Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘This isn’t a playoff team, and kudos to those who weren’t fooled by the 5-2 start that was accomplished against a schedule which, going into Week 10, contained just one team currently with a winning record (Carolina).’

‘As we said last week, the loss to the Jets feels like the turning point in this season. Two months from now when the NFL playoffs begin, it seems to me we’re going to be looking back on that loss as the one that short-circuited what seemed like a promising year, the one that enabled the drought to reach its voting age birthday.’

‘Tyrod Taylor was terrible, one of his worst games as a Bill. He completed 9 of 18 passes for 56 yards and had a 33.6 QB rating. Taylor was picked off once, though it wasn’t his fault as the ball went through Charles Clay’s hands and right to New Orleans’ Sheldon Rankins. Taylor had Clay back, and WR Kelvin Benjamin for the first time, and failed to utilize them. He completed his first attempt to Benjamin, and never another; his only two receptions came courtesy of Nathan Peterman. Clay had two catches for 13 yards. So much for the infusion on offense. Peterman led the only TD drive and threw his first NFL scoring pass when the game was long decided. No, he’s not the new starter.’

‘Saints 27, Bills 21.’

‘The Saints come to town riding a six-game winning streak and at 6-2, this is their best record at the halfway point of a season since being 7-1 in 2013.’

‘Their first two losses were not like this. They fought hard down in Carolina, which to date is the only team they’ve played that currently has a winning record. And against Cincinnati, while they didn’t play well, they had the ball down four points with three minutes to play before their hopes died with a Tyrod Taylor interception.’

‘ Just as we’ve done with Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Warren Moon, John Elway, Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers over the years.’

‘“I’m thinking the worst,” Washington said the other day. “I played well the week before (against Denver), then I was inactive and the first thing that pops into my head is they want to cut me or they want to trade me. I called my (family), talked to them, talked to my agent (powerful Drew Rosenhaus), and at the end of the day, the only way I could get those thoughts out of my head was to go out there and be seen, be like Kyle.”’

‘“Drew is one of my favorite quarterbacks of all time, somebody I definitely watched growing up,” Taylor said Wednesday. “Had a chance to meet him a couple years ago and to see some of the things he does in the offseason and how he works and approaches the game. Definitely somebody I admire.”’

‘Wide receiver Zay Jones, who suffered a knee injury against the Jets, also sat out the practice while tight end Charles Clay and cornerback E.J Gaines worked on a limited basis. McDermott seemed fairly confident Clay and Gaines would be able to play in the game.’

‘“He’s a receiver that makes our offense better,” McDermott said. “If you want to go one-on-one on the outside (against Benjamin), that’s on you, and that opens up the run game. It’s a nice little dynamic there and you look at what we already have in the run game, with Charles potentially coming back, Tyrod (Taylor), the other receivers, now we’ve got some things a defense must contend with. I had confidence in the group of receivers before we brought in Kelvin. Now, I see the group improving because of Kelvin. We’ve got a couple of pros in that room and they have their effect on Kelvin and Kelvin has his effect on them.”’

‘ “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.’