Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘The Chiefs have dominated the AFC since the moment Mahomes became the starting quarterback in 2018. They had already won the AFC West two years in a row behind Alex Smith, and since Mahomes has taken over they have added seven more division titles to stretch the streak to nine. More importantly, they have also won five AFC championships and three Super Bowls.’

‘DaQuan Jones has missed two straight games due to a calf injury and Ed Oliver suffered a torn biceps in Week 8 and watched the rest of the game wearing a hoodie.’

‘But right now, handing the ball to James Cook and watching him work his magic is every bit as exciting to Allen as any touchdown pass or crazy touchdown run that the reigning NFL MVP can execute.’

‘It’s tough to say the Bills are in crisis mode with their passing game on a day when they won by 31 points and are now 5-2 on the season. But ESPN analyst Ryan Clark was correct when he tweeted during the game that Brandon Beane needs to get Allen some help because no one gets open for him. Whether that can happen is anybody’s guess, but this WR corps is so underwhelming, even on a 40-point offensive day.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 26, Panthers 20.’

‘Play-by-play: Adam Amin. Analyst: Greg Olsen. Sideline reporter: Pam Oliver.’

‘Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and defensive end Michael Hoecht are back from six-game suspensions to start the season for violating the NFL’s policy performance-enhancing drugs (PED) policy. Both were added to the 53-man roster on Tuesday and have yet to debut for Buffalo after signing as free agents this offseason.’

‘The Panthers rotate Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard in their backfield and they have combined for 799 yards during Carolina’s surprising 4-3 start. With that production, the Panthers rank third in the NFL at 140.1 rushing yards per game, but more important, they rank No. 1 in the NFL in terms of rushing success rate at 49%.’

‘Rapp has struggled mightily this season, and perhaps some of that has been due to the injury. However, he has played almost the entirety of all six games. Now that he’s on IR, joining backup safety Damar Hamlin who went on IR before the Oct. 13 Atlanta game, Rapp will be out at least four weeks.’

‘Danny Kellington is now the vice president of player health and performance for the Carolina Panthers, and on Sunday, he’ll be on the opposite sideline as the Buffalo Bills visit Carolina on Sunday.’

‘In a game where the Bills were down just 21-14 with nearly 25 minutes left to play, James Cook had five touches the rest of the way, a big reason why Buffalo’s last four possessions ended with a turnover on downs, two punts, and an interception producing no points, a mere 83 yards and six first downs.’

‘Between coaching hires, executives, free-agent signings and trades — remember Kelvin Benjamin? — the two franchises have shared dozens of personnel since 2017. What began as a front-office connection eight years ago has turned into one of the NFL’s most consistent pipelines.’

‘“I was screaming at the TV sometimes,” Hoecht said. “Honestly, it’s tough to do when you don’t exactly know what the play call is and what’s going on. You’re just trying to – everything’s new. It’s so different because most of the football I watch (on film), I kind of know the play call and there’s so many times I was watching the game and I just wanted to skip to the next play because I’m doing it how I usually watch film. You just don’t get to do that. I got to enjoy being a football fan for a couple times and then the second that the film got pushed to our iPads, I was there the next morning trying to figure out what happened.”’

‘Coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday that the Bills’ two starting linebackers, Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano, would only be limited participants as the team returned to work following its bye week to begin preparing for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.’

‘On the final play — which the Bills nicknamed “Big Ben,” one that had also worked for a touchdown back in a 1979 game I attended against the Jets — Hooks, Jerry Butler and Frank Lewis lined up on the right side of the formation. They all ran to the end zone and Ferguson threw it up for grabs. There were six Patriots defending, and linebacker Mike Hawkins got a hand on the ball, but it caromed right to Hooks who hauled it in.’