Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 27, Cowboys 24.’

‘Now Epenesa, who is enjoying the best season of his career, and Hyde are out. It’s not ideal against a Dallas offense that is No. 1 in first downs per game (23.4) and third-down conversions (49.1%), fourth in yards (381.5), and second in passing yards (262.8).’

‘Dallas’ first sojourn into Rich Stadium came in 1984, 11 years after the venue opened, and another horrible Bills team, one that would go 2-14, pulled off a stunning 14-3 victory. Buffalo started the day 0-11 and thanks in part to this incredible loss, the Cowboys would go on to miss the playoffs for just the second time since 1965.’

‘Bland, who is only starting for the Cowboys because Stefon Diggs’ brother Trevon is out for the season with a knee injury, has enjoyed one of the most incredible runs any cornerback this season. He has already set an NFL record for most interception returns for a touchdown with five, and he did that in Dallas’ first 11 games through Thanksgiving Day.’

‘Suddenly, it doesn’t seem out of the question that Buffalo can get to within one game of the Dolphins before it goes to Miami for the season finale. If that happens, and the Bills win that last game, they would win the division based on a two-game sweep of Miami.’

‘Now, the 10-3 Cowboys are coming to Orchard Park, having just moved into first place in the NFC East with a resounding 33-13 blowout of the Eagles that was every bit as impressive as it looked.’

‘“Our guys – the staff, the players – steadfast in their focus,” McDermott said. “I couldn’t be more proud of a group, I really couldn’t at this point in the regular season. To a person, they didn’t flinch. They were focused, they supported one another and they supported me and I don’t take that for granted at all. I’m just super proud of those guys and just a super resilient group.”’

‘The offensive line had a bad night in pass protection. Allen took three sacks and pulled off Houdini escapes to avoid probably five or six others. Chiefs superstar DT Chris Jones and the rest of the Chiefs’ front seven – and I say seven because Chiefs DC Steve Sapgnuolo dialed up blitzes all night – were a constant nuisance for Allen.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 27, Chiefs 26.’

‘Neither team has lived up to expectations, but the game is still of massive importance and the bulk of the country will see it in the 4:25 p.m. window on CBS.’

‘All cards on the table, I am not a subscriber to Dunne’s “Go Long” newsletter and therefore did not have access to the expose except for the sections that were made available to non-subscribers. Even in those small snippets, it clearly puts McDermott in a very poor light for a variety of reasons.’

‘Beane was careful in his remarks during a 19-minute interaction with reporters, but when he was asked whether he thought Roger Goodell would put Miller on the commissioner’s exempt list, meaning he would be ineligible to play until the league’s investigation into the matter is complete, Beane said, “We don’t expect anything based on our conversations. Anytime it’s an ongoing investigation, if something was uncovered, the commissioner does have that (option) at any point. If he feels there was something that, hey, this doesn’t look good or something like that, they could, but with our knowledge of what we have today, we don’t expect that.”’

‘Let’s also remember that changing the coach doesn’t always work, and we don’t have to look any further than the 21st century Bills for glaring proof. Did they improve after Wade Phillips was canned, or after Gregg Williams was fired, or after Mike Mularkey quit, or after Dick Jauron was fired, or after Chan Gailey was fired, or after Doug Marrone quit?’

‘There are too many flaws and what’s problematic is they aren’t concentrated in one area. It would be one thing if it was just the offense, just the defense, or just the special teams, but at various times during this disappointing 6-6 start, every unit has struggled.’

‘The defending Super Bowl champions have lost three of their last five games and are struggling on offense as they rank tied for 11th in points per game (22.9) and eighth in yards (362.6).’