Niagara Gazette

‘But when offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was fired and replaced by quarterbacks coach Joe Brady Nov. 14, Johnson became a greater part of the offense and has seen his snap count rise. Johnson has 29 touches for 156 yards and a touchdown over the last four games, including a nine-carry, 54-yard outing against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, playing a season-high 20 snaps.’

‘Jones underwent surgery for a torn pectoral, suffered in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 8. The Buffalo Bills defensive tackle has been a constant presence throughout his rehabilitation period, and on Tuesday, coach Sean McDermott announced his 21-day window to return from injured reserve was opened.’

‘He was the No. 1 running back in college at LSU, then the fourth overall pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017 and a key piece to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl run in 2020. Now Fournette finds himself on the Buffalo Bills practice squad, with uncertainty as to whether or not he will ever get a chance to play this season.’

‘“Sometimes just lining up and being able to put the ball down and let our guys go win one-on-one matchups makes actually life a lot easier,” Brady said. “… Trying to move guys around, motion this, shift this and hope to get this look and the odds of getting that is sometimes slim. And so, sometimes it’s just line up and let our guys go win.”’

‘Rousseau says Cook is a legend in Florida. Well, it’s taken a little while for everyone else to come around, including the Buffalo Bills. But both the Bills and the Cowboys were educated about Cook Sunday.’

‘Two months ago, it wouldn’t have been a surprise. Two weeks ago, that result would have seemed stunning.’

‘The Cowboys have scored 40.5 points over the last five games, and Prescott leads the league with 28 touchdown passes, tossing 15 scores and one interception in their five-game winning streak. Although the Bills have surrendered 30 points once this year — 37 to Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles — the Cowboys have scored fewer than 30 just four times this season.’

‘Prescott and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy — who has 304 passing yards per game to go along with 13 touchdown passes and two interceptions in his last five games — are currently the two frontrunners for MVP.’

‘Bills receivers were also held to seven receptions, the third time in four games they have failed to make a combined 10 catches. It’s part of a shift in the offense — partly through defenses and partly through changing philosophy — that has become less reliant on receivers and more focused on quick passes.’

‘“This time of year we all do what you got to do,” McDermott said. “This is kind of one of those things that’s understood this time of year — that the game’s on the line, you’ve got to do what you got to do. So I don’t think I need to say that he knows that.”’

‘Now seven days into his 21-day window to be taken off injured reserve or be lost for the season, Elam feels healthy. Once dour and lacking confidence, Elam is more upbeat, even if it means facing the daunting task of cracking the gameday lineup with a cornerback group more crowded than when he left.’

‘“I thought, overall, our defensive plan, and our defensive line, in particular, did a great job being coordinated and working well off of one another and staying aggressive at the same time and I think that that’s the key,” McDermott said. “We lost (Mahomes) earlier on a third down and he completed it over the middle to (tight end Travis) Kelce and we went with a spy the next play and we were able to get off the field on the following third down. So it was a good balance, but primarily, our front four did a phenomenal job.”’

‘With the game on the line, the Bills’ high-priced defensive line was in his face, tipping a ball and hitting the Kansas City Chiefs’ two-time MVP twice, including a fourth-and-15 hit by Leonard Floyd that forced Mahomes to drift left and throw off his back foot.’

‘There were times McDermott couldn’t seem to shake his old habits, from burning two timeouts at the end of the first half on defense, to refusing to a kick a field goal on the final play or dialing up pressure on the last drive of the game, despite costing the Bills previously in those moments with the same strategy.’

‘Entering Sunday, the Bills have a 3% chance to win the AFC East and 20% chance to make the playoffs, down from a 67% chance five weeks ago, according to Upshot’s playoff simulator. A win over the Chiefs bumps Buffalo’s playoff odds to 33%, but loss plummets them to 9%.’