USA Today

‘Hamlin received more first-place votes (21) than Flacco (13), but he finished behind in points 151-140 after being left off eight of 50 ballots.’

‘Bills Mafia started donating to local nonprofit Ten Lives Club to show support to Bass after he reportedly received online hate. The kicker is a brand ambassador for the organization, which is a no-kill cat rescue and shelter.’

‘And, once again, Mahomes was again a huge component of Buffalo’s misery.’

‘How cruel was that? The Bills had them right where they wanted them. On their turf in the playoffs. Instead, Buffalo was cursed again.’

‘”The two most dreaded words in Buffalo have surfaced again,” Nantz said on the broadcast.’

‘The two stars already have an established history in their careers with the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. Although they are fierce competitors on the field, they have established a friendship off of it. They even played golf together in The Match where they lost to Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.’

‘”We’re going to need some snow shovelers (again)!” the Bills wrote on social media Thursday. “Help get Highmark Stadium ready for our Divisional Round playoff game.”‘

‘After a week in which snow and wind swirled unabated, the weather gods appear to be smiling on Orchard Park, N.Y., where Highmark Stadium is located. The U.S. National Weather Service is forecasting a “warmup” Sunday, with a high temperature near 24 degrees. By comparison, Saturday’s high temperature in Orchard Park is projected to be near 15 degrees. Wind gusts are expected to be about 14 miles per hour, per the NWS, with a wind chill of 12 degrees.’

‘Miller has lent a hand to Bills players and staffers over the years when the lake-effect snow barrels through.’

‘There were plenty of big moments for the star signal-caller, who ripped off the second-longest scoring run by a quarterback in NFL playoff history with his 52-yard scamper. But this didn’t feel like the all-Allen effort that the Bills have occasionally counted on to carry them, with youngsters like Dalton Kincaid and James Cook stepping up to lend a hand. And wide receiver Khalil Shakir came up with a distinctly Allen-like second-effort on a fourth-quarter touchdown to help ice the game.’

‘”The game will not be pushed back again,” Hochul told reporters. “… We have up until the fans start coming to the stadium later in the afternoon. If it was a morning game, it would be a little tougher, but a 4:30 game gives us that time. Again, the weather’s not gonna be perfect. It’ll not be a sunny, warm day with no snow, but it’s nothing we can’t deal with.”‘

‘The game was originally scheduled for 1 p.m. ET Sunday. It will still air on CBS and stream on Paramount+.’

‘“Be part of the team to get the venue ready for the hometown Bills Wildcard Playoff game vs. the Steelers!” the franchise wrote on Friday. “Shovelers can shovel snow throughout the night on Saturday into Sunday morning if needed.”‘

‘That would be some of the highest winds ever recorded in an NFL game. The 1982 AFC championship game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers featured subzero temperatures and wind gusts past 50 mph as well. More recently, the Bills lost 14-10 to the Patriots in December 2021 in a Monday Night Football game featuring winds gusting up to 55 mph.’

‘Look how much has changed: Buffalo’s window is wide open again after one of the most resilient finishes in the league this season. And that could be bad news for the rest of the league as the playoffs begin next week.’