Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Asked if there’s a difference between someone being listed No. 1 on the depth chart and someone being featured, McDermott declined to get into semantics. Against the Jets, Singletary started the game and played more snaps than Gore 48-19. But he also wound up with just four carries for 70 yards (17.5 average) to Gore’s 11 for 20 yards (1.8). One of Gore’s carries lost two yards and resulted in a Jets’ safety.’

‘It’s an hourlong flight, the routine is fresh in player’s minds, and they know where the visitor’s locker room is inside the massive edifice that is part of the sprawling Meadowlands Sports Complex, set down in a tangled mess of highways just across the Hudson and Hackensack rivers from Manhattan.’

‘McDermott loved what he heard about Smith from sources he consulted before the team signed him, and since then Smith has assumed a major role in the locker room, especially in a tight end room that includes rookies Dawson Knox, Tommy Sweeney and practice squader Nate Becker.’

‘Now, Daboll just needs to find a way to get Singletary a little more involved. The Bills ran 63 offensive plays — 38 passes, 25 runs — and Singletary was on the field for 48 of them as compared to Frank Gore (19) and T.J. Yeldon (2). But Singletary had only nine touches, totaling 98 yards.’

‘Four carries isn’t a big body of work, but rookie running back Devin Singletary made the most of it with four rushes for 70 yards. That’s the third-most yards by a Bill in his NFL debut.’

‘It was a minor miracle that the Bills were even in this game, let alone able to win it, after a first half of offensive football that could only be described as tragic.’

‘“I always say give us 17 points,” the safety said Sunday afternoon as he dressed with a knowing smile splashed across his face following the Bills’ 17-16 come-from-behind victory over the New York Jets. “This is not anything the defense has talked about; it’s just my personal belief with the defense we have, you give us 17 points, we can work from there.”’

‘Left to digest some good, some bad and a whole lot of ugly.’

‘Full credit to defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier as his group played an outstanding game in limiting the Jets to 223 yards and a 3.4-yard average per play. The defense kept the Bills in the game and eventually, the offense emerged from its coma and did its part to deliver the victory. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll made it clear that he wanted to get Allen on a roll and he called 18 straight pass plays to start the game before settling into a more balanced approach in the second half. When he started to get Singletary involved, that’s when the Bills’ offense took flight because his big runs also allowed Allen to look downfield a bit more, particularly on the game-winning 38-yard TD pass to Brown.’

‘When it comes to passing, the Bills have been playing Donkey Kong while the rest of the league has been playing Madden.’

‘Bills 21, Jets 20.’

‘“We want to show growth in a lot of areas,” said general manager Brandon Beane. “Last year our defense probably carried our team, we weren’t good enough in offense or special teams. We want to be more competitive. We want our offense to win some more games for us and not have to put too much on the defense. We want to be a balanced team. We want our special teams to improve and control, win the field position game. If you win enough of those I think the win total will be where you want it at the end of the season.”’

‘But here’s the thing. While very few think the Bills will be a playoff team this season, there is a growing consensus among NFL observers who are hinting that Buffalo’s time is nigh because, “The Bills are a team that is doing it the right way.”’

‘He’s 5-7. He played at Florida Atlantic, a Football Bowl Subdivision school. He rushed for 4,299 yards and 66 touchdowns in his college career. And he’s the man who made veteran star LeSean McCoy expendable, well, that and McCoy’s $9-million salary cap number. The Bills have just three active running backs and the venerable Frank Gore and T.J. Yeldon will get their share of touches. But Singletary is being handed a golden opportunity to be the Bills’ No. 1 running back as time goes on. Is the NFL too big for him? Or do big things come in small packages? We’re about to find out.’

‘“It’s always bad when you can’t finish out the season with your team, not only myself but just to help the team out, so I’m trying to get back to where I was last year,” he said. “We’ve got some juice going into the first game, everyone is communicating, flying around, ready to make some plays, so we’re excited.”’