Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Sal’s prediction: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34, Buffalo Bills 28.’

‘It’s clear by now that the Bills cannot run the ball with any efficiency. They’re banging their heads against the proverbial wall game after game, and that has put more pressure on Allen and the passing attack.’

‘“We’re extremely hungry,” he said. “I think there obviously is a sense of urgency of what we need to do. But there’s no panic in our locker room. We’re extremely united right now with what we need to do. We’ve had a couple of really good days of practice and walkthroughs and we’re looking forward to going out there and getting a chance to play against the defending world champs and arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game.”’

‘This was an embarrassment for McDermott and the Bills, losing a game to their fiercest AFC East rival, in their stadium, in a prime-time and highly visible window, as the Patriots repeatedly punched them in the mouth the same way they did for nearly two decades.’

‘I’ve harped on this point all season that the Bills lack of a running game was going to catch up to them. It never mattered last year because they had uncommonly good luck with late-season weather and they were able to keep throwing the ball like they did all year. Monday night their inability to run, and more important to stop the run, killed them.’

‘In what ranks as the most disappointing regular-season loss of the Sean McDermott/Brandon Beane/Josh Allen Era, the Bills came up small in a showdown against the one team, above all others, that they have to beat on a regular basis if they ever hope to become the team they believe they can be.’

‘Sal’s prediction: New England Patriots 20, Buffalo Bills 17.’

‘His worst game came in that unconscionable loss at Jacksonville when he threw two picks in the third quarter and lost a fumble in the fourth and they were all on him.’

‘“We’ve got a lot of confidence in Dane,” McDermott said. “He’s been out there before and he just needs to be Dane Jackson and not Tre’Davious White and we’ll support him with the pieces we have around him.”’

‘Against two of the best running teams in the league – who undoubtedly have two of the best backs in the league in Tennessee’s Derrick Henry and Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor – the Bills got steamrolled. Henry gained 143 yards and scored three touchdowns and Taylor ran for 185 yards and had five touchdowns, four of them on the ground. Buffalo lost both games.’

‘He smiled like any quarterback would and said, “Beautiful. But you got to play in the elements when you play in Buffalo, too, and I said this a few weeks back, my college coach said, ‘If you want to win in the North Atlantic you better train in the North Atlantic.’ So it’s good that we get to have it here and whatever the weather has in store for us, we’ll have to adjust and find out, but so does the other team.”’

‘Levi Wallace will have to assume the No. 1 corner responsibilities, and Jackson – a seventh-round pick in 2020 who has had occasional flashes in his brief playing time coupled with plenty of inconsistency – has to make a quantum leap into an every-down player.’

‘“Yeah, a little bit,” Breida said. “I told him don’t worry about it, your time is gonna come again. We’ll come back to you. Especially with the NFL, there’s so many injuries that happen, you never wish for them, but they happen. Isaiah is a great player, so we’ll come back to him. And like I said, you just have to be ready and know your role on the team.”’

‘Jackson was embroiled in a battle to start at the cornerback spot opposite White during training camp, but Levi Wallace won that battle rather easily.’

‘“I’ve got a lot of family in Louisiana and a lot of my family is in Texas so I basically played for free,” Oliver said with a big smile. “My mom was in the (luxury) box so I played for free. But I know they appreciate it.”’