Olean Times Herald

‘But the way the Bills performed after intermission gave reason for pause. Buffalo was outscored 10-3, its defense, which came in as the NFL leader in rushing yards surrendered at a mere 76 yards per game, was absolutely gashed by Green Bay for a season-high 208 yards and quarterback Josh Allen, who was so impressively efficient in the first half, was below pedestrian the last two periods, including two interceptions that were squarely on him.’

‘“It’s a team that has great potential and led by Aaron, a future Hall-of-Famer, he’s dangerous and the team is dangerous. It’s been to the playoffs, and NFC Championship Game, multiple years in a row outside of last season. So when you have Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and the talent they have, we have a lot of respect for them.”’

‘Of Green Bay’s three wins, one was an overtime decision against the Patriots at Lambeau and besides being hammered 23-7 in the opener at Minnesota, there were two galling losses to the New York teams in consecutive weeks, 27-22 to the Giants in London and 27-10 to the Jets in Green Bay.’

‘And, no matter what happens in this week’s games, the Bills will still have the AFC’s best record before hosting Aaron Rodgers and his mates 12 days from now.’

‘To be sure, there’s a lot of football to be played, 11 games to be exact, and much can happen in that span including injuries, but Buffalo has to like its position at this point, though the team isn’t saying so.’

‘When Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw a touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, it marked the first time this season Buffalo had given up a score in the third period. The Bills have now outscored opponents 51-7 in the third quarter in the first six games.’

‘But the ignominious sting of the “13 seconds” end to regulation has been on the minds of Buffalo fans for nine months.’

‘Mahomes, though an effective and intuitive runner, is the far better passer. But his greatest skill is improvising, turning busted plays into big gainers via either his legs or arm.’

‘To be sure, next Sunday’s road game against the Chiefs will be a telling yardstick of how these teams compare as the winner would have a leg up on home field advantage in the playoffs.’

‘This was the Steelers’ most one-sided loss since a 51-0 defeat by Cleveland in 1989. It was also Buffalo’s sixth-largest margin of victory in the franchise’s 63-year history. The win improved the Bills to 4-1, tied with next Sunday’s opponent, Kansas City, for the AFC’s best record. Philadelphia, at 5-0, leads the league and is followed by a trio of 4-1s: Minnesota, Dallas and the New York Giants.’

‘So not only will Pittsburgh be giving a rookie his first start, on the road no less, it will also not have edge rusher T.J. Watt (torn pectoral tendon), the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, without whom the Steelers are 0-7.’

‘Now, for the second time in three years, Trubisky has lost his job to a rookie draftee, this time to the Steelers’ first-rounder, Pitt’s Kenny Pickett, and short of injury it’s not likely he’ll get it back.’

‘Versus the Ravens, who commanded time of possession 38-22 in minutes, Baltimore dropped an easy interception to keep a Bills scoring drive alive, they severely mishandled a late goal-to-go possession and several calls went Buffalo’s way, including a highly-questionable roughing-the-passer flag by the Ravens that helped move the ball into position for the game-winning field goal. In short, it’s more reasonable to call the Bills’ loss at Miami and win in Baltimore a wash as today Ravens feel the way the Buffalo faithful felt a week ago.’

‘Finally, and this might just be the most encouraging takeaway, Sean McDermott had a superior coaching game.’

‘Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, both first-round draft choices in 2018, are somewhat different in style but similar in success.’