Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘With Hamlin out, the Bills had to turn to third-string safety Dean Marlowe who, since returning to the Bills in a trade from Atlanta, had played all of one defensive snap before Sunday. He held his own, but there were definitely times when the secondary had problems, especially with WR Devante Parker who caught six passes for 79 yards and two TDs. Nothing new for him because he used to kill the Bills when he played for Miami.’

‘You’d be hard-pressed to walk down Southwestern Boulevard without passing Hamlin jerseys and No. 3s posted everywhere. That includes Fay Street, where the Bills Mafia House sits next door to the Bills stadium. Hamburg’s Shane Prouty fixed the house nine years ago before it turned into a popular tailgating destination.’

‘The Bills will now wind up the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the conference after the NFL amended its postseason format following the cancellation of the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals game in Week 17. It’s also possible the AFC Championship Game is played at a neural site.

‘Sal’s prediction: Buffalo Bills 23, New England Patriots 14.’

‘Given all that, this is a game that will appeal to far more than just the regular Sunday afternoon crowd and there will be a massive amount of eyeballs on Orchard Park.’

‘It was clear that it was going to be a logistical nightmare to try to wedge the resumption of the game – which ended with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter when Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest – into the schedule with the regular season ending Sunday.’

‘According to the Bills, Chris Brown will continue to perform play-by-play duties on the Bills Radio Network while Murphy recovers.’

‘“Yeah, probably won’t be able to do it justice, honestly, with words,” he said when asked to describe what it was like in the room when Hamlin’s face appeared on the screen. “Amazing, touching, to see Damar, No. 1 through my own eyes. I know that’s something I’ve been looking forward to, kind of needing to see I guess. And then to watch the reaction in the room with the players and the staff and the team. They didn’t know that we were going to do that, we wanted to make sure that that was actually going to be able to happen with Damar’s medical schedule there.”‘

‘“Last night, he was able to emerge and follow commands, and even asked who had won the game,” said Dr. Timothy Pritts, professor in the Department of Surgery at the UCMC’s College of Medicine, and Division Chief of General Surgery and Vice Chair for Clinical Operations at UC Health.’

‘“We heard that news this morning and there’s nothing that could have been told to us to bring our day down,” quarterback Josh Allen said to a jam-packed room full of reporters. “We’re extremely happy for him and his family. We just want to love up on him the next chance we get. I don’t know when it’s going to be; hopefully we get to see him soon, and it’s going to be awesome.”’

‘The AFC Championship Game could be played at a neutral site if the participating teams in the conference final played an unequal number of games and both could have been the No. 1 seed, the NFL said. Those scenarios may involve the Kansas City Chiefs, Bills and Bengals, depending on Week 18 results. The NFL did not reveal a specific neutral site.’

‘”This press conference is about Damar Hamlin who we love and his parents and extended family. First I’d like to thank the first responders on the field and the medical teams for both teams on the field, and the medical staff at the University of Cincinnati Medical center. The amount of faith hope and love we saw on display in the last few days has been nothing but amazing. The officiating crew on the field, led by crew chief Sean Smith, handled the situation with extreme composure and compassion. Thanks to the Bengals and their ownership and especially coach Zac Taylor. To fans of both the bills and Bengals along with all of the fans, we’ve heard from in the last few days. Thanks to the media for your understanding. And finally glory to God for his keeping Damar and his family in the palm of his hand and his healing powers.”‘

‘“That conversation about what we do with that game has begun,” Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice-president of communications, public affair and policy, said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon.’

‘If the Patriots beat the Bills, they will secure the seventh and final seed in the AFC bracket. But if they lose, the only way they get in is if all three of these things happen: The Dolphins lose to the Jets, the Titans lose to the Jaguars, and the Steelers lose to the Browns.’

‘The league has never been confronted with anything like this and the fact that it is happening six days before the end of the regular season complicates matters tremendously.’