Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘“I think there is a rookie wall for most rookies, especially ones that play right from the start, like Greg has,” McDermott said. “I don’t think many of them believe that – ‘Hey, it won’t affect me early in the year.’ But eventually they go through it and sometimes then you can work yourself through that wall and get back out on the other end while still in the same season. So I think he’s experiencing some of that now and you saw some of that in (Sunday’s) game.”’

‘Wilson threw 11 picks in his first eight games, but has none in the last four. For the season he’s completing only 56.7% of his passes for an average of 187.3 yards per game with eight TDs, 11 interceptions, but it’s clear that he’s starting to show signs of why the Jets believe he’s their future franchise QB.’

‘The Bills are out of the race for the No. 1 overall seed and first-round bye, but they can still climb as high as No. 2, though they would need some help. In addition to beating the Jets, they would need the Chiefs to lose at Denver and the Bengals to lose at Cleveland. They could also slot in at No. 3 with a win, and either a Chiefs or Bengals loss.’

‘The offensive line seems to have found a groove now that Ryan Bates is starting at left guard. Jon Feliciano was active for the game, but he remained on the bench.’

‘“If this was his first year then I would have had to say something just to follow up on it. But he already knows (that he can’t play that way). We talk about it a lot, how important the ball is. The biggest thing is, can you reset? Through the course of a game, can you reset and get back on your ‘A’ game and learn from it?”’

‘The Bills have been a little more stout up front the past few weeks, and in this game they did most of it without Star Lotulelei who allegedly played but did not show up on the stat sheet. Phillips has really emerged on the inside, and Oliver is playing the best he’s played since coming to the Bills in 2019.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Buffalo Bills 30, Atlanta Falcons 10.’

‘“It’s clear he’s raised his game and he’s raised his level of play to a standard we’ve been looking for,” coach Sean McDermott said. “At the same time, I think he’s challenged everybody on the offense with his level of play and his consistency. He played bigger. He’s not a real big guy, but he plays bigger and he gives tremendous effort and I think he inspires people by that.”’

‘Unfortunately for Bates, his versatility is actually the reason why he hasn’t played that much for the Bills. He has been active for 39 of a possible 47 regular-season games including every one since Week 12 of 2019 but has played only 223 snaps on offense before last week. Why? Because the 6-foot-4, 302-pounder can line up at every position on the offensive line and coach Sean McDermott has been reluctant to give him chances to start essentially because he is trying to keep him out of harm’s way.’

‘In the case of Feliciano, his 10-day quarantine period was already up, but the other three were all still inside that window and it appears the Tuesday decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce the quarantine period for asymptomatic people who tested positive from 10 days to five enabled them to get back on the field.’

‘Perhaps the most dangerous weapon for the Atlanta offense is triple threat runner/receiver/returner Cordarelle Patterson, and Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs knows more about him than any other member on the team.’

‘Teams can now interview a candidate for its head coach position in the final two weeks of the regular season, under these rules: They do so with consent from the candidate’s current employer, provided their head coach who started the season is no longer in that role, or if their head coach has been told he won’t be retained once the season ends.’

‘“This is the National Football League; week in and week out you’ve got to go out there and you’re gonna be challenged,” said the voice of reason, safety Micah Hyde. “We were glad to come in and get this win. But at the end of the day, we know we’ve got two left that we got to take care of also.”’

‘The job is not over. They need to beat the Falcons and Jets in the last two games, both at Highmark Stadium, to clinch the division because even if the Patriots win out against the Jaguars and Dolphins, they can’t overtake Buffalo.’

‘“A learning experience,” McKenzie said of that humbling two-game stretch. “That was my first time sitting down in awhile and I just had to take it even, think to myself, ‘What can I do better?’ And I’d just show up to practice every day and get my teammates better, and do whatever I’ve got to do to make myself better for my teammates.”’