Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Hale, an Arizona native, grew up watching Bills games in a Bills backer-type bar in Chandler, southeast of Phoenix, started by a couple from Buffalo in 1979 who served up Buffalo-style chicken wings with blue cheese. His family has been in Arizona “longer than the Cardinals have” and are a mixed bag when it comes to team loyalty. Mom is a Dallas Cowboys fan; dad would rather watch college football. The Bills have a hold on one of Hale’s uncles.’

‘Things weren’t always pretty for Buffalo’s defense, particularly on third down where the struggles were immense and maddening, but just like 2024 when they lived on takeaways, the defense came up with one at the most opportune time.’

‘Cook played 68% of the snaps which is high for him, but the Bills need to continue to lean into that usage because he has become one of the best RBs in the league and needs to be on the field to threaten opposing defenses and perhaps loosen things up in the passing game.’

‘“Yes, he has had some injuries,” Beane said after the signing. “Most of them, if you watch him play, he plays the game violent, he plays reckless without care for his body, which you love, but sometimes, you’ve seen it here with (Matt) Milano a little bit, too, he plays the wrecking ball style. He knows how to rush. He hasn’t lost that.”’

‘As expected, Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott declared that defensive tackle Ed Oliver and linebacker Matt Milano will not play Thursday night against the Miami Dolphins.’

‘McDermott did not want to get into any long-term timeline on either player, saying, “We listen to Nate (Breske) and our training staff, our medical team, all our docs the same way. We wait on their clearance, if you will, to say, ‘Hey, yeah, it’s safe for the player to play.’ I think that’s No. 1, I know No. 1, and then making sure a player cannot hurt himself potentially more with any injury.”’

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 31, Dolphins 17.’

‘Online streaming services: You can also watch on NFL.com and the NFL mobile app, and if you have a subscription to NFL+, the league’s own streaming service, but in that case you can’t cast the games to your TV so you must watch on your phone or tablet.’

‘As it stands right now, it seems highly unlikely that Oliver or Milano will play Thursday night against the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium.’

‘Sept. 7, 1980: Bills end the Dolphins curse in a 1980 classic.’

‘And while the Dolphins have been the closest team to Buffalo in the standings, finishing second in each of the last three seasons and in four of the five, they have been woefully inept head-to-head, losing 10 of the 11 meetings between the teams.’

‘NFL teams have to submit a report on practice participation on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for a Thursday game. There are three levels of practice participation that can be designated: did not participate, limited participation and full participation.’

‘Clearly, the Bills learned some valuable lessons because Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, playing a Jets team that would like to play similarly to the Ravens with a running quarterback and a very good running back, they never let New York put one foot in front of the other during an easy-as-it-looked 30-10 victory.’

‘Up front, Joey Bosa had a sack and forced two fumbles, one of which was recovered by AJ Epenesa, while Bishop, DaQuan Jones, Greg Rousseau and Zion Logue – who took injured Ed Oliver’s place – all had a piece of Buffalo’s four sacks.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 28, Jets 19.’