Niagara Gazette

‘Two weeks ago, the Bills were two games back of the Pats and stuck in the conference’s cluttered wild-card race. Everything was in question — their physical toughness, their coaching, their offensive line, the very construction of their roster. But in the end, it gets back to the guy throwing the football.’

‘If Buffalo wants to stop hearing about the Patriots and Sean McDermott wants to stop hearing about being out-coached by Bill Belichick, then just win. Beating New England likely secures the division with two extremely winnable games to close the season. Sure, many assumed the Bills would run away with the AFC East again, but beating the Patriots for the division in Foxborough is a scenario many have dreamed of since 2001.’

‘The question is why he hasn’t been on the field more often. The Bills signed the veteran Sanders in the offseason to be their nominal No. 2 wideout, presumably because they didn’t feel the 22-year-old Davis was quite ready to step into such a demanding role for a Super Bowl contender.’

‘It was the third time this season the Bills offense had the ball with a chance to win the game in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime and came up empty, and they have not won a game in which they trailed in the second half.’

‘That’s easy to say, but what about the guys who wandered around like drunken elves before halftime? Coming in, they led the league in total defense at 272 yards per game. The Bucs had 303 yards of offense in the first half alone. They had 18 first downs.’

‘The Bills weren’t up to it. Again. They lived down to their creeping reputation as a crepe paper team that can’t adjust to a physical game, one that is overly reliant on Josh Allen and the passing game and their resourceful pass defense.’

‘Utilizing Allen on designed runs has been the closest to a go-to play, but he was used once on such plays Monday and never in the red zone.’

‘After starting his career at WLVL radio in Lockport, Murphy got a job at WBEN. In 1984, Stan Barron was diagnosed with cancer and Murphy was thrust into the color analyst role for Bills games. Despite being a mainstay on Bills broadcasts — including succeeding Miller on play-by-play in 2003 — Murphy has never called a Super Bowl.’

‘But this has been a maddening team to judge. I picked them to reach the Super Bowl this season. When they ripped the Chiefs at Arrowhead to get to 4-1, they looked like a team that would be favored in all but one of their remaining games and go 13-4 at the very least.’

‘This is no cause for panic, as Micah Hyde would tell us, but it certainly has the look of a crisis. It’s not so much that the Bills lost, but that once again they were physically beaten at the point of attack on both sides of the ball, that they lost the battle in the proverbial trenches.’

‘This was just what the Bills needed after that discouraging and ugly loss at Jacksonville the week before: An emphatic victory that silenced some of the lingering doubts and reminded the sports world that they’re a legitimate contender for a Super Bowl championship.’

‘Skeptics said the Bills didn’t have to apologize for beating bad teams, which is true enough. But they certainly have to answer for losing to them. It’s not enough to accuse them of playing down to their opposition. After two weeks, it’s time to wonder just how good they really are, and if they’re a true Super Bowl contender.’

‘During training camp, the Bills PR staff arranged for Mickelson to address the team remotely after winning the PGA Championship at 50 to become the oldest man to win major. He spoke for half an hour and stressed the importance of not bending to frustration, of finding your competitive Zen.’

‘This makes two times that an opponent stood up to the Bills and whipped them in the fourth quarter. The Steelers did it in the opener, scoring 17 points in the final quarter of a 23-16 upset. And the Titans did it Monday night, outscoring the Bills, 10-0, in the fourth for the win.’

‘Yes, it is five games into the season, but Sunday’s version of the Bills is a team fans can legitimately believe is a Super Bowl contender. The 13-3 record and divisional championship last year looked good, but there was no question the Chiefs were a cut above as the best team in the AFC.’