Niagara Gazette

‘The decision was an agonizing one, especially for his children. His oldest son, now 13, was upset when his father decided to retire, but Williams said, “play 13 years at defensive tackle, you have these amounts of surgeries, play 800 plus snaps a year in the middle of the trenches, and when you’re 35 years old, and then you come back to me and you tell me how you feel about your body.”’

‘In five playoff wins, opposing quarterbacks have been sacked 12 times, averaging 242.4 yards on 54.1% completions, with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. But in the last four playoff losses, they have been sacked four times, averaging 290 yards on 72.3% completions, with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions.’

‘It’s Surtain who is the biggest piece to an aggressive Broncos defense. Denver plays the most man-to-man coverage in the NFL (56%) and holds the fifth-highest blitz rate (29.3%) and Surtain’s play allows both.’

‘Multiple outlets reported the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets requested permission to interview Brady for their vacant head coaching jobs, which was confirmed by Brady and Bills coach Sean McDermott. And while Brady didn’t hide his desire to become a head coach, he also said his main focus was Buffalo’s wild-card matchup with the Denver Broncos at 1 p.m. Sunday.’

‘But the Bills are a team now judged on postseason success. Just as it was assumed the Bills would lose their grip on the division, they were once the team picked to dethrone the Chiefs, only to falter in the divisional round three years in a row.’

‘“The biggest thing I’ve heard from people is just don’t stress out about it,” Andreessen told GNN Sports. “You might mess up, but even the starters who are Pro Bowl players make mistakes, too. So don’t be worried about making mistakes, just go out there and fly around.”’

‘But with the Bills already in possession of the AFC East championship and the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, they are expected to rest some starters. That will give Grable his first extended NFL action. I’ve been on the sideline, I’ve been in the meeting room, there’s no problem doing that. I’ve been having fun just being around those guys and they’ve been showing me the way.”’

‘Just because they may not actually want to play doesn’t mean players don’t want to be named to the team.’

‘“I’m biased because I’m pass-rushing, but I think we’ve been rushing pretty well for a while,” Miller said. “The quarterback has just been getting rid of the ball super fast. I think the (release) time last week was 2.3 and you watched the Denver game last night, (Cincinnati’s) Joe Burrow’s holding onto the ball, 4, 5, 6 seconds. So I think everything just came together.”’

‘Pass-rush consistency is still an issue, but Rousseau is seventh in the league in tackles for a loss (16), quarterback hits (24), knockdowns (15) and pressures (35) and developing into one of the best all-around edge rushers in the league,’

‘“Not to say that we weren’t in the past, but it’s a different bond,” Allen said. “A real sense of tightness and sense of family in this locker room. We’re going out there, we’re happy for each other’s success. We want everybody to succeed and we want to help do our part.”’

‘To decipher Rapp’s value, look no further than the games the Bills have allowed the most passing yards. Rapp was playing injured or out in four of the five games Buffalo allowed more than 250 yards through the air, including the last three games.’

‘Bishop’s NFL beginnings were stunted when he injured his shoulder on the third day of training camp and his recovery extended almost the entire preseason. He was already battling veterans Damar Hamlin and Mike Edwards for a starting job and Hamlin seized it through his knowledge of the defense and injuries to prolonged Bishop and Edwards.’

‘Sixty years have passed since the Bills defeated the San Diego Chargers, 20-7, to win the AFL championship on Dec. 26, 1964, the first of back-to-back championships. All 13 members remaining from the 39-man roster are in their 80s, the last remnants of the franchise’s only teams to hoist a championship trophy.’

‘“Everything was competitive and that included the press,” Pro Football Hall of Fame executive director Joe Horrigan said. “They used to travel with the team, so there was a bond. They traveled on the same plane. It wasn’t like today, getting credentials, it was just an extension of the team, and they were very proud of their team. … It was this homegrown atmosphere, like everybody involved in the AFL had this connection to each other, and that really carried over for a couple years into the merged league.”’