Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Texans 24, Bills 10.’

‘The Bills need to run well to win, and they also need to run better. Last week, they had nine yards on their first 11 first-down rushes and finished with only 54 yards on 20 first-down attempts. Also, according to Football Outsiders, the Bills are the worst team in the NFL in terms of second-level yards gained per attempt (yards gained in the 5-10-yard range downfield) at 0.75.’

‘What’s remarkable is that the former Clemson Tiger has accumulated these Hall of Fame career-building numbers playing with nearly a dozen different middling quarterbacks: Matt Schaub, Case Keenum, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, T.J. Yates, Brandon Weeden, Brock Osweiler and Tom Savage.’

‘“He’s a young player, so I think if you give a young player too much information, sometimes that can cloud them up,” said Daboll. “There’s a fine line between not giving them enough and then giving them too much. Each week I think we try to balance it the best we can in terms of the amount of plays, the responsibilities.”’

‘“I have a trainer in Arizona and there was interest from some teams during free agency. I just didn’t feel comfortable,’’ said Anderson, who joined the Bills at practice Wednesday at the team’s New Era Field training complex. “I decided, ‘OK, I’ll just hang out,’ and I’ve been chasing around my three kids. My wife was ready for me to go back to work.’’’

‘“I shouldn’t have gotten traded anyway; I was killing stuff,” McCoy said on the back end of earlier comments he made about the trade rumors that are circulating around him this week.’

‘Clearly, though, Anderson is going to come aboard and it is expected that he will serve as a mentor to rookie Josh Allen, as well as probably be the Bills’ primary backup quarterback once he gets up to speed on the offensive system.’

‘“To me, all you have to do in this league is throw the film on and you look at the individual players that you’re going to have to go against, the scheme that you’re going to have to go against,’’ said O’Brien, whose Texans host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at NRG Stadium. “That in and of itself (is enough motivation), knowing how difficult it is to win a game in this league.’’’

‘Allen looked to be in complete control as he orchestrated the first fourth-quarter comeback drive of his brief career, and he completed the only two passes he attempted. Both throws were as easy as could be, but they were right on the money. That’s something to build off.’

‘Anderson entered the NFL in 2005 as a sixth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens, but he never played a game and ended up moving on to Cleveland in 2006. With the Browns, Anderson became the full-time starter in 2007 and posted a 10-5 record in a year when Cleveland barely missed making the second playoff appearance since its rebirth as a franchise in 1999.’

‘It was ugly in many ways for Allen, but he completed two key passes on the winning drive which extended 47 yards in 11 plays. Allen finished 10 of 19 for just 82 yards, but the Bills rushed for 144 yards, led by LeSean McCoy who had 85, matching his output from the first three games he played.’

‘For his career, Anderson has enjoyed scant success in the NFL. He is 20-27 as a starter and has completed only 54.1 percent of his passes with 60 touchdowns and 60 interceptions. Given those numbers, the Bills would certainly rather he didn’t have to play, and they are bringing him in to provide Allen some guidance, something current backup quarterback Nathan Peterman – in just his second NFL season – clearly can’t do.’

‘McDermott essentially said the same thing. “It’s a good team win, first and foremost. Defense did a good job to give us chances, they took the ball away. We’re a young football team that’s developing and evolving. Our offense came back and put a big-time drive together to win the game. They should get some confidence from that.”’

‘With the game on the line, Bills’ offensive coordinator Brian Daboll wasn’t about to put the outcome in Allen’s hands when the safest strategy was using McCoy’s and Ivory’s legs.’

‘That one falls in the category of “a win is a win” as the Bills out-uglied the Titans for a 13-12 victory Sunday at New Era Field. The Bills defense carried the day by forcing three turnovers and holding the Titans to 221 yards and no touchdowns. And then the offense, which struggled most of the day and scored its first 10 points due primarily to two of the turnovers, came through at the end with a game-winning drive on the legs of LeSean McCoy and Chris Ivory. The Bills are 2-3, which is a whole lot better than 1-4, which is the way it was looking there before the surprising finish.’