Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘ “They’ve always been aggressive offensively but probably the biggest improvement I’ve seen from their team, just having faced them over the years in the NFC South, is the defense and what they’ve been able to do,’’ McDermott said. “Going from, I think it was 28.4 points per game down to 19 in just a year’s time, is a tremendous improvement on that side.’’’

‘“I wasn’t really surprised,” Benjamin said of the trade that certainly had everyone else around the league, most notably Newton, feeling surprised. “I kind of feel the offense was going in another direction, but this is a great opportunity for me. I’m excited; new city, new team. When I got here they had open arms, so I’m excited and having fun.”’

‘Most likely: No. 5 seed at Tennessee or Jacksonville.’

‘As much of a downer as that loss was in New York, 5-3 is way better than the “tanking” prognostications that were being tossed around back in August when general manager Brandon Beane traded Sammy Watkins and Ronald Darby on the same day. Sure, it’s tough to deny that the Bills have overachieved to this point, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re still right in the mix of the wide-open AFC playoff picture.’

‘This is going to be a test, but here goes. I’ll start with Zay Jones. He finally looked like the player the Bills thought they were drafting — a possession receiver with good hands. Nothing flashy about his game, but if you throw it to him, he’ll catch it. He built a fabulous college career around those traits, and with six catches for 53 yards and a TD, that started to show. Also, after what looked like a bad knee injury, Jones was back out there playing in the second half. That showed some real grit. Hopefully, the injury doesn’t force him to miss time.’

‘Sadly with this franchise, nothing ever really changes, and Sean McDermott’s team, one we dared to dream might be different than so many previous Bills’ teams, is left to ponder over the next 10 days an inexplicably horrendous performance.’

‘Beat the Bills straight up in every phase, mind you, and it all started in the trenches as the Jets simply beat the crap out of the Bills offensive and defensive lines.’

‘ Really, it’s not that the Bills (5-3) lost to the Jets (4-5) by a score made somewhat respectable by some garbage time heroics by Taylor, it’s how they lost that is most disappointing after the way they had conducted themselves in impressive home wins over Tampa Bay and Oakland.’

‘“He really only had a short amount of time to get up to speed,’’ McDermott said after the Bills lost 34-21 and could’ve used Benjamin’s presence against an inspired Jets defense that played a lot of eight-men fronts, not that fearful of Buffalo’s passing game. “The guys that did play put in the time during the week and so we wanted to do things the right way as far as that goes.’’’

‘Sean McDermott and his staff had its worst game of the season. On offense, Rick Dennison never found anything to counter the Jets stacking the box to stop the run, nor did he have a way to combat the relentless pass rush. On defense, the Bills’ normally reliable run defense was gashed, and missed tackles were a major reason for that. The Bills haven’t had a game all year where they were outclassed, but it happened in this one, and it’s simply stunning than the below-average Jets were the team to do it. McDermott admitted it was a clunker, and how he has to make sure it doesn’t happen again.’

‘ “The thing with Sean is that he has coached a lot of football, coordinated some talented defenses, gone to Super Bowls,’’ said defensive tackle Kyle Williams, the most tenured Bill at 12 years. “He’s prepared for this opportunity. He has a philosophy and a process and he sticks to that. Now he’s got us adhering to it and so far, so good.’’’

‘“It’s a great opportunity,” said quarterback Tyrod Taylor. “Night games give you just a different feeling. Of course, when you know everyone’s watching you, you look forward to those moments. Even with the short week, guys are preparing hard and looking forward to this opportunity to show the other team what we can do, but as well as show the people that are going to be watching — everyone’s going to be tuned into Thursday Night Football — to show that this team is real.”’

‘Jim Nantz, play-by-play; Tony Romo, analyst, Tracy Wolfson, Jay Feely, sideline reporters.’

‘The Panthers picked up Benjamin’s fifth-year option, so the Bills can retain him in 2018 before he’s eligible to hit free agency. They will absorb a salary cap hit next year of $8,459,000 if they decide to keep him. The option is guaranteed against injury only.’

‘There was a time when this seemed like a no-brainer, meaning no way the Bills would consider it. What else were people to think when it became obvious the Bills were stockpiling as many 2018 draft picks as possible, presumably to make a run at one of the upper-echelon quarterbacks due to be coming from the college ranks?’