Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Quarterback: Tyrod Taylor.’

‘TE Tyler Kroft: He never recovered from the broken foot he suffered on the first day of spring workouts. He missed the first five games, then caught only six passes for 71 yards and a TD which, per his 2019 compensation, worked out to just under $1 million per reception.’

‘The first four picks — Ed Oliver, Cody Ford, Devin Singletary and Dawson Knox — made significant contributions to Buffalo’s 10-6, playoff-qualifying season. The last three, all taken in the sixth or seventh round — Jaquan Johnson, Darryl Johnson and Tommy Sweeney — played a combined 35 games in a variety of backup and special teams roles.’

‘The quarterbacks have grabbed many of the headlines but for Buffalo Bills fans it’s the supporting cast that will draw the most eyeballs.’

‘Yet, here we are, picking up the pieces from a 22-19 overtime defeat that, by all rights, should not have happened, especially if the defense did what it had been doing all year.’

‘Under McDermott and Washington, the Panthers finished in the Top 10 in overall defense four times. The Panthers were No. 1 in sacks in 2013 with 60, led by defensive ends Greg Hardy with 15 and Charles Johnson with 11. Carolina ranked No. 2 in sacks in 2016 and No. 3 in 2017.’

‘“Offensively, we did show some improvements,” said general manager Brandon Beane. “Josh improved, and we scored more points, but at the end of the day we didn’t score enough points.”’

‘Mom: Yeah, but they’re not a team, they don’t give a team effort. When one part is good, the other part isn’t. We need a team, not one person.’

‘“I wish I could go and give our fans an explanation, but I don’t want to go there, I can’t go there right now,” McDermott said. “The part I’ll say is that we had a chance to go up 20-0, and it got ruled that way at first and then it got changed. I have to go with what the ruling got changed to, that’s the way our league works.”‘

‘“The game did not end the way we wanted it to end, it did not go the way we wanted it to go,” said McDermott. “Because of that, it has been a painful couple of days for all of us. I recognize that, and my hope is that in time, if it’s handled the right way, the pain will turn into strength and that strength will turn into growth.”’

‘McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane have made it clear they want to draft, develop, and then re-sign their guys, but they didn’t draft any of those players. If there was no such thing as free agency, I’m sure they’d like to re-sign several from this group, but the fact is there aren’t many can’t-live-without players.’

‘In his first playoff action, Allen was both brilliant and boneheaded, taking the Bills on a ride worthy of the bucking broncos at the Houston stockyard. He had 372 yards from scrimmage, including catching a 16-yard touchdown pass, completing some throws very few NFL quarterbacks can make.’

‘They have to refine Allen’s undeniable physical skills with better mechanics which should improve his accuracy, and continue the process of developing him into a fully functional player on the mental side, which hopefully will lessen some of the brain cramp moments.’

‘In what became the latest in unconscionable Buffalo playoff failures, the Bills, dominating for the first 40-plus minutes of the game, unraveled in absolutely epic fashion and lost 22-19 in overtime to the Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon at NRG Stadium.’

‘You watch professional football long enough, and you will see finishes that even Hollywood can’t script. And what we witnessed Saturday will stack right up there in the colorful playoff history of these two original American Football League cities, where football isn’t a game, but a way of life.’