Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Heading into the finale against Miami, Croom has 20 catches for 227 yards and a touchdown. Despite playing 117 more snaps than Croom, Clay has just 21 catches for 184 yards and no touchdowns. Given what happened in New England, it seems a foregone conclusion that Clay won’t be with Buffalo in 2019, and that Croom may begin the spring offseason program at the top of the depth chart.’

‘“Yeah, that’s between LeSean and myself and I appreciate him being accountable,” McDermott said. “I really do, and we’ve moved on and that’s where we’re headed. That happens from time to time. Nobody’s perfect. But again, I appreciate him being accountable. And I’m not perfect in this case, he wasn’t perfect and we addressed it and we’re moving forward.”’

‘The Bills are completing just Year 2 of a front-office and coaching realignment under Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott. Their quarterback of the future is in place in Josh Allen, draft picks have been stockpiled like Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards and they will have salary cap room to burn.’

‘Which means the big difference in this game was as clear as a spotted elephant, the ease at which the Patriots, led by running backs Sony Michel and James White, ran through Buffalo’s defense, which has ranked No. 1 or No. 2 much of the season.’

‘Still, the Patriots beat the Bills for the 33rd time in 38 games since Bill Belichick became coach in 2000, and there really wasn’t a point all day where it was in doubt.’

‘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.”’