Olean Times Herald

‘Tennessee, New England and Kansas City (both 7-4) and Baltimore (7-3) would claim the four division titles with the three 6-4 teams — Chargers, Bengals and Bills — as wild cards. But that could change before midnight Thursday.’

‘This unit, which led the NFL in fewest points (15) and yards (274) given up per game, surrendered five touchdowns — all by Indy running back Jonathan Taylor — and a staggering 264 rushing yards.’

‘But of considerably more concern to the Bills faithful was the woeful performance of Allen. He finished 21-of-35 through the air for 209 yards with two picks, a sack and a 72.2 passer rating. But those numbers are deceptive. He was 5-for-7 for 64 yards and a touchdown during fourth-quarter garbage time.’

‘Jonathan Taylor’s five touchdowns (4 rushing, 1 receiving) are the most in a single game against the Bills in the franchise’s 62-year history. The previous record was four by Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss (2007) and running backs Clarence Williams of the Chargers (1979), Chuck Foreman of the Vikings and Lydell Mitchell of the Colts (both 1975) and Calvin Hill of the Cowboys (1971).’

‘But the Colts are averaging an impressive 27 points per game and rely on a ground game that ranks sixth in the NFL at 136 yards per game behind Jonathan Taylor. Through 10 games, he’s averaging 94 yards per start and has scored 10 touchdowns (one through the air). With the Titans’ Derrick Henry out injured for the rest of the regular season, Taylor is the odds-on favorite to win the league’s rushing title.’

‘“Watching from afar you can tell the kind of leader he is … it just jumps off the tape. You watch any game on television … this guy’s not just a great player, you can feel his leadership and the team’s belief in him. That’s a big part of playing quarterback and that’s a credit to Josh for the way he believes in himself and made that team believe in him.”’

‘“We just have to continue to stick together … it’s a test of how long you can stay together and not get divided when everything around us tries to divide us. I credit the leaders for that and the whole staff. It’s important that you can toe a line together.”’

‘It took only one game for the Bills to trample the short-lived legend of Mike White.’

‘Buffalo’s first of five takeaways came when nickel back Taron Johnson logged his initial interception of the season when he picked off Jets quarterback Mike White. Later, safety Micah Hyde stripped New York wide receiver Corey Davis of the ball after a reception just before halftime, then recovered the ball. It was his first forced fumble of the season and second recovery.’

‘By contrast, the Jets are last in the NFL in points (31) and yards (408) surrendered per game and have both the league’s worst turnover ratio (-12) and starting field position.’

‘For two straight games, Buffalo has seemingly come out not ready to play and though a more inspired second half salvaged a home win against Miami, that didn’t happen in Jacksonville. In three of their last four halves, the Bills offense has produced no touchdowns and only three field goals.’

‘Buffalo had nine possessions during the game, three turnovers (two interceptions and a lost fumble), three punts, two field goals and a turnover on downs. In short, besides the field goals, the Bills had seven other chances in which to score and they squandered them to varying degrees.’

‘The reality is, Buffalo’s five wins have come against teams – Miami twice, Houston, Washington and Kansas City – that are a combined 10-26 through Week 9 while their other losses have been to Pittsburgh and Tennessee which, together, were 10-5 heading into last night.’

‘Jacksonville sacked Allen four times. Two were recorded by defensive lineman Taven Bryan, his first of the season. Another was credited to Josh’s namesake, the Jags’ Josh Allen, giving him a team-leading 5.5 on the season. That play marked the first time a quarterback was sacked by a player of the same name in the NFL since Buffalo QB Todd Collins was dumped by Patriots linebacker Todd Collins in 1996. And, finally, end Dawuane Smoot dragged the Bills’ Allen down on Buffalo’s final possession, giving him 3.5 on the year.’

‘“When teams lose the way they did last week (31-7 at Seattle), they come out ready to go and we don’t expect anything less. We’ve got to be ready to go to a hostile environment … playing on the road is never easy.”’