Olean Times Herald

‘Buffalo’s ‘D’ held the Ravens offense to 257 yards … 20 fewer than their previous low against Pittsburgh. It also limited the Ravens to 118 rushing yards, 18 under the next worst. But it wasn’t enough.’

‘Well, it’s not as if the sky is falling … but Bills fans are suddenly wondering if it might.’

‘“They were doing a great job on defense,” Jackson said of the Bills. “They were in cover zero. They hit us with that a couple times and it was successful for them. But that particular play, G-R (offensive coordinator Greg Roman) called a great play and Hayden just did his job and ran the line and it was successful.”’

‘Yesterday, the team was introduced and a short video was shown on the Jumbotron. Eight members of the Final Four team were in attendance Gene Fahey, Matt Gantt, Greg Gary, Paul Grys, Paul Hoffman, Mike Kull, Dale Tepas and Vic Thomas. Missing were Basketball Hall of Fame center Bob Lanier, who is battling bladder cancer, and coach Larry Weise, injured in a fall last week and hospitalized in Rochester.’

‘This is the game where the Bills can convince the doubters.’

‘“John Harbaugh has been with his staff building this for ‘X’ amount of years … the continuity, the consistency, being able to build it the way you want to build it,” McDermott said. “You’re seeing good football players at all positions. Talented, not just on the offensive side, but the defensive side and special teams. You can always count on them being well-coached (and) having a good kicking game. They’re a motivated football team week-to-week and they’re a physical football team because of (Harbaugh’s) leadership.”’

‘This year, in the AFC, 10-6 is going to be good enough for a Wild Card spot, but there’s a scenario where Buffalo finishes 10-6 and doesn’t get in. That said, the Bills can actually clinch a playoff spot this week if four games go their way. If Buffalo beats Baltimore, Denver tops Houston, Tennessee downs (or ties) Oakland, and Tampa Bay beats (or ties) Indianapolis, the Bills would clinch a playoff spot, and here’s why…’.

‘“It’s good to play meaningful games in December, that’s the goal, and that’s where we’re at,” he said. “We’re sitting in December, our record is what our record is, but I can’t stress this enough, it’s a week-to-week proposition (this time) against probably the best team in football right now. You just look at the last six weeks, the (Ravens) numbers are staggering.”’

‘According to the NFL flexing rules, only games originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon may be moved into the prime-time spot. Games scheduled for Thursday, Saturday and Monday nights are untouchable.’

‘Talk about emphatically answering every criticism and doing it on the biggest stage, before the largest audience of the season.’

‘Dallas is first in the NFL in average offensive yards (433) and passing yards (304) per game and second in third-down conversions (49 percent). The Cowboys are sixth in points scored per game (27), in points allowed (19), total yards surrendered (319) and opponents passing yards (214).’

‘“The biggest thing is we try and give the players as much rest as we can and then make sure we give them clarity on the game plan …making sure our players understand the plan and that we’re clear on what we expect. We’re focused on what we’ve got to get done.”’

‘So far, so (pretty) good for Buffalo as it takes an 8-3 mark and a roughly 81-82 percent chance of making the playoffs into today’s game. Not bad, and certainly higher than it has been entering Week 13 in recent seasons.’

‘Buffalo’s slate, ninth easiest when the season began based on 2018 records, now faces the NFL’s third-toughest schedule over the last five games.’

‘Short term, Buffalo finished the soft part of its schedule at 8-3, its victories over teams that are a collective 18-63. It has solidified its position as the AFC’s No. 1 wild card, two full games ahead of Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Oakland (all 6-5). The bad news is that in the Bills’ five closing games they will be underdogs in four of them, at Dallas (6-5) Thanksgiving afternoon, home with Baltimore (8-2 heading into tonight’s game against the Rams in L.A.), at Pittsburgh and at New England (10-1).’