Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Given the way the Bills dominated the first half, this one should have been over long before it was but, they are, after all, the Bills. Nothing is ever easy.’

‘But this was also a correction to the rising stock that was Josh Allen. He made a half dozen poor decisions and the offense went into a funk. Another stellar effort by Buffalo’s Top 10 defense was nearly squandered. Let a team hang around, and bad things happen.’

‘This group, the third of the Sean McDermott era, is wired differently. It does not quit, does not let adversity drain it of life. And that characteristic, more than any other, is why the Bills recovered from a lousy second half where they blew a 14-0 lead and pulled out a pulsating 21-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.’

‘Look, picks are going to happen. Even that guy in New England throws them once in a while. But this particular type of interception, the one that very nearly sent the Bills tumbling to what would have been a mortifying, soul-crushing type of loss, has to stop, here and now.’

‘Bills 27, Bengals 14.’

‘“Everybody wanted to go celebrate with (McKenzie) on that little jet sweep Sunday, but I was the first one to go get Dawson Knox and make sure that he knew I understood what he did and how crucial he was on that play,” said Allen. “It’s extremely important for us. We take pride in what we do. Our receivers know that the run plays, they’re not getting the ball but they’re still doing their job and blocking down the field.”’

‘“Well, that’s up there,’’ said McDermott when asked where finding a stellar safety tandem ranked on his to-do list. “Just in terms of … the types of people they are and then the types of players that they are, the fabric of what they can do and their versatility.’’’

‘The Bills signed Kroft to a three-year, $18.7 million free agent contract on the second day of free agency, targeting a player who already had a history of injury problems.’

‘And “No,’’ he said with a laugh, “I’m not expecting the same kind of ovation I got last time.’’’

‘Of course, going into a game with just two running backs — unless you count fullback Patrick DiMarco — may be a bit of a risk so it would not be out of the question that the Bills may have to sign someone this week.’

‘“I’m feeling good out there, it was awesome getting that first full day back,” said Kroft, who had been a limited practice participant the leading up to the first two games and then was inactive for each. “Last week I was taking a lot of scout teams reps so the lungs feel good and I feel like I’m building that wind back up and running well out there.”’

‘If the Bills can hit the halfway mark 6-2, they merely need to play .500 football the second half to hit the 10-victory mark that is the standard for a safe postseason berth, eliminating the need for the anxiety medication associated with nine-win campaigns.’

‘“We’re still gathering information on Devin, so right now he’s day to day,’’ McDermott said during his Monday news conference. “It’s day to day more so for some question marks in terms of the evaluation. We still don’t know definitely at this point what’s going on there.’’’

‘All we can do is judge him week to week, and Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, he looked a whole lot more like Kelly than he did Manuel. At least in the first half, which ultimately determined the outcome of the game.’

‘“I thought he did a really good job,” Shurmur said following the game. “There were a couple times he broke contain and he made some really nice throws. A couple times we were in really tight coverage, I thought he did a nice job. I thought he played well.”’