Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘“It’s gonna be a party. There might be more fans out there than ‘17, you think?” Hyde said to reporters on a Zoom call. “It might be. I want to challenge them to have more fans tonight than ‘17 when we made the playoffs. We wish they could be with us, but it’ll be a party tonight.”’

‘Not since Jim Kelly was handing off to Thurman Thomas and throwing to Andre Reed, Bruce Smith was terrorizing quarterbacks, and Marv Levy was quoting Churchill, have the Bills been able to break out championship T-shirts and ball caps.’

‘I hated how the first half ended. Yes, the Bills got totally jobbed by the officials with a ridiculous roughing call against Milano, but the defense has to overcome that and the Bills playing so much soft coverage throughout that drive against an offense that is far from explosive was just a bad job. As for complaints, that, Roberts’ fumble, and the spate of penalties the Bills committed on offense in the red zone were the only negative things about the game, and none of it mattered as the Bills won by 29 points.’

‘My pick: Bills 26, Broncos 24.’

‘In the first eight games, the Bills were allowing third-down conversions at an alarming rate of 50% (44 of 88), and not surprisingly, their point differential was minus-1 despite their 6-2 record. In the last five games (four wins and that horrific Hail Murray loss to Arizona), the numbers have changed dramatically. The Bills are allowing a 29% conversion rate and correspondingly, their point differential is plus-39.’

‘“It was unreal, to be honest,” Milano said when he was asked to share his feeling after seeing the video, and also of the Zoom call he and Davis had with the little boy from Buffalo who was born without fully-formed legs which were promptly amputated. “I almost started crying a little bit, just to see how happy he was and how he was in another world. You could tell how much of a difference it made for him. It really touched my heart.”’

‘“Diggs is so special that as I see him play, I just want to rip off my captain’s ‘C’ and throw it on his chest, because he’s a stud, man,” said the always entertaining Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins. “He’s been grinding. He’s come in and he just continues to outperform, outshine and prove to us day in and day out that he’s a different guy and he’s our guy.”’

‘After looking grisly on offense – and we’re talking circa 2018 offense – for most of the first half against a tremendous Steelers defense, the Bills were energized by a game-changing play from their defense and used that sudden momentum swing to roll to a 26-15 victory over Pittsburgh in front of a national TV audience in empty Bills Stadium.’

‘As for the Bills’ playoff chances, they received all they help they needed around the league as the Dolphins, Patriots and Raiders all lost. If the Bills win and Baltimore loses to Cleveland Monday night, the Bills will clinch their third postseason berth in four years under Sean McDermott.’

‘The game certainly didn’t start the way Allen and the Bills had hoped. It looked like their high-octane passing game had finally met its match as Allen couldn’t get anything going for the first 25 minutes or so. But then Allen started to find his groove and marched the offense to a field goal, and in the second half he was back pretty close to looking like the field general he’s been all year.’

‘My pick: Bills 23, Steelers 17.’

‘One of the most interesting things Beane said Friday is that when he made the decision to move on from Carolina, where he was the long-time assistant GM under a few bosses, it was imperative that he pick a place where he believed he’d be given time to build something. The Pegulas promised that and have not wavered for a second, backing Beane and Sean McDermott on almost every decision they’ve made.’

‘With Beane’s new deal in place, he and McDermott will remain joined at the hip for several years to come.’

‘Which is why no matter what he was going through, he always made time for others either through his work with his Playmakers Foundation which focuses its efforts on helping children with intellectual disabilities; or donating $10,000 worth of meals to health care workers; or making virtual visits to pediatric patients; or chipping in with other Bills to help provide internet service to students in Buffalo’s public schools.’

‘“I’ve played in a few snow games … played in some playoff games where it was brutally cold, but that much snow? No,” said safety Micah Hyde, who spent the first four years of his career playing for the Green Bay Packers. “That was something like I would have done at my house back in Ohio if we had a snow day. That was crazy out there.”’