passer rating (106.2) with seven touchdown passes and no interceptions. In fact, he has a live streak of 169 consecutive throws without a pick, dating back six full games to last season.’

‘A quarter of the way into the season that perception hasn’t changed. That’s particularly true as Buffalo’s three wins against teams with a collective record of 2-9 hasn’t earned it much credibility. However, a victory at Tennessee would deliver much more impact.’

‘On the season, Buffalo has logged only seven sacks, fewer than two a game (24th in the league) and three of those have come from linebackers or the secondary.’

‘Over, in effect, what has been one full season, Allen is completing 55 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns, 18 interceptions and 37 sacks. His passer rating is a substandard 68.4 and the accuracy issues he struggled with in college remain, other than the first three games this season.’

‘Brady went 18-of-39 passing for a mere 150 yards with no touchdowns, an end zone interception and a puny passer rating of 45.9. But the reason the Bills lost was that their QB, Josh Allen, was even worse.’

‘This was nothing more than a galling, wasted opportunity that will haunt this franchise for the rest of the season.’

‘The crowd of 70,317 was the largest since a turnout of 70,422 for the Patriots in 2016.’

‘“Sometimes with young people, you study the past and respect the past, and learn from it,” McDermott admitted. “But a lot of these guys are just focused on the present and there’s some good to that and there’s some bad. Some of that bad … we can continue to try and educate them on what they’ve done what they’ve been able to do, whether it’s been against the Bills or in the division. They’ve been good for a long time, not just in the division but across the league.”’

‘In those 37 meetings, New England has won 33 times and there’s an asterisk on two of Buffalo’s wins, both in Foxboro. In 2016, the Bills prevailed 16-0 as first-ballot, Hall-of-Fame-bound quarterback Tom Brady sat out the last of his four-game “Deflategate” suspension. Jacoby Brissett quarterbacked the Pats that day. Then, in late December of 2014, Buffalo won New England’s meaningless season finale, 17-9, as Brady played a half and most of the starters were rested.’

‘“For us. internally, we’ve got to prepare for Week 4 this season … four out of 16. We really appreciate our fans, the way they support this football team, whether it’s Week 4 or week whatever,” McDermott said. “We’ve got a very passionate fan base that I would hope our team blends well with in terms of the types of guys we have and the way that they play. But, for us, it’s Week 4 against a very good opponent, the defending champs.”’

‘“I wouldn’t call it an escape,” he said of the Bills blowing a 14-0 lead. “We found a way to make more plays than they did and close the game out. In NFL games, teams go up by a couple of touchdowns. It’s not like we were blowing them out by 30. Two touchdowns in this league is not a big lead. What we didn’t do was continue to add on to that lead, and they made enough plays to get back (then) we finished it off.”’

‘The bad is that Buffalo’s performance against Cincinnati was strictly not-ready-for-prime-time. This game never should have been a 4-point win. And after the first half, they should not have trailed. When a team wins the turnover battle, 4-2, and has a 110-yard edge in offensive yardage, it shouldn’t come down to a tipped interception in the final seconds to secure the victory.’

‘Buffalo’s first takeaway came when safety Micah Hyde separated Bengals wide receiver John Ross from the ball with linebacker Matt Milano recovering, his first of the season and fifth of his career.’