Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Clearly, though, Anderson is going to come aboard and it is expected that he will serve as a mentor to rookie Josh Allen, as well as probably be the Bills’ primary backup quarterback once he gets up to speed on the offensive system.’

‘“To me, all you have to do in this league is throw the film on and you look at the individual players that you’re going to have to go against, the scheme that you’re going to have to go against,’’ said O’Brien, whose Texans host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at NRG Stadium. “That in and of itself (is enough motivation), knowing how difficult it is to win a game in this league.’’’

‘Allen looked to be in complete control as he orchestrated the first fourth-quarter comeback drive of his brief career, and he completed the only two passes he attempted. Both throws were as easy as could be, but they were right on the money. That’s something to build off.’

‘Anderson entered the NFL in 2005 as a sixth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens, but he never played a game and ended up moving on to Cleveland in 2006. With the Browns, Anderson became the full-time starter in 2007 and posted a 10-5 record in a year when Cleveland barely missed making the second playoff appearance since its rebirth as a franchise in 1999.’

‘It was ugly in many ways for Allen, but he completed two key passes on the winning drive which extended 47 yards in 11 plays. Allen finished 10 of 19 for just 82 yards, but the Bills rushed for 144 yards, led by LeSean McCoy who had 85, matching his output from the first three games he played.’

‘For his career, Anderson has enjoyed scant success in the NFL. He is 20-27 as a starter and has completed only 54.1 percent of his passes with 60 touchdowns and 60 interceptions. Given those numbers, the Bills would certainly rather he didn’t have to play, and they are bringing him in to provide Allen some guidance, something current backup quarterback Nathan Peterman – in just his second NFL season – clearly can’t do.’

‘McDermott essentially said the same thing. “It’s a good team win, first and foremost. Defense did a good job to give us chances, they took the ball away. We’re a young football team that’s developing and evolving. Our offense came back and put a big-time drive together to win the game. They should get some confidence from that.”’

‘With the game on the line, Bills’ offensive coordinator Brian Daboll wasn’t about to put the outcome in Allen’s hands when the safest strategy was using McCoy’s and Ivory’s legs.’

‘That one falls in the category of “a win is a win” as the Bills out-uglied the Titans for a 13-12 victory Sunday at New Era Field. The Bills defense carried the day by forcing three turnovers and holding the Titans to 221 yards and no touchdowns. And then the offense, which struggled most of the day and scored its first 10 points due primarily to two of the turnovers, came through at the end with a game-winning drive on the legs of LeSean McCoy and Chris Ivory. The Bills are 2-3, which is a whole lot better than 1-4, which is the way it was looking there before the surprising finish.’

‘Bills 19, Titans 13.’

‘When the schedule was announced back in April, you may have looked at this Week 5 game at home against Tennessee and penciled it in as a Buffalo victory. Hopefully you did indeed use pencil because the way the season has gone, the Titans are clearly the better team as they come into New Era Field sporting a 3-1 record and riding a three-game winning streak that includes a win in Jacksonville, and a defeat of the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles last week.’

‘As celebratory a day as that was, it wasn’t really rooted in reality, and the Bills’ hierarchy fully understood the regression that was likely to occur this year. Given the constraints created by all the dead salary cap money, some unexpected deletions from the roster, and the capital that had to be used to draft the quarterbacks of the future for the offense (Josh Allen) and defense (Tremaine Edmunds), they knew this was going to be a tough season.’

‘”I was the worst player in all of football … and I just don’t want to see that happen to other kids,’’ Dilfer said. “Josh Allen right now is the one that’s ripping my heart out. Darnold should be playing. Rosen should be playing. Baker should be playing. I don’t think Josh Allen should be playing.’’’

‘“Yeah, I mean that’s definitely something that I would like to be referred to as,” said the fourth-round pick who has been one of the scant few feel-good stories of Buffalo’s 1-3 start. “I mean I want to play like that, that’s just my main goal; I want to play physical, I want to play fast, I want to play smart.”’

‘That first day at Fisher in late July of 2000, no one could have foreseen the coming agony of the next 17 years because the Bills had been to the playoffs in 10 of the previous 12 seasons. Back then, the playoffs were almost a given, and on that initial day of camp, the Bills were anxious to get going on making it 11 trips in 13 years.’