Olean Times Herald

‘As Buffalo took a 27-0 lead less than 24 minutes into the game, it had, at intermission, a 245-46 edge in offensive yardage. Cousins was sacked four times and fumbled on three occasions, losing two. Those 46 yards in the first two quarters were the fewest the Bills have surrendered for a half in 14 years. It took a 4-yard Cousins to tight end Kyle Rudolph touchdown toss, with three minutes to play, to keep the Vikings from being shut out for the first time since 1962.’

‘All manner of national media, besides claiming the Bills are the NFL’s worst team, also maintained that general manager Brandon Beane made a huge mistake by trading up twice to draft Allen, who showed accuracy problems while playing at Wyoming from a sub-Power 5 conference. However, the last six quarters, Allen has played impressively, going 23-of-36 passing for 315 yards with two touchdown passes, two interceptions and a passer rating in the high 80s.’

‘Nationally, the Bills are perceived as in disarray.’

‘“No one can predict the future, I don’t have a crystal ball,” McDermott said. “Part of leading a football team is managing what could become distractions, and they come from all different areas. We’ve talked about this before.”’

‘They’ve made Buffalo a staggering 16 ½-point underdog in Sunday’s game against the Vikings in Minneapolis. Those are easily the longest odds that have been put up in an NFL game through this season’s opening three weeks.’

‘Los Angeles went up 28-3 with two minutes left in the opening half and even though Buffalo answered with a field goal before intermission, the faithful (?) sent their Bills to the locker room with a shower of boos, thanks to the 22-point deficit.’

‘In the second half, his numbers weren’t glittering (10-of-19 for 119 yards, two sacks, two interceptions and the TD), but the Bills played better around him … especially on defense.’

‘By far, the most talked about circumstance from the game, aside from the score, was the curious case of Vontae Davis. The 30-year-old, 10-season veteran cornerback walked off the field in the first half then quit the NFL. Coach Sean McDermott, admitted afterward, admitted he didn’t know what happened. “He wasn’t hurt … he pulled himself out of the game and communicated to us that he was done. He was on the sideline in the first half when he took himself out.”’

‘By tonight, it’s probable New England will be 2-0, the same as either Miami or the Jets, with the other being 1-1. If the Bills start 0-2, and get hammered at home by the Chargers, the Bills’ hierarchy will definitely be in panic mode.’

‘“The hardest part is just how we lost the game, coming home (thinking), ‘Damn, we just got our butts kicked.’ I was trying to remind guys that we lost like that last year (47-10 to New Orleans and 54-24 at Los Angeles to the Chargers), but put it together, and became a playoff team,” McCoy said. “No matter how you look at it … it may be embarrassing how we lost, but it’s just one loss. We’re not 0-5, 0-6; it’s 0-1, and the way you respond to a loss like that is with a win.’

‘But it wouldn’t take a panning from Rotten Tomatoes to tell the Bills’ second-year coach that he couldn’t sell Buffalo fans on a starting QB who just scored a zero passer rating in the home opener.’

‘But Sunday’s performance was abysmal in all three phases, and no unbiased observer would conclude the Bills were playing hard from the opening kickoff to the final gun.’

‘Buffalo’s offense had no first downs in the opening half and, with eight minutes to play in the third period, the Bills had netted a microscopic 20 yards total offense … 13 FEWER than at intermission.’

‘In the first half, Buffalo had no first downs. There were seven full possessions, five of them three-and-outs and two others that were extended a snap by Bills penalties.’

‘The game’s ONLY — and we mean ONLY — bright spot for Buffalo was the play of middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, the Bills second of of two first-round draft picks last April.’