Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘As it stands right now, the Bills are clinging to the seventh and final playoff berth in the stacked AFC. Simply put, the Bills can’t afford to stub their toe as they did against the Patriots because if they find a way to lose this game and fall to 4-4, their playoff chances are going to take a precipitous dip.’

‘So yeah, Knox’s season-long contribution is pretty lame by that incredible measure, but what about compared to his own teammate, rookie first-round pick Dalton Kincaid? Once again, it doesn’t look great.’

‘Mayfield has played well in the Bucs’ first six games, but after a 3-1 start, they’ve lost back-to-back home games to the Lions and Falcons and Mayfield produced only one touchdown and 19 combined points.’

‘“We’ve got to continue to find answers to some of the reasons why we’re stubbing our toe,” coach Sean McDermott said. “We’re beating ourselves at times and we’re not linking up all three phases to control a game.”’

‘Coaching: F.’

‘Play-by-play: Ian Eagle. Analyst: Charles Davis. Sideline reporter: Evan Washburn.

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 24, Patriots 13.’

‘Mind you, all of it is from fans and some media, none of it coming from One Bills Drive, something Josh Allen wanted to make perfectly clear.’

‘“It would be hard to describe him as a first-year player when you watched him go through the week of preparation,” Washington said, clearly impressed by the way Williams studied and practiced. “I’m talking about from Wednesday all the way through the Saturday walk through. He was locked in, focused, he understood the game plan. He understood what we had to do against their offensive schemes. He slid into that role.”’

‘But for the second year in a row, Buffalo’s secondary passing game targets are underwhelming and Allen’s reliance on Diggs could become a problem against a quality defense that can neutralize Diggs and force Allen to go somewhere else with the ball.’

‘It is jarring to see the Patriots at 1-5, just the second time in Robert Kraft’s 29-year ownership tenure that this has happened, the last being 1995, long before Bill Belichick showed up. Bills fans are concerned by the lack of productivity from Josh Allen and the offense the last two weeks, but their struggles pale in comparison to the misery the Patriots are enduring right now.’

‘For the second week in a row the once-mighty Buffalo offense coughed and wheezed for the better part of three quarters before waking up just in time to score two fourth-quarter touchdowns, just enough to squeeze out a win because the defense stood tall in some key moments and held the Giants to three field goals.’

‘Dorsey’s insistence on using Allen in the shotgun is becoming a problem because it’s pretty clear that the Bills run the ball better when Allen is under center, and when he’s under center the play-action game is a little more effective, too.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 34, Giants 13.’

‘Network TV: NBC. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WHEC (Channel 10, Rochester), WGRZ (Buffalo area), WSTM (Syracuse area), WKTV (Utica area), WETM (Elmira area), WNYT (Albany area), and WBGH (Binghamton area).’