Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Another thing the Bills may need to be wary of is the nature of the Chargers’ loss that led to Staley’s firing. It was the second-most egregious team-wide performance in the NFL this season, drafting narrowly behind Denver’s 70-16 no-show loss to Miami in Week 3.’

‘What Peacock will get instead is a Bills team that is currently not holding a playoff spot in the AFC (but trending in the right direction), against a tremendously disappointing Chargers team that has gone splat and is out of the playoff race, has fired its head coach Brandon Staley after an embarrassing 63-21 loss to the Raiders, and has lost Herbert to a season-ending finger injury.’

‘Surely, Brady was prepared for a shootout against this Dallas offense, but that never materialized and it was the type of in-game adjustment that the best coordinators excel at. Brady has proven in the month he’s been in charge that he has the chops to do that.’

‘One of the biggest concerns the Bills had coming into the game was whether the offensive line would be able to protect Allen and give him time to throw, but it became an irrelevant point once James Cook got rolling on the ground. But when Allen needed to make a play, he hit Diggs for a big 18-yard gain on the first TD drive, found Diggs who made a brilliant catch for 17 yards on the fourth TD drive, and then he hit Cook on a pretty 18-yard TD pass for the second TD.’

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

‘Now Epenesa, who is enjoying the best season of his career, and Hyde are out. It’s not ideal against a Dallas offense that is No. 1 in first downs per game (23.4) and third-down conversions (49.1%), fourth in yards (381.5), and second in passing yards (262.8).’

‘Dallas’ first sojourn into Rich Stadium came in 1984, 11 years after the venue opened, and another horrible Bills team, one that would go 2-14, pulled off a stunning 14-3 victory. Buffalo started the day 0-11 and thanks in part to this incredible loss, the Cowboys would go on to miss the playoffs for just the second time since 1965.’

‘Bland, who is only starting for the Cowboys because Stefon Diggs’ brother Trevon is out for the season with a knee injury, has enjoyed one of the most incredible runs any cornerback this season. He has already set an NFL record for most interception returns for a touchdown with five, and he did that in Dallas’ first 11 games through Thanksgiving Day.’

‘Suddenly, it doesn’t seem out of the question that Buffalo can get to within one game of the Dolphins before it goes to Miami for the season finale. If that happens, and the Bills win that last game, they would win the division based on a two-game sweep of Miami.’

‘Now, the 10-3 Cowboys are coming to Orchard Park, having just moved into first place in the NFC East with a resounding 33-13 blowout of the Eagles that was every bit as impressive as it looked.’

‘“Our guys – the staff, the players – steadfast in their focus,” McDermott said. “I couldn’t be more proud of a group, I really couldn’t at this point in the regular season. To a person, they didn’t flinch. They were focused, they supported one another and they supported me and I don’t take that for granted at all. I’m just super proud of those guys and just a super resilient group.”’

‘The offensive line had a bad night in pass protection. Allen took three sacks and pulled off Houdini escapes to avoid probably five or six others. Chiefs superstar DT Chris Jones and the rest of the Chiefs’ front seven – and I say seven because Chiefs DC Steve Sapgnuolo dialed up blitzes all night – were a constant nuisance for Allen.’

‘Sal’s prediction: Bills 27, Chiefs 26.’

‘Neither team has lived up to expectations, but the game is still of massive importance and the bulk of the country will see it in the 4:25 p.m. window on CBS.’

‘All cards on the table, I am not a subscriber to Dunne’s “Go Long” newsletter and therefore did not have access to the expose except for the sections that were made available to non-subscribers. Even in those small snippets, it clearly puts McDermott in a very poor light for a variety of reasons.’