Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Allen’s stock-market season took another dip as he looked overwhelmed at times against Bill Belichick’s defense. He completed 20 of 41 passes for 217 yards with a TD and two picks for a rating of 52.6. He rushed for only 30 yards, and simply wasn’t up to the task of beating the Patriots in his first try.’

‘The beat just goes on and on, and the Patriots proved yet again they are the haves, and the Bills are the have nots. Buffalo was a 13-point underdog, yet some believed that because New England had lost two games in a row, it was suddenly on the skids and could be ripe for an upset. Come on, did anyone really fall for that one? The Patriots are now 7-0 at home, and there wasn’t one point in the game where anyone could have believed the Bills had a chance to pull the upset. These teams are on different levels, even now. Whatever the Patriots needed to do, they did, just like they always have in their twice annual floggings of the Bills.’

‘The horror! The outrage! Two straight losses! Fire Bill Belichick! Cut Tom Brady!’

‘“We didn’t see Allen; he’s been impressive,” said Belichick. “Foster. He’s averaging 25 yards per catch. That’s a lot to average. A very explosive player and gets behind the defense, a catch-and-run player. He’s fast, really fast. Allen’s got a great arm and can’t overthrow him. He can’t outrun the quarterback. The quarterback can get the ball down the field to him. He’s been very exciting to watch.”’

‘“Obviously the game means a lot to him, to play at the level that he’s played at, through his career and still be going at that age,’’ Allen said. “When I was little, I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to play him because that was a long time ago, but we’re here now and he’s still one of the most dominant quarterbacks in the game. He was a big part of my development watching quarterbacks and who I wanted to be.’’’

‘“Unfortunately, it took a little while, but I came through it. The first 5-6 days I couldn’t get right, I had some things going on I couldn’t shake. We went through everything, made sure the doctors said, ‘You’re going to be OK, this isn’t something with long-term effects’ and after that I was good with it. Obviously, I have kids and stuff that I have to worry about, too.’’’

‘“I think every game is such a unique situation,” said Daboll, who admitted he doesn’t pay much attention to completion percentage. “Everybody would like to be 80, 78, 75, 71 percent, but you kind of need to peel it back and figure out the reasons why. At the end of the day the quarterback really needs to be judged on leading his team down to score points and taking care of the football and giving us an opportunity for us to have success. The most important thing is that letter (W or L) at the end of the day.”’

‘“It comes down to my health and still having my legs underneath me,” Alexander said. “There’s been a change in the dynamic of what I consider to be old in this league because with the CBA, there’s no two-a-days, there’s limited padded practices, and there’s a shift in psychology in sports science where they maximize guys and not grind us all the time. All of that has allowed me to keep my speed and my legs and now my mind, I’m mature and experienced so I’ve seen a lot of things and I can go out there and play fast.”’

‘The Patriots are riding a two-game losing streak and not likely to be feeling any Christmas spirit.’

‘“Got a soft spot for him, the way he works,” Daboll said. “One hundred percent all the time, out at practice on the look team. Gives great effort, one of the guys that kind of stands in the background when we’re working on our reps and is asking a lot of questions. Just a young guy that’s trying to develop the best he can, and you appreciate guys like that.”’

‘The Bills’ offense hadn’t done much of anything since scoring its other touchdown in the second quarter, but with a drive start at their own 40, the Bills made quick work of the winning possession.’

‘It’s way too early to dare to think Josh Allen and Robert Foster could ever get close to the same ZIP code Buffalo’s all-time greatest pass duo occupied, but it sure has been fun watching the two rookies grow together in 2018.’

‘“Coach always says, ‘Always prepare like you’re playing this week,’” said Ford, who himself tweaked an ankle but was clearly feeling no pain as he celebrated Buffalo’s hard-fought 14-13 victory over Detroit. “From the beginning of the year, my eyes were on the prize and they moved me up. Injuries are just part of the game and you need to be ready.’’’

‘The Bills found a way to win a game that very easily could have gone the other way, and that’s another step this team needed to take in its development. The Bills took a fourth-quarter lead, but there was much work that needed to be done, and for the most part, it got done. The defense held off two Detroit possessions forcing a missed field goal and a punt, and the offense needed to melt the remaining clock away. It didn’t succeed after the missed field goal, but given a mulligan and taking possession with 2:50 remaining, Josh Allen picked up two first downs and kept the ball away from Matthew Stafford to secure the 14-13 victory.’

‘“We’ve eliminated ourselves from the playoffs, but there’s a bigger purpose,” said coach Sean McDermott when asked what his team has left to play for. “The bigger purpose is how we develop into that team that we’re trying to become. I’m really looking at the quality of our play and how we develop. Certainly, we want to win games, don’t get me wrong. We’re trying to sustain success over the course of time. That’s what we want to do, that’s how you win a world championship. In order to get there, though, there’s evaluating our roster, knowing who we like, who can help us moving forward and who may not have taken advantage of the opportunity, quite frankly.”’