Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Oct. 3, 1976 – Bills 50, Chiefs 17 – There weren’t too many enjoyable days in this travesty of a season for the Buffalo Bills, but I was fortunate to be present for one of them.’

‘“They’ve built a really explosive roster,” coach Sean McDermott said. “They’ve got a lot of team speed, in particular at the returner position. I think they’ve got three returns for touchdowns if you include the preseason as well. So very impressed by what they’ve done, and we’re going to have to play a great game on special teams for sure.”’

‘Williams has been starting in place of the injured Matt Milano (pectoral muscle) for the past two games, and Milano was one of three players who sat out last week’s victory over New Orleans who practiced only on a limited basis. The others are defensive tackle Ed Oliver (ankle) and offensive tackle Spencer Brown (calf)’

‘It’s his nod to the University of Wyoming, where “Go Pokes” is the rallying cry for the Cowboys.’

‘This week Allen goes head-to-head against a rising quarterback in the AFC East, Drake Maye of the New England Patriots. McKessy ranks Maye as the sixth-best QB in the league.’

‘“It seems like he’s getting better each and every week which is hard to imagine,” Allen said of Cook who has topped 100 yards rushing in each of the last three games and with 401 yards trails only Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor (414). “The way that he kind of has this patience to hit the hole, but when he hits it, I mean he is shot out of a cannon. His contact balance is unbelievable. His jump cuts are awesome. I’m glad he’s on our team.”’

‘The team announced that Highmark Stadium will transform into a full-stadium “White Out” when the Buffalo Bills host the New England Patriots at 8:20 p.m. on Sunday Night Football. Fans are encouraged to wear white from head to toe and Wegmans-sponsored rally towels will be handed out at the gates. Wegmans stores in central and western New York are also carrying Rivalries game apparel in-store.’

‘Buffalo has gone through three punters this season despite ranking near the bottom of the league in attempts.’

‘Johnston, who has bounced around from the Eagles to the Texans to the Steelers since entering the NFL in 2018, punted in just one game for Pittsburgh in 2024 before suffering a knee injury that cost him the rest of the season.’

‘The Buffalo Bills had only allowed 18 sacks in 20 regular season games since the beginning of the 2024 season. They gave up three more without offensive tackle Spencer Brown on Sunday.’

‘Four weeks into the season, one where the Patriots probably should be 4-0 instead of 2-2, it certainly looks like New England is primed to return to the postseason for the first time since 2021, the year the Bills played the near perfect 47-17 game in the wildcard round and blew out an aging team led by fading coach Bill Belichick.’

‘If I had to pick my two favorite seasons of Buffalo Bills football since the stadium was opened in 1973, I think I would settle on 1980 and 1990, in no particular order.’

‘We didn’t know it at the time because on opening day in 2003, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had only started four games against the Bills. True, he’d won all four, but no one had any indication of the misery to come over the next nearly two decades.’

‘A limited-edition “Bring the Storm” ice cream is available now in Wegmans stores in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, New York’s Southern Tier and Erie, Pennsylvania while supplies last.’

‘In many ways, this felt like an early-round game in the NCAA basketball tournament where the higher seed isn’t at its best but does just enough to survive and advance against an overmatched opponent. To take that analogy a little further, this felt like a No. 4 seed (Buffalo) playing a No. 13 seed, one where you felt pretty good all along about the final outcome, but there were going to be a few moments of doubt.’