Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘“Hey Michael — We like your style,” the soft drink giant tweeted. “Let’s take this rivalry city-wide. Want to make your own commercial and some billboards around Rochester to really rub it in your neighbor’s face? 1,000 RTs on this tweet and it’s on!”’

‘But while Fitzpatrick’s roller-coaster career — one that would have made a travel agent giddy as he has played for eight teams — may not have garnered as much attention as his beard, it has certainly been a noteworthy journey and he has left his mark on the sport.’

‘But the nagging question permeating One Bills Drive this week as Buffalo prepares to face the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium is this: Was this a one-off, and moving forward can the Bills execute a traditional run game where Allen is handing off to Devin Singletary and Zack Moss?’

‘“I saw those talks and it’s asinine,” Hughes said. “He’s been huge since he got here Day 1, always putting pressure on the quarterback, making plays, so for people to write that in the offseason just goes to show how bored they were this offseason, just looking to find a story instead of finding out ways to build our team up.”’

‘Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds, two of the most important members of the Bills’ stout defense, are the biggest concerns. Milano has a hamstring injury and was not on the practice field, so it seems almost certain that he will not face the Dolphins.’

‘Allen was everything the Bills want him to be for most of Sunday’s season-opening victory. He was in complete control of the offense, directing traffic almost exclusively from three, four- and even five-receiver sets, spreading the ball to everyone, eight different receivers catching at least two passes.’

‘Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier provided a crumb of information when he said, “It sounds like they’re both going to be back, hopefully for this ballgame, but if we don’t get both, hopefully we’ll get one back because they are vitally important to the success of our defense.”’

‘ut simply, the Bills were lucky they were playing the Jets, given some of the errors and thrown away scoring opportunities that might have haunted them against a more competent opponent.’

‘Stefon Diggs didn’t hit a home run, but the Jets wouldn’t allow it, so he hurt them underneath with eight catches for a team-high 86 yards. And John Brown had a solid day with six for 70.’

‘The CBS broadcast replay showed the 38-yard try may have been good. Gene Steratore, the network’s rules analyst, believed the field goal should have counted.’

‘“We had a mock game, if you will, a couple weeks ago and as crazy as it felt, it didn’t feel like the real deal, you know,” said quarterback Josh Allen. “We had the announcer going and music inside and it’s just gonna be different when you score a touchdown and it’s just not instant crowd reaction. You can’t pump up the crowd.”‘

‘Bills and Jets players each took a team vote and wanted to “show unity and togetherness” and draw attention to the fight for equality. Players are also wearing decals on their helmets with social justice messages or names of Black people who were killed by police.’

‘My pick: Bills 23, Jets 14.’

‘In terms of actual snap counts, no team brought back a higher percentage this season than the Bills. There’s familiarity among the players, the same head coach and defensive coordinator four years running, and the same offensive coordinator three years running.’

‘If he remains static, or worse takes a step back, maybe the Bills are talented enough to overcome that and still achieve their goals, but it will surely be more difficult, and probably a bit unlikely.’