Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘New England’s offense has been embarrassingly bad all year – except when it somehow beat the Bills back in October – but its defense remains sturdy and ranks second in the NFL against the rush and eighth in total yards against.’

‘First things first, though, and that’s making sure the Bills clinch at least a wild-card playoff berth and the easiest path to do so is this: Beat the Patriots and have two of three of the Steelers, Bengals and Jaguars lose.’

‘But if the Dolphins lose, and assuming the Bills beat the Patriots, then Buffalo will head to Miami for the season finale and a victory at Hard Rock Stadium would make them AFC East champions for the fourth consecutive year. That’s because while both teams’ records would be 11-6, the Bills would own the head-to-head tiebreaker by sweeping the season series.’

‘Look, any game on the road is tough in the NFL, so the Bills finding a way to win on a night when they were certainly not at their best was impressive. But they’re going to need to be better than this, and yes, that includes against the Patriots on New Year’s Eve if they hope to go to Miami with a chance to win the AFC East.’

‘There were some things the Bills needed to overcome in this game, and they answered the call. That was impressive, especially with their season on the line.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 26, Chargers 10.’

‘But everywhere else in the region, including Rochester, if WGRZ is not available in your cable package, and you aren’t up to driving, there is no local TV broadcast; you will only be able to watch the game if you subscribe to Peacock. The cost to sign up is $5.99 per month, but there may be deals available.’

‘In his third season, Brown had to prove that he is a player the Bills could rely on or else his spot in the lineup would be up for grabs. He has certainly done that.’

‘Buffalo’s best chance to make the postseason would be to win its final three games because if that happens, according to the New York Times playoff machine there is approximately a 99% chance that they will qualify. And not only qualify, but do so as the AFC East champ which would mean at least one home playoff game in mid-January.’

‘Another thing the Bills may need to be wary of is the nature of the Chargers’ loss that led to Staley’s firing. It was the second-most egregious team-wide performance in the NFL this season, drafting narrowly behind Denver’s 70-16 no-show loss to Miami in Week 3.’

‘What Peacock will get instead is a Bills team that is currently not holding a playoff spot in the AFC (but trending in the right direction), against a tremendously disappointing Chargers team that has gone splat and is out of the playoff race, has fired its head coach Brandon Staley after an embarrassing 63-21 loss to the Raiders, and has lost Herbert to a season-ending finger injury.’

‘Surely, Brady was prepared for a shootout against this Dallas offense, but that never materialized and it was the type of in-game adjustment that the best coordinators excel at. Brady has proven in the month he’s been in charge that he has the chops to do that.’

‘One of the biggest concerns the Bills had coming into the game was whether the offensive line would be able to protect Allen and give him time to throw, but it became an irrelevant point once James Cook got rolling on the ground. But when Allen needed to make a play, he hit Diggs for a big 18-yard gain on the first TD drive, found Diggs who made a brilliant catch for 17 yards on the fourth TD drive, and then he hit Cook on a pretty 18-yard TD pass for the second TD.’

‘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).’