Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘“Very, very much appreciate and grateful for Stef,” McDermott said following the Bills 56-26 rout of the Dolphins. “Love his approach. He’s a team player. Extremely competitive and more than anything, he just wants to continue to grow and get better, and that’s probably been one of the biggest marks that he’s had on our team, which is great to see.”’

‘Indianapolis went 11-5 this season and that’s certainly nothing to sniff at, especially in the AFC. Look at it this way: The Colts are the No. 7 seed and they won 11 games which illuminates just how loaded the AFC side of the bracket is. No pretenders like over in the NFC with the Washington Football Team or Chicago Bears.’

‘It took some time, but running back Jonathan Taylor had a strong rookie season for the Colts. Taylor, who was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, rushed for 1,169 yards and 11 touchdowns. However, 741 of those yards came in the last six games, including a franchise rookie record 253-yard rushing performance in the regular season finale Sunday, thanks to Pro Bowl offensive linemen Quenton Nelson and Ryan Kelly.’

‘“It just shows that this is a different Buffalo Bills football team,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “We don’t have to get in on anybody’s back, on anybody’s pigtail, or anybody’s blessing. This is all our doing.”’

‘Just another incredible performance for Daboll’s troops, and this time it wasn’t just Allen getting to enjoy the day. Allen started slowly and threw for only 32 yards on Buffalo’s first three scoreless possessions, one ending with an interception. But once he found his groove it was some kind of show.’

‘Dolphins 17, Bills 13.’

‘Fans can stream the game live on the fuboTV. The Yahoo! Sports app also allows fans to watch the game on mobile devices if the user is within the CBS broadcast radius.’

‘“When the country shut down, I thought, Brandon (Beane) and his staff really did a phenomenal job of continuing to do the job and go through the process of getting us to draft day,” coach Sean McDermott said of the Bills’ general manager. “And then the way the draft was handled overall, it was a communication challenge to say the least. I think just the work that went into it led us to where we are and the players that we were able to get that have made an impact.”’

‘Tailgate parties, a staple of games at Bills Stadium for decades, will be prohibited, according to Cuomo. Fans will also be required to wear masks, maintain social distance and cooperate with contact tracing after the game.’

‘The Bills announced Wednesday that tickets will be available for purchase on Friday for season ticket holders that opted into purchasing playoff tickets earlier this year. They will be notified based on seniority.’

‘“Those conversations are taking place and we’ve got a plan on keeping those plans internal for a number of reasons,” McDermott said. “We’ve got a plan and we’ll execute that plan this week. I’m going to keep that within our organization for a lot of reasons. We could sit here all day honestly and talk about pros and cons.”’

‘As for their potential opponents, the possibilities are multiple and include Indianapolis, Cleveland, Tennessee, Baltimore or Miami, but there are too many permutations in play to accurately predict who they would play.’

‘“I think when you’re executing and scoring points, it’s hard to do in this league,” said center Mitch Morse. “It’s extremely gratifying to see your hard work put to the test. And our defense put us in some great situations. I thought they played red hot today. … It was just a total team win.”’

‘Allen will not win the league MVP award, but there’s no one right now who can say that Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes have played better than him in the second half of the season.’

‘Bills 27, Patriots 13.’