Archives for January 10, 2021

‘”I think just leadership, probably more than anything,” coach Sean McDermott told reporters after his first playoff victory as a head coach after going 0-2 in the postseason since arriving in Buffalo in 2017. “Maturity, professionalism. Yeah, that’s what comes to mind more than anything else.”‘

‘“I said, ‘There ain’t no way this is happening again,’ ” Hyde explained later, “and I got a running start to go up and hit it. Looking back, I wish I would have done that in ‘AZ,’ but hey, you learn something new, you win some, you lose some, and when you lose you learn along the way, so I was able to do that.”’

‘Allen changed the call at the line of scrimmage just before his 35-yard scoring throw to Diggs, which game the Buffalo Bills a 24-10 lead.’

‘“I think so, personally,” Milano said after the game when asked if it was a fumble. “It looked like his knee was clearly off the ground and Poyer hadn’t touched him yet. I don’t know, I mean, it is what it is. We’ve just got to continue to go out there and play.”

‘“For the fans to stand behind this team the way they’ve done over the years,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said, “and the fans and how much noise they made today, even at 6,700, I guess, was the number, incredible, man. You could feel it in the air. Just the atmosphere and the environment was almost like it was full, especially down the stretch there.”‘

‘Availability will go in seniority order for eligible ticket holders, who will receive an email with their date and time to purchase. Tickets can be acquired via online only and cannot be purchased in person or via phone.’

‘The Colts were the second-highest scoring team in the NFL in the first quarter, at 6.7 ppg. They had 66 points on their first drive of the season, second to Green Bay, but didn’t score to start the game Saturday.’

‘The Colts ran for 163 yards on 30 carries – an average of 5.4 a pop. The Bills did an OK job against Colts stud rookie Jonathan Taylor, holding him to 78 yards on 21 carries, but it was change-of-pace back Nyheim Hines who was a thorn in the Bills’ side, gaining 75 yards on six attempts.’

‘“As pumped as we are,” Tim Wangler said of Bills Mafia, “we will absolutely make it feel like 70,000.”’

‘There were 137 positive cases among 7,165 tests administered in drive-thru testing at Bills Stadium, Gareth Rhodes, a member of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Covid-19 Response Task Force, said during the governor’s phone briefing Saturday morning.’

‘“Covering the team from a distance has been very challenging,” Reed wrote in an email. “There are things you miss when you’re not on the road with the team. We typically arrive the day before the game and there’s so much you can learn by just walking through the airport and talking to the clerk at the rental car place, listening to local sports radio, watching the local news. You get the pulse of the other team’s fan base.”’