Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘However, the surprise announcement Wednesday morning that linebacker Terrel Bernard will not play against the Patriots was a bit jarring because it’s not rest and/or protection related, it’s due to injury.’

‘The Broncos have the easiest path to the No. 7 seed and a trip to Orchard Park because all they have to do is win their game Sunday afternoon at home and no matter what the Bengals and Dolphins do, Denver would be in at 10-7.’

‘“In Josh’s case, one of the things that we know is very, very important to him is his consecutive starts streak,” McDermott said Monday. “And it’s important to him for a great reason; he wants to be out there with his teammates. And so he will be out there for a very, very short-lived amount of time and then he’ll be off rather quickly.”’

‘This is an odd-numbered year so the AFC teams get the extra home game in the 17-game schedule, and in the final season at Highmark Stadium, they will be playing three teams who have already clinched playoff berths, and three more who are still in the hunt heading into Week 18.’

‘But Sunday, it was as if the Bills saved all their biggest defensive moments for the New York Jets, play after play after play, all of which led to a smashing 40-14 victory that allowed Buffalo to clinch the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and will also give coach Sean McDermott the opportunity in Week 18 to sit out some of his key players, including Josh Allen, for most or all of the game in New England.’

‘Allen had to work his way through a challenging first half as the Jets were giving him the same fits they always do. They were getting pressure, they were making life difficult for the wide receivers, and after a game-opening TD drive, all he could produce was a field goal which came on the final play of the second quarter.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 27, Jets 20.’

‘Given the other two wholly awful 1 p.m. options – Titans at Jaguars or Panthers at Buccaneers – it was an easy decision to send the A team to call Josh Allen vs. Aaron Rodgers.’

‘Rapp and Hamlin have each missed the last two games and were limited this week in practice which has been an ongoing trend. Lewis has started in place of Rapp, but he is now dealing with a shoulder injury which has clouded his availability. He has been limited in practice.’

‘Instead, Cooper has been largely disappointing as he missed two games with a wrist injury, and in the seven games he has played, he has just 17 catches for 241 yards and a TD. In the last two games, he hasn’t been just disappointing, he’s been invisible. He wasn’t even targeted in Detroit, a game where the Bills put up 559 total yards and scored 48 points, and against the Patriots he had two targets with one 10-yard catch as he played the fewest snaps among the four WRs (54%).’

‘Now the Bills turn their attention to another woefully disappointing division rival, the 4-11 New York Jets Sunday in the Highmark Stadium regular-season finale. Depending on what happens in the Christmas day doubleheader, the Bills could have the No. 2 seed in the AFC bracket wrapped up because if the Steelers lose to the Chiefs and the Ravens lose to the Texans, it’s over.’

‘In the end, the talent differential between the two teams finally began to show up in the second half as the Bills tied the game on their first possession of the third quarter, and then three consecutive New England turnovers led to a field goal and a Taron Johnson recovery of a backward pass in the end zone for a defensive touchdown that gave the Bills a 24-14 lead, and that turned out to be the decisive blow in a 24-21 victory that was so much harder to achieve than anyone expected.’

‘This was a somewhat alarming performance against a defense that should have had no business being as stingy as it was. It’s tough to rag on an offense that had scored 30 points in eight straight games, but the Bills need to get some things worked out, in particular, Cooper’s role. He had a nice game in LA, but otherwise, his play since he arrived in the trade from Cleveland has been underwhelming. Keon Coleman hasn’t done much either since his return from injury as he had just one catch for 17 yards.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 33, Patriots 10.’

‘Obviously, this change won’t affect either team; it’s not like the game was moved to Sunday night, or to a different day. It likely will affect fans attending the game though, especially those who planned their travel to and from around a 1 p.m. kickoff, but the NFL has made it perfectly clear that the fans watching at home are the priority over the fans at the stadium.’