Olean Times Herald

‘One of the wild cards seems destined for the AFC South where both Tennessee and Jacksonville are 8-4 and the division loser seems destined for one wild card. Baltimore (7-5) is the leading contender for the other and has a relatively soft schedule with only a visit to Pittsburgh the only game where Ravens won’t be favored.’

‘The New England Patriots exposed a Buffalo offense that still has major quarterback issues, limiting the Bills to 268 yards and a mere 85 yards passing. Their rushing attack was solid, accounting for 191 yards and two scores.’

‘New England (10-2) virtually clinched the AFC East title, its ninth straight and 15th in the past 17 seasons, and they did it with quarterback Tom Brady, who has taken the Pats to seven Super Bowls, winning five, assuming the role of bit player.’

‘With a victory, he will have beaten the Bills 27 times, breaking the tie with Brett Favre (26 over Detroit) for the most wins by a quarterback over one team. He’s also thrown for more touchdowns against Buffalo (66) than any other opponent and more 300-yard passing games (10) against the Bills than any other NFL team.’

‘“I have a lot of respect for our opponent, but it doesn’t change how we approach every week. The standard that we set for ourselves, remains the same every week. We focus on what we do. There’s only so many things you can control, so that’s what we focus on.”’

‘McDermott added of the Pats domination of Buffalo for the past 17 years, “I understand that’s been a part of the past, and I respect the past. It’s one day at a time, it’s building towards what we’re trying to become. They’ve been to where we’re trying to get to, and they’ve been there for a long time.”’

‘Clearly, McDermott has moved past Taylor, considers him gone at season’s end, and can’t wait to reinsert Peterman into the starting lineup. And it’s hard to disagree with his contention that “one (bad) game doesn’t define” the former Pitt star.’

‘If Buffalo can win two of the three at home and split on the road, that would translate to a 9-7 record and, in this dismal AFC season, at least one wild card, if not both, could have that very mark.’

‘Should the Bills lose to the Chiefs, and this week’s other games play out as predicted, Buffalo would rank ninth in the conference, being passed by both the Bengals and Chargers both which have beaten them.’

‘“I personally didn’t take my thoughts (to the locker room),” he said. “ I’m not sure what other guys talked about amongst themselves or whether things were taken (against) the coach.”‘

‘“There are a lot of coaches who sit on their hands and make comfortable decisions … that’s not why I’m here. I’m here to win and sustain winning and in order to do that you’ve got to be willing to make (some) uncomfortable decisions.” Even if they’re tragically flawed and reversed within a week?’

‘And while McDermott’s all-for-one, one-for-all philosophy resonated throughout the roster over the first seven games, the last three have been a sledgehammer back to reality.’

‘In the current three-game losing streak, Buffalo has been outscored, 135-55, or 45-18 per game. The Bills, in that span are also surrendering an average of 414 yards a game, the NFL norm is 337.’

The franchise that had called San Diego home for the previous 55 campaigns, could easily be 7-2. The Chargers lost 3-point decisions at Denver and Jacksonville (6-3) and two-pointers at home to Miami and Philadelphia (8-1) and fell by only 21-13 at New England (7-2).’

‘“We’re going to go back and look at some things we did prior to the last couple weeks. When looking at the tape, it’s purely us not being where we need to be on certain occasions. Our tackling wasn’t bad … much better than the week before (against the Jets). But, being in and out of our gaps was a big problem. We played a lot of eight-man front (against New Orleans), which means you think you’re going to be fine against the run, but it didn’t turn out that way for us. That’s the biggest culprit.”’