Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘They were the team that shed that ugly gorilla from their backs, and the backs of every former Bills player who was part of the drought. Yes, they needed a miracle in Baltimore to make it happen, but it happened, and this was an accomplishment they could revel in.’

‘You have to give McCoy credit because he’s a gamer. His ankle had to be killing him, yet he played 57 snaps, which tied his season-high workload. He ran 19 times for 75 yards and caught six passes for 44 yards and, as usual, was the Bills’ best player on offense. I’d love to see what McCoy could do in Buffalo if the Bills ever put together a semi-decent passing game, rather than the mess he’s had to deal with all three years he’s been here.’

‘On Monday, Ngakoue did not back down on what he tweeted, telling reporters in Jacksonville, “I’ve been playing this game for 12 or 13 years and have never heard anything like that. When somebody says something about your ethnicity, that’s taking it too far. … You can’t say certain things.”’

‘For the sake of NFL fans, let’s hope that’s the worst game of the postseason because forcing anyone to watch another one like this would be cruel and inhuman. The Bills and Jaguars finally made it to the national stage — Jacksonville hadn’t played a postseason game since 2007 — and this was what they offered up?’

‘Taylor scrambled and his helmet was slammed to the ground as he was thrown down by Jacksonville defensive end Dante Fowler with 1:27 left and the Bills on their 44-yard line. Plays from both teams immediately called for trainers and Taylor lied motionless on his back for several minutes as he was tended to by medical personnel.’

‘That day, it seemed as if Taylor’s time in Buffalo was done; no way were the Bills going to bring him back given the huge salary he was due to be owed in 2017. Yet Taylor did return, mainly because he agreed to restructure his deal, betting on himself that he could convince new coach Sean McDermott that he could become the Bills’ long-term franchise quarterback.’

‘Tyrod Taylor may very well have played his last game for the Bills, and it’s tough to make an argument that he should return after yet another performance where he couldn’t generate a thing. He completed just 17 of 37 passes for 134 yards with a pick that wasn’t his fault, leading to a passer rating of 44.2. He got no help from his receivers, particularly Kelvin Benjamin who has done basically nothing since he came to Buffalo in a Halloween trade. His pass interference penalty in the end zone was a huge play in the game. This was the 11th game this year where the passing game netted less than 200 yards. This has to change.’

‘Many of those same people, and some from other flights, wound up congregating at gate E9 in Charlotte for the connection to Jacksonville. Periodic “Let’s Go Buffalo” chants broke out as other travelers looked on in bemusement. I felt bad for the one poor guy at the gate wearing his Jaguars jacket, traveling back home with his wife and small child amid this chaos.’

‘Cowher’s forearms might hurt but it never hurts to have a coach with a Super Bowl ring on your side.’

‘An entire generation bereft of a Bills post-season got their taste of the frenzy as their team fell 10-3 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Wild Card game in Florida before what was estimated to be tens of thousands of fans clad in red, white and blue in the stands.’

‘Jaguars 20, Bills 13.’

‘The Jaguars are a mediocre run defense, even with such a dominant front line that includes Marcell Dareus, Calais Campbell, and Malik Jackson, and playmaking linebackers like Paul Posluszny, Myles Jack, and Telvin Smith. Marcus Murphy and Mike Tolbert will probably share the rushing load, and it will be imperative for the Bills’ offensive line to get the job done because, unlike McCoy, neither of those two are going to be able to gain many yards on their own if the line breaks down.’

‘The Jaguars finished with the second-most takeaways in the NFL with 33, one fewer than Baltimore and eight more than Buffalo (25).’

‘Schuster, 59 and in his 18th season as an NFL official, worked his first game on Sept. 3, 2000 in Cleveland when the Browns hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars coached then by Tom Coughlin. Coughlin, a Waterloo native and two-time Super Bowl champion as coach of the New York Giants, is now executive vice president of football operations for the Jaguars.’

‘Dareus represents a portion of the Bills’ failure as a franchise during their 17-year playoff drought. He was the No. 3 overall pick in 2011, and in his six-plus years, he did not live up to his draft status. Dareus was a good player for Buffalo, and he was selected to two Pro Bowls, but he was never the difference-maker the Bills hoped he would be, and then he became a drain on the budget when former general manager Doug Whaley stupidly gave him a $96 million contract extension that included $60 million in guaranteed money.’