Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Moved by a victory I never saw coming, I went back to the beginning of the century to see how many other victories could be classified in the improbable category, and here’s what I came up with.’

‘“If you tackle a quarterback the way you’re supposed to tackle the quarterback, they take $15,000 or $20,000 from your pocket for doing something you’ve been taught since you were 8 years old. It’s not that you’re being mean or malicious, but you’re taught to form tackle, put your head to the side, leave your feet, shoot your guns, whatever lingo you have, but it’s what we’ve been taught. They’re putting way too much emphasis on it now and making it a lot harder for defensive players just to go out and play football. It’s making the game too ticky-tacky with penalties at the wrong time.’’’

‘“I’ve gone twice against him,’’ Alexander said the other day at New Era Field after practice. “I sacked him once, he’s beaten me once (for a touchdown), so we’re split. It’s always fun to play against former teammates and catch up. There’s a lot of history there, especially in college when we hung out together and were really tight. It’s going to be fun.’’’

‘“I didn’t want to affect the team and go out there and be about 80 percent,’’ he said. “They sat me out, but today I was full go, sprinting. I’m ready to go and to get it going.’’’

‘“I only got one sack, one forced fumble, so that’s not even close to what I can do,” Hughes said, apparently holding himself to the Bruce Smith standard. “Pressures are cool, but we play in a business where it’s all about results, so I definitely want to get to the quarterback more, get more turnovers and help my team.”’

‘Milano, who shared time at weakside linebacker Ramon Humber, played on 71 percent of the snaps compared with Humber’s 29 percent. It’s puzzling why that is because Milano has clearly been the better player, but a performance like this one could skew things more heavily in Milano’s favor in the coming weeks, starting Sunday at Green Bay.’

‘Sirles played for the Chargers in 2014 and was traded to the Vikings in 2015. He spent 2015-17 with Minnesota and was signed as a free agent by the Panthers in 2018.’

‘Coach Mike McCarthy’s team began the year with a stirring 24-23 comeback win against the Chicago Bears before a sigh-of-relief 29-29 tie against Minnesota (courtesy of three missed Vikings’ field goals) and a listless 31-17 loss at the Washington Redskins in the rain.’

‘On the second series, right after the Buffalo defense forced a turnover deep in Minnesota territory, Allen gave Benjamin another chance on third-and-6 from the 11. The alleged No. 1 receiver was singled up again with Rhodes on a cross over the middle and he had inside leverage. Allen delivered a strike that would have converted the first down, and perhaps could have gone for a touchdown, but Benjamin dropped it again. The Bills settled for a field goal.’

‘Here’s how Twitter reacted to his death-defying hurdle over Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr…’.

‘Daboll apparently realized this past week that he had to figure out a way to get Allen into the rhythm of the game, and that short, quick passing was the way to do it. The result was three touchdowns, two via the rush by Allen and one through the air as Allen completed 12 of 19 for 172 yards in the first 30 minutes.’

‘I’m sure Sean McDermott and the coaches were ready to wring his neck when he went back to the bench after that death-defying hurdle over a Minnesota defender in the first quarter to convert a first down. It was a super-exciting play that made all the highlight shows, and it showed his athleticism and his fearlessness, but the Bills would prefer he didn’t risk life and limb moving forward because they don’t want to play another snap without him.’

‘I really thought Daboll did a nice job finding the right matchups, and he guided Allen through a terrific first half. The play call to spring Jason Croom for his 26-yard TD catch was superb and the Vikings were caught completely off guard. Daboll was predictably conservative in the second half, and I never like that, but in this game it didn’t matter because the Vikings were so bad. On defense, Leslie Frazier called the plays, not Sean McDermott and he called a great game. The Bills dialed up the pressure, forced turnovers, and had Cousins off his game all day. I loved that McDermott went for the TD on fourth-and-goal at the 1 because that spoke to his willingness to pound the Vikings while they were down. And he should have won his only challenge; the officials blew that play when they called Allen for a fumble even though it should have been an incomplete pass. Didn’t matter because the Bills scored a TD a few plays later.’

‘Vikings 30, Bills 10.’

‘Two weeks into the 2018 season, the Bills are once again a laughingstock, a team that looks completely incapable of winning a single game let alone repeating its shocking run to the postseason.’