Two Bills Drive

‘“That’s somebody who has been studying his film and knew what was going on,” Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson said. “He jumped that route. I always tell him, ‘Shoot, you’re a first-round pick – go out and be a dog.’ I’ve been preaching that, and I was proud when he got that pick because even though he’s a rookie, he’s been studying like he’s been in the league 3-4 years. When he jumped it, I said, ‘OK, that’s what his studying has come from.”‘

‘What the Bills put on video against the Dolphins won’t be good enough to win in the divisional round. Too many mistakes. Too many empty possessions. Too many missed tackles. No opponent should be shaking in their cleats about coming up to these parts to play the Bills.’

‘“When you’re a quarterback, your mistakes get magnified,” Saffold said. “And my thing is, is that when you play in a playoff game, mistakes don’t matter anymore: You play with the hand that you’re dealt. As long as the end result is a win, that’s all that matters.”’

‘It’s a little reminiscent of the Bills’ 1992 season. That year, Buffalo got away with making 38 turnovers, sixth most in the league. It finally caught up with them in the Super Bowl, when they made nine turnovers in the 52-17 loss to Dallas. Is this Bills’ season headed toward a similar conclusion?’

‘WR Stefon Diggs: He had 96 yards receiving … in the first quarter. He went over 100 yards … on the first play of the second quarter. Diggs finished with seven catches for 114 yards.’

‘“That’s what we have to do,” Beasley said. “We’ve got to be there for him, just give Josh easy throws. They’re going to try to take Stef (Diggs) away. He’s a big-time player. He’s our No. 1 guy. If you’re going to give him one-on-one coverage, he’s going to eat you alive. So when it’s our chance to take advantage, we’ve got to do so.”’

‘First, the good news: McDermott won a challenge in the first half, overturning an incomplete ruling on a pass to Gabe Davis that ended up being a 19-yard gain. Now, the bad: The timeout usage was bad. I get why McDermott used one with 7 seconds left in the first half and the clock stopped – as he appeared to be giving the officials more time to potentially review a pass to Stefon Diggs in the end zone that might have been a touchdown. It didn’t work, though. In the second half, the Bills used two defensive timeouts and, to make matters even worse, both times it erased what would have been favorable results for Buffalo. It’s always a dangerous game second-guessing play calling, but the offensive sequence early in the fourth quarter was gross. Two vertical routes for Davis that fell incomplete and then an Allen sack on third down was a bad, bad look for offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. The Bills got away with it, but they’ve seriously got to clean things up next week.’

‘“Word traveled fast, because by the end of walkthrough, everyone had gotten down there to say hello, and he was trying to – you know, being the team guy that he is – trying to stay under the radar,” McDermott said. “And he was kind of all the way down the one end zone there.”’

‘How do the Bills cover all the Bengals’ weapons? The top three cornerbacks to start Sunday’s game against Miami were Tre’Davious White (outside), Dane Jackson (outside) and Taron Johnson (nickel). Johnson sustained a first-half knee injury and was replaced by rookie Kaiir Elam, who had an interception. The Bills will play sides, instead of having White, for example, travel with Chase around the formation. The Bills’ pass rush will be key in forcing Burrow off his spot.’