Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Sal’s prediction: Buffalo Bills 30, Chicago Bears 13.’

‘Most of the Bills’ media corps won’t be traveling to the game and will be “covering” it by watching on television just like the fans. Afterward, the Bills will make Sean McDermott and certain players available to reporters for interviews via Zoom, just the way it was done during the 2020 COVID season.’

‘Using Pro Football Focus numbers, the Bills lead the NFL with 148 missed tackles on rushing plays, an average of just over 10 per game which is somewhat crazy for a team that somehow still ranks sixth in the league in run defense at 106.1 yards allowed per game.’

‘If, however, the Bills find a way to lose to the 3-11 Bears, they can still clinch the division if the Dolphins lose at home to the Packers. And that remains the case moving forward: One Bills win or one Dolphins loss ends the race.’

‘The forecast is calling for blizzard-like conditions with heavy snow and high winds on Friday in Chicago as a massive storm moves through the midwest. The snow is expected to be gone by the 1 p.m. Saturday kickoff, but maybe it won’t. As we all know, it’s pretty tough to predict these things.’

‘The teams they have played to date have a cumulative winning percentage of .531 which is the seventh-highest in the league. Comparatively, the Lions have played the toughest schedule as their opponents have a .590 winning percentage thanks to their playing the Vikings (twice), Bills, Cowboys and Eagles.’

‘But then came the fourth quarter, and the lake effect machine started churning just when the Bills needed it most, and wouldn’t you know it, that’s right when everything finally turned in Buffalo’s direction.’

‘The victory overshadowed a pretty lousy night as the Dolphins rushed for 188 yards and an average of 7.5 per play, season-worsts for the Bills in both categories. The Miami offensive line gouged the Bills’ front and opened gaping holes for Raheem Mostert and Salmon Ahmed.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Buffalo Bills 23, Miami Dolphins 14.’

‘Cable/Network: NFL Network. If you have Spectrum cable or Spectrum streaming, NFL Network is channel 96. The game will not be available on any of the local stations in Rochester, though because Buffalo is the primary Bills market, it will be available there on the ABC affiliate, WKBW.’

‘A producer on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz said on Thursday’s show that Buffalo probably shouldn’t have a football team because of the weather. Predictably, the comment by Chris Witty(yuk yuk)ngham got the Bills Mafia riled up across social media.’

‘Given all that upheaval, it’s no surprise the Bills currently rank 19th in passing yards allowed (219.5), 13th in completion percentage (63.7), and seventh in passer rating (81.7).’

‘“There were some times last year where I would get some stuff from people and it would be a little frustrating just because, before, it wasn’t like that, so it was a change,” Beasley said following his first full practice since rejoining the team on Tuesday. “There was a time last year, and it really killed me. There was a kid that came up to him and told him that he couldn’t come to his birthday party because his mom didn’t like me. He had no idea what was going on.”’

‘Beasley played for the Bills from 2019-21 and was one of Josh Allen’s favorite passing game targets as he caught 231 passes for 2,438 yards and 11 touchdowns after he was signed as a free agent in 2019.’

‘Now the Bills have a two-game lead and if they defeat the Dolphins, they won’t clinch the division crown, but all that would need to happen for Buffalo to secure it’s third straight title would be for it to win one more game, or for Miami to lose one more game in the final three weeks.’