Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘The Bills are now 6-3, and while I hate to be the bearer of bad news, do they look like a playoff team?’

‘Well, it’s becoming clearer by the week for me, because in the wake of this mostly lame performance, I think we can all inch toward agreeing that the Bills are nowhere near ready to make a decibel of noise in the playoffs, even if they somehow find their way to January.’

‘The Bills have been winning with a combination of clutch playmaking and great breaks. This time, their high-wire act saw them slip and fall into the net. The good fortune they experienced in winning close games against the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans when their field goal kickers went haywire went to the opponent this time.’

‘On offense, it’s getting tougher to defend Brian Daboll. Again, the lack of use for Singletary didn’t make much sense, and he does not seem to have a good plan for the third-and-short passing situations that arise. Some of that is also on Allen, who doesn’t always make the right decision with where he goes.’

‘Browns 24, Bills 16.’

‘“He’s a very competitive dude and he’s gonna be bringing that fire on Sunday,’’ Allen said. “At the same time as much as people want to talk about that type of matchup, I’m not playing against Baker, it’s the Bills against the Browns and our offense against their defense and vice versa. That’s what we’re focused on this week.’’

‘“That’s what it’s about, finding ways to win,” said linebacker Lorenzo Alexander. “We still have to learn to finish off teams. Being 3-0 is great, but the teams that seem to separate over a period of time when they’re up and have a game in semi-control, they know how to put games away, so it doesn’t come down to two minutes like this game did.”’

‘Laugh if you want at how the 2-6 Browns have underachieved, but if this offense gets it figured out – and maybe that will be Sunday as they return home for the first time since Oct. 13 – they can move the ball and score.’

‘But just like “6-2 is 6-2,’’ Cleveland can’t run from “2-6 being 2-6.” Making matters worse is that the circus is back in town with the Browns making headlines for all the wrong reasons.’

‘He was signed last offseason by the Oakland Raiders to play as a 4-3 one-gap penetration defensive tackle but was released on Oct. 30.’

‘More than anything, I sought to gain a little perspective on where the Buffalo Bills are now as opposed to 365 days prior. I wanted to remind myself that while the Bills can be a maddening team to watch, especially when they have the ball, they are four games better in the standings, and that’s nothing to scoff at.’

‘It was inexcusable for Buffalo to have allowed the Redskins, now 1-8 on the season, to be even remotely close in this game what with their rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins making his first NFL start; what with their only legitimate offensive threat being a 34-year-old running back, even though Adrian Peterson will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.’

‘And from what I can see, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done because if this season is about not only making it to the playoffs but actually winning a game or two in January, it’s awfully difficult to imagine that happening if they keep underwhelming like they have.’

‘“A little bit,’’ said Singletary when asked if were able to digest the significance of the moment. “They were definitely giving me motivation, for them to be playing the game this deep into their careers, I was just trying to go out there and compete with them.’’’

‘It was a bit maddening to see the Bills screw up a great chance to take a 14-0 lead. They were first-and-goal at the 2 late in the first quarter and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll got way too cute and came up with three knuckle-headed play calls that resulted in a combined minus-22 yards. It was a complete over-think on his part that, against a good team, might have proven costly. Then in the second quarter, three straight runs by Frank Gore at the goal line failed before Allen sneaked the ball across. Another give to Gore blew up on fourth-and-1 in the third quarter. Yet again, the third quarter was a mess, too. On defense, kudos to whatever McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said at halftime because the run defense flipped a switch and was much better after a horrible start. Also, the decision to have White cover McLaurin no matter where he lined up was a sound one.’