Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘As I made my way around the Bills’ locker room Sunday night, it was impossible not to drift back seven years in time to that scene in this same place.’

‘Once their 21-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins was complete Sunday night, the final three opponents on the schedule were finalized – all games against fellow first-place teams. Those three feature road games at NFC North champ Detroit and AFC North champ Baltimore, and a home game – yes, believe it or not, a home game – against the Kansas City Chiefs.’

‘They may have already punched their ticket to the postseason when the Jaguars found a way to lose to the Titans earlier in the day, but with the big prize on the line – the AFC East division title and the No. 2 seed – the Bills drove their fans absolutely nuts for 60 minutes before somehow, despite a litany of missteps and mistakes, pulling out a tension-packed 21-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins.’

‘Harty, who has basically been a free agent bust, certainly saved his biggest play of the season for the most opportune moment, the fourth quarter of the final game as he broke a stunning 96-yard punt return that tied matters at 14-14. Harty clearly has game-breaking speed, but the Bills never found a way to use it on offense, and he hasn’t really given them anything in the return game, until Sunday.’

‘It was foolhardy to even think that the Bills – who nothing comes easy for, not in 2023, and not throughout their 64-year history – would be able to go to sleep down here at their hotel in South Florida knowing that no matter what they did Sunday night in their game against the Miami Dolphins, they had a spot secured.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 27, Dolphins 24.’

‘Technically, this is the fourth time the Bills are playing in front of the NBC cameras and broadcast crew led by Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth. Two weeks ago they were in a standalone window for a Peacock-only Saturday night game in Los Angeles.’

‘Both players deserve the honor as Dawkins has been a rock at left tackle as he has allowed just one sack all year while being a force in the run game, particularly on the tackle pull plays that have become a Buffalo staple. He became the first Bills’ offensive lineman to earn three or more selections since Ruben Brown was voted in eight times from 1996-2003.’

‘Fourteen of the 17 games have been set in stone for quite some time based on the NFL’s schedule formula, but the other three cannot be determined until the NFL standings are finalized when the clock reaches zero late Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium.’

‘“It’s rough, man,” he said, hinting that opposing defenses, specifically defensive backs, have done a great job of watching tape, understanding why Diggs had five 100-yard games in the first six weeks, and coming up with game plans to make sure that doesn’t happen against them. Clearly, it has worked because Diggs’ best game in the last nine was 86 yards against the Bengals on Nov. 5, and in the seven games since that loss in Cincinnati, his production has submarined as he has just 30 catches for 262 yards.’

‘That’s because if the Steelers and Jaguars both win, the Bills will be in a win-or-else scenario, something they haven’t faced since that long ago afternoon at Rich Stadium when all Mike Mularkey’s team had to do to earn a playoff berth was beat Pittsburgh in the finale, a Steelers team that was resting several key players including QB Ben Roethlisberger, because it already had its playoff seed secured.’

‘If they win at Miami in what is now the final regular-season game on the NFL schedule – the 8:20 Sunday Night Football window on NBC – they will capture the AFC East division title and will be the No. 2 AFC seed which means potentially two home playoff games.’

‘“Everybody’s gonna have his day and you can’t expect Josh to be Superman every day of the week,” Brown said after Allen played as if he had a lump of kryptonite attached to his hip throughout the Bills grinding, often maddening 27-21 victory over the lowly New England Patriots on a raw, gray, dank day at Highmark Stadium.’

‘It would be hard to conjure up a worst first half for Allen than the one he played in this game.’