Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Sal’s prediction: Kansas City Chiefs 34, Buffalo Bills 31.’

‘Even in 2019, Allen’s first full season as a starter, the Bills came into the season with just the Thanksgiving Day game against Dallas as its lone prime time slot. That was the game where the Bills surprised the Cowboys and no doubt played a role (along with playoff implications) in the NFL’s decision to flex Buffalo’s game two weeks later against Pittsburgh into a Sunday night game. It was the first Sunday night game for Buffalo since 2007.’

‘However, right there is the demarcation line when everything began to change and since Week 8 the Chiefs are like a new team. In winning 10 of their last 11 – which won them the AFC West and the No. 2 seed in the playoffs – they have allowed an average of just 16.5 points per game and have forced 25 turnovers.’

‘In a few hours, more than $8700 was raised to help Bills Elvis and his friends and family their tailgating tradition going.’

‘“I can tell you we miss Tre out there,” said McDermott. “But Dane and Levi have done a tremendous job, and I think just overall the guys have come together as a team and played good team defense in Tre’s absence. The entire secondary has taken that as a challenge and embraced that challenge. It’s never about one guy … I just think about the overall team, the overall unit, in this case, the defense. So we’ve got to continue to play like that in Tre’s absence and take our game to another level.”’

‘But hey, think of it this way. To get to Los Angeles, site of Super Bowl 56, Kansas City is on the way, and if the Bills have to also take a detour through Nashville, so be it.’

‘This was a game Bills fans will remember the rest of their lives because of the sheer dominance Buffalo showed, and the opponent it conquered. Seriously, is there any other team Bills fans would have wanted to annihilate more than the Patriots?’

‘My, how the tables have turned as Sean McDermott has now beaten Bill Belichick in four of their last five meetings.’

‘Bill Belichick this, Bill Belichick that. Yes, he’s one of the greatest in the history of the game, but Sean McDermott has now won four of the last five games. McDermott had his team as ready as they’ve ever been for a game and that was obvious all night as the Patriots looked dead in the water.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Buffalo Bills 20, New England Patriots 13.’

‘“But truthfully, it’s tremendous pride, especially in the fact that this year in particular, I don’t think besides maybe the Washington game, we haven’t had very good weather, and the fans have not deviated from showing their support and coming out and having a good time, and being loud and being very supportive.”’

‘“My toes were so numb, I couldn’t feel the ball,” Christie said. “You know where the ball is, you hope you know where your foot is, and hopefully the two will meet. I knew it was going to be a tough day and unfortunately for Blanchard, it was harder for him than it was for me. But that’s our advantage playing at Rich, we’re used to the frozen turf.”’

‘On their way to four straight victories, according to Pro Football Focus, the Bills have generated 96 QB pressures which include sacks, hurries and QB hits. There were 19 sacks and because of that spike, a pass rush that felt like it was lacking most of the season wound up finishing with 42 sacks, tied for 11th in the NFL, while their sacks per play percentage of 7.34% was sixth best.’

‘How delicious is that? A third game against everyone’s favorite team to hate in the span of 41 days.’

‘“I’m super proud of those guys, but let me just make sure I’m clear here; Leslie Frazier runs the defense and I want to give credit where credit is due,” said coach Sean McDermott. “This is not Sean McDermott’s defense, this is Leslie’s defense, and those defensive coaches and players have done a phenomenal job.”’