Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘“I wouldn’t say we’ve started talking about it, but you want to keep an eye on what everybody else is doing,” Allen said Wednesday, hours after he’d been named the AFC’s offensive player of the week. “Ultimately at the end of the day it’s going to take at least 10 wins to get us to the playoffs. We’re sitting here at seven, we have to win more games to get in there. We have a good opportunity in front of us right now, but guys aren’t looking forward, we’re taking it one week at a time and trying to win a football game.”’

‘However, while ESPN and NFL Network overlooked Allen’s performance even though it was statistically right on par with Jackson’s, the NFL decided Wednesday morning that Allen was not only a little better than Jackson, but better than anyone else in the AFC as it named Allen as the conference’s offensive player of the week.’

‘Brown came to the Bills as a free agent last of-fseason, signing a three-year, $27 million contract, $10 million of which was guaranteed, to be the Bills’ No. 1 receiver. The speedy 29-year-old has been everything Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane could have hoped for as he now has 56 receptions for 817 yards and four touchdowns while leading the Bills in every category and entered Monday night leading the AFC in receiving yards.’

‘There’s always something to pick apart with Allen, but on a day when the Bills’ special teams were awful including allowing a 101-yard kickoff return touchdown by Jakeem Grant, and Miami’s Ryan Fitzpatrick put together two touchdown drives, Allen needed to produce, and he did.’

‘“Loved it,” defensive end Jerry Hughes said Sunday afternoon following the Bills 37-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins. “He did a great job lighting a fire under us, challenging us as a defense. We understand if the team wants to go far, we have to play well. Today we went out there and answered the call.”

‘Getting Devin Singletary involved again was crucial and Singletary produced 75 yards on 15 attempts with breakaways of 22 and 21 yards. The kid is dangerous, and the Bills need to continue utilizing him this way.’

‘Given the difficulty of their remaining schedule, which has gone from easiest in the league in the first half of the year to now middle-of-the-pack in terms of winning percentage of remaining opponents, the Bills simply can’t afford to lose to the Dolphins.’

‘“It really all started in Buffalo, when it was cold, I wanted to see if I could grow facial hair and lo and behold it just kept growing,’’ said Fitzpatrick when asked about his massive beard, one of the most iconic in the sports world. “I pretty much have had it since ’09.’’’

‘While Wallace didn’t make the initial 53-man unit, he did enough in the spring workouts and 2018 training camp to warrant being signed to Buffalo’s practice squad. Pretty soon, it became apparent to McDermott and Frazier as they watched him work on the scout team that Wallace was worth being elevated and given a shot.’

‘“You have to have a smile on your face, come to work with energy, and although a lot of things are going on, keep a proper perspective on the fact you’re an NFL player doing this for a living so go out there and have fun,’’ he said. “That attitude, especially at quarterback, that attitude is so important because it resonates through the whole building.’’’

‘I offer this advice because I made the mistake Monday morning of watching the highlight shows. And let me tell you, it was maddening to see so many great plays being made in stadiums across America while knowing full well the Bills just can’t perform such feats because they remain so lacking in top-end talent, most glaringly at quarterback.’

‘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.’