Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Sirles played for the Chargers in 2014 and was traded to the Vikings in 2015. He spent 2015-17 with Minnesota and was signed as a free agent by the Panthers in 2018.’

‘Coach Mike McCarthy’s team began the year with a stirring 24-23 comeback win against the Chicago Bears before a sigh-of-relief 29-29 tie against Minnesota (courtesy of three missed Vikings’ field goals) and a listless 31-17 loss at the Washington Redskins in the rain.’

‘On the second series, right after the Buffalo defense forced a turnover deep in Minnesota territory, Allen gave Benjamin another chance on third-and-6 from the 11. The alleged No. 1 receiver was singled up again with Rhodes on a cross over the middle and he had inside leverage. Allen delivered a strike that would have converted the first down, and perhaps could have gone for a touchdown, but Benjamin dropped it again. The Bills settled for a field goal.’

‘Here’s how Twitter reacted to his death-defying hurdle over Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr…’.

‘Daboll apparently realized this past week that he had to figure out a way to get Allen into the rhythm of the game, and that short, quick passing was the way to do it. The result was three touchdowns, two via the rush by Allen and one through the air as Allen completed 12 of 19 for 172 yards in the first 30 minutes.’

‘I’m sure Sean McDermott and the coaches were ready to wring his neck when he went back to the bench after that death-defying hurdle over a Minnesota defender in the first quarter to convert a first down. It was a super-exciting play that made all the highlight shows, and it showed his athleticism and his fearlessness, but the Bills would prefer he didn’t risk life and limb moving forward because they don’t want to play another snap without him.’

‘I really thought Daboll did a nice job finding the right matchups, and he guided Allen through a terrific first half. The play call to spring Jason Croom for his 26-yard TD catch was superb and the Vikings were caught completely off guard. Daboll was predictably conservative in the second half, and I never like that, but in this game it didn’t matter because the Vikings were so bad. On defense, Leslie Frazier called the plays, not Sean McDermott and he called a great game. The Bills dialed up the pressure, forced turnovers, and had Cousins off his game all day. I loved that McDermott went for the TD on fourth-and-goal at the 1 because that spoke to his willingness to pound the Vikings while they were down. And he should have won his only challenge; the officials blew that play when they called Allen for a fumble even though it should have been an incomplete pass. Didn’t matter because the Bills scored a TD a few plays later.’

‘Vikings 30, Bills 10.’

‘Two weeks into the 2018 season, the Bills are once again a laughingstock, a team that looks completely incapable of winning a single game let alone repeating its shocking run to the postseason.’

‘After McDermott grabbed the Madden 2018 joystick, the Bills played lights out in the second half against the Chargers, limiting them to 62 net yards and three points on 24 plays vs. 284 yards and 28 points on 31 plays when Frazier was in charge.’

‘The case being made by the Las Vegas oddsmakers this week is a compelling one. The Vikings are clearly one of the best teams in the NFL, the Bills are one of the worst, and the game is in Minnesota where the Vikings have played very well. They are 12-5 since their new stadium opened in 2016, and have won their last six games there by an average margin of 14.3 points.’

‘Those are odds of about 1 in 333.’

‘“I guess tolerance level,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said when asked about the fickle nature teams have with their kickers. “I remember growing up in Philadelphia, Paul McFadden, I think, was the kicker we had, and just watching him for years on the television set on Sunday afternoons. I don’t know, maybe the tolerance level has declined in terms of (the fact that) if you miss a kick, you’re out. I don’t know, media pressure, social media pressure, you name it.”’

‘The release then went on to reiterate Cordon’s contention that McCoy is abusive to his son. “Ms. Cordon has witnessed Mr. McCoy physically abuse his son from another relationship, as well as his dog. Ms. Cordon is further aware of Mr. McCoy’s penchant for demanding the return of expensive jewelry and gifts from multiple women at the end of a relationship. Mr. McCoy has a history of attempting to resale the gifts he had previously given to a girlfriend, to friends or teammates. There is no doubt in Ms. Cordon’s mind that Mr. McCoy had some involvement with the attack.”’

‘“I was never out of it,’’ he said. “When I went to the ground, because I had whiplash so bad, I was kind of worried about my neck. I started to slowly move and once I knew my neck was fine, I knew I’d be OK.’