Toronto Sun

‘Things are going from bad to worse in Buffalo.’

‘Last year, it was supposed to be Super Bowl or Bust for the Bills. They won 13 games and busted in the playoffs against Cincinnati after having a game against the same Bengals canceled when defensive back Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field. The year before, they lost in overtime to Kansas City in a playoff game that still defies explanation.’

‘All of this on the heels of Diggs’ shocking (frankly) behaviour late last season, both on the field and on the Bills sideline during at least a couple of big games, including Buffalo’s early playoff ouster at home to the Cincinnati Bengals.’

‘“And if I could mention one more person,” Pegula tearfully added, “who I cheer for every day — my wife Kim. Years ago David Bellamy penned a song, ‘You’re My Favorite Star.’ And Kim, you are my favourite star.”’

‘“Just sitting here and talking with the guys, they’re so chill and they’re so focused on what they’ve got going on here in Toronto,” Allen said in an interview outside the Jays’ dugout after he was done flashing his baseball skills. “It seems like they’ve got a good vibe in the locker room which is very fun to see.”‘

‘Three heart specialists — “most recently on Friday” — unanimously agreed “in lockstep” that Hamlin, 25, may resume full football activities, Beane said — “just like anyone else who was coming back from an injury, or whatever.”’

‘“The NFL changed its rules after Buffalo’s last non-relocation agreement was signed,” a source said, “because the league said that deal was too strict. So the NFL basically prohibited NFL teams from ever again signing a similarly tough NRA. They wanted financial penalties for abandoning a stadium lease to be ramped down after a certain point.” ‘

‘Brittany Williams — who got together with Allen in 2015 — took to Instagram late Monday to proclaim how proud she is of the slinger.’

‘“One would think that ‘Damar’s’ return to the stadium in any capacity would illicit great smiles, high 5s and jubilation,” another speculated. “Not a single smile, not from any of them. That is not a normal reaction to such a ‘momentous’ happy moment.”’

‘His playoff record: Four wins, five losses. This wasn’t just the most disappointing of the defeats, being at home. This was a dissection performed by the Bengals, the Bills were the object. They had no tangible response – and as the game ended and Diggs all but walked out on his team in the locker room and Allen sat at his locker, not moving, still stunned from what had transpired, it was a pure indication that the best of the Bills never saw the punch – or many punches – that knocked them out. You can’t fire McDermott after a 13-3 season, after almost beating Kansas City a year ago, but you can certainly ask questions. And you can certainly demand explanations.’

‘It has been 30 years since the Bills lost the last of their four straight Super Bowl defeats. For most of those many years, they were searching desperately, sometimes comically, for a franchise quarterback who could be at least a vague approximation of Jim Kelly. And now here was Allen, transformed after a shaky couple of seasons into a boss-level version of Buffalo’s Hall of Famer, throwing the ball all over the place, making huge completions in high-stress situations, and occasionally running the ball himself like a freight train with failed brakes.’

‘Hamlin tweeted Monday he returned home “with a lot of love on my heart. Watching the world come together around me on Sunday was truly an amazing feeling. The same love you all have shown me is the same love that I plan to put back into the world (and) more. Bigger than football!’

‘The central intrigue of this game, though, pertains to the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC — the only one of seven playoff berths in that conference that comes with a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the conference playoffs.’

‘The Buffalo Bills, the pre-season favourite to win this season’s Super Bowl, have lost two straight. And to read social-media postings from that team’s fan base, and by the over-reactionary segment of the team’s media contingent, you’d think it was 12.’

‘On the next snap, with 1:19 left, Allen just did not have enough zip left in his powerful right arm on his 43rd throw to reach Gabe Davis, as that big wideout broke right-to-left on a crossing pattern into the end zone. Allen’s pass came up a couple yards short — and right into the waiting hands of trailing veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson, who intercepted to seal plucky Minnesota’s seventh straight win and eighth in nine games this season.’