Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Sal’s prediction: Eagles 27, Bills 19.’

‘Sirianni’s team, now 9-1 which is the best record in the NFL, will look to stay ahead of the Cowboys in the NFC East and continue its push for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff bracket. McDermott’s Bills will be trying to continue their climb back into the AFC playoff chase on the heels of an impressive victory over the Jets.’

‘Douglas played in a rotation in his first game against the Bengals, but even when he was pressed into lengthier duty because Christian Benford got hurt that night, Douglas held up just fine against an elite passing game. From there he moved into the starting lineup ahead of Dane Jackson against the Broncos and Jets, and he has been a revelation.’

‘But in the last two games against the Broncos and Jets, seeing consistent coverage from two of the elite cornerbacks in the league – Denver’s Patrick Surtain II and New York’s Sauce Gardner – Diggs has been somewhat invisible. In those two games he has been targeted just 13 times and has caught only seven passes for 61 yards. That’s the lowest yardage total Diggs has ever had in a two-game stretch during his 3 ½ seasons in Buffalo.’

‘Assuming the Buffalo Bills were watching on TV, they saw how difficult their next two games are going to be as they head to Philadelphia Sunday to play an Eagles team that boasts a 9-1 record, the best in the NFL. And then after their bye week, the Bills are off to Arrowhead (again) to play the Chiefs who, even while playing poorly on offense and committing two brutal red zone turnovers, one of them by Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce, nearly beat the Eagles because of their tremendous defense.’

‘The offense was humming, the defense was dominant, and as coach Sean McDermott said, the special teams set the tone for the game on the opening kickoff by forcing a fumble. It was a dominant performance against a team that in the last couple years has given them fits.’

‘Special teams coach Matt Smiley is starting to pop up on social media as the next coach Sean McDermott should fire.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 16, Jets 10.’

‘They’ve already played five night games, gone 2-3, and while the offense played below expectation in all five – three that were downright miserable – there was at least late-game intrigue in the losses to the Jets and Broncos and the wins over the Giants and Buccaneers.’

‘“He’s not on this team, he’s not a part of the Buffalo Bills,” Stefon said. “My brother’s coming from a place of love or however he feels, he’s not a part of the Buffalo Bills. I try to handle things in-house or however you see fit, but I’m saying y’all are going to have to take it up with him and his comments. That’s still my guy 100%. But I can’t speak for him.”’

‘“I love Dorsey as a human being, he’s one of the good ones,” Allen said of the man who was his QB coach from 2019-21 and then his OC since the start of 2022. “He’s been in this room with me for a very long time. I feel like I owe him a lot of the success that I’ve had in my career and he’s been a huge part of that so it’s sad to see him go.”’

‘“I just felt like it was time for a change,” McDermott said Tuesday afternoon during a Zoom call with reporters. “We need to be a confident offensive football team and find consistent production and that’s really what it came down to. More than anything is come out with an energy about our offense and what we’re doing and move the football and score points. I mean, that’s really the offense’s job at the end of the day.”’

‘Of course, it certainly helped Brady that he had Joe Burrow at quarterback throwing an FBS record 60 touchdown passes on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. And Brady could scheme Burrow’s passes to future NFL star wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, and he could call running plays for Clyde Edwards-Helaire who piled up 1,400 yards on the ground behind an offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award as the nation’s best offensive line unit.’

‘The Bills are sitting in 10th place in the AFC standings in mid-November, behind teams like the Texans and Colts, and with the same number of losses as the Jets, Raiders and Broncos. If anyone saw that coming, I sure hope you played the lottery, too.’

‘And so rather than walking off the field with a wholly undeserved victory, the Bills swallowed one of their worst losses of the Sean McDermott/Josh Allen era.’