Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘One of Babich’s greatest successes was the development of Bernard in 2023. Bernard had the enormous task of replacing departed free agent and five-year starter Tremaine Edmunds. He hardly played on defense as a rookie third-round pick in 2022, but with Babich’s help, he became arguably the Bills’ most valuable defender in 2023.’

‘However, a very good argument can be made that the battered state of McDermott’s defense is what, more than anything, prevented the Bills from reaching the Super Bowl.’

‘The Bills just signed Bass to a contract extension so I doubt his job will be on the line in training camp, but he needs to bounce back.’

‘The one key area where there was a clear decline early in 2023 under Dorsey was in the running game which was down 24 yards per game from 2022. That was largely due to Allen running less both on designed runs or scrambles, a curious edict that may have come from Dorsey and/or McDermott in an effort to lessen the punishment he takes each week.’

‘“I remember coming here, it was cloudy … and that was when they were redoing this locker room,” Hyde recalled Monday as he was packing up his locker stall. “They had the training room down in the stadium and it was like this little ass room. And I’m coming from Green Bay with, you know, Lambeau Field and new facilities. I’m walking in here like, ‘Man, what the hell am I doing and why am I here?’ But it ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made. This is a very, very special place.”’

‘What the 24-year-old will fetch on the open market is unknown, but there will be teams interested in a 6-foot-2, 225-pound wide receiver who across his first four NFL seasons caught 163 passes for 2,730 yards and 27 touchdowns, then added 22 receptions for 474 yards and six TDs in the postseason.’

‘“This is not a situation where you strip it down to the studs and start all over,” McDermott said. “Every year is a challenge to figure out how to put it back together again to put yourself in position to win. When you’ve had the success we’ve had – six out of seven years in the playoffs is significant and hard to do as well as four AFC East titles and now five years of 10-plus wins is impressive and did not come easy. We look forward to continuing to reach for and strive for that ultimate goal of winning a world championship.”’

‘Having blown this opportunity, just like they blew it in 2022 when they lost at home in the divisional round to the Bengals, it’s pretty tough to make the argument that Buffalo’s Super Bowl window is still open because it’s simply not true. Even with superstar quarterback Josh Allen at the helm, it’s closed for at least the foreseeable future.

‘This was supposed to be different from 2020 when the Bills were blown out 38-24 in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium. It was supposed to be different than 2021 when the Bills couldn’t find a way to play 13 more seconds of regulation and wound up losing in epic and heartbreaking fashion, 42-36 in overtime at Arrowhead in the divisional round.’

‘All the talk about how Patrick Mahomes wasn’t at his best this year, primarily because he lacked talent around him, proved to be meaningless drivel at least as it pertained to this game. It was true that the Chiefs did not function like they had in his first five seasons as the starter, but when it mattered most – in the playoffs last week against Miami and then against Buffalo – the Chiefs did what they always do. They made the big plays in the key moments.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Chiefs 24, Bills 23.’

‘However, even if Bills-Steelers hadn’t been pushed back a day, Bill-Chiefs still would have been placed into the cleanup spot this weekend because their matchup is without question the juiciest of the four games.’

‘And in a surprising development, McDermott added wide receiver Stefon Diggs would be “limited at best” in Friday’s practice due to a foot injury. The expectation is that he’ll play, but you have to wonder how problematic the injury is. Friday, Diggs did indicate in the locker room that he’d be fine.’

‘The sign’s maker, Honeoye Falls resident and former Democrat and Chronicle reporter Georgie McKean, falls into both the Bills Mafia and the Swiftie ranks.’

‘Diggs will have to, no pun intended, dig deep in this game because the Bills are going to need their playmakers to be on point. But if Sneed takes away Diggs, then it will fall to players like Khalil Shakir, Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox to give Allen viable targets.’