WGR

‘White also recorded four tackles and two passes defensed in the Bills’ 17-10 win that clinched the team’s second playoff berth in three seasons.’

‘“Ralph has been a good partner of mine, call it, and in some ways a mentor, honestly, in the bandwidth of his experience,” McDermott said of Krueger. “He’s been in a lot of places and done a lot of things and accomplished a lot over the course of his career, so I try to stay in touch with him and encourage him. I’m not sure I share much that he can use, but he’s certainly shared some things that I’ve been able to use. I think it’s really neat to watch the Sabres players and our players pull for one another and support one another, and that’s as they call One Buffalo, and that’s a unique part and cool part of our city.”’

‘Although White was the only member of the Bills to be named as a starter for the game, several of his teammates were named alternates.’

‘Anyway back to the Bills. Even if it doesn’t result in their first division title since 1995, a win would be huge if they were to hypothetically meet the Patriots again in the playoffs.’

‘However, it must go a long way with his players that head coach Sean McDermott puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to the trust he has in them. Old or young.’

‘”Guys have their routines, hot tubs, massages, cold tubs. Coach later in the week & late in the year does a good job helping us stay healthy. Sean brought in a culture where he’s like ‘hey get your rehab, get in the training room’. How healthy we are starts with McDermott. As a professional you should be in the training room, getting your body right for the next game. It shouldn’t be looked at as ‘oh you’re soft’.”‘

‘The biggest thank you of all goes to the Bills for not making us sweat out the next game against the New England Patriots in Foxboro, or even worse the final game of the season against the New York Jets. Clinching a playoff spot with two games to go was not something I anticipated back in the summer.’

‘“I’m so pleased with my communication with Sean through the year. We’ve been exchanging messages more than anything and we’re always giving each other some kind of a push and both of us are out here trying to make the Buffalo sports community proud and they’ve really done that in what they’ve achieved and we’re trying to continue to do that.”‘

‘Though the Steelers converted once on their final drive, their last-ditch effort to tie the game ended up in the hands of the Bills’ Levi Wallace in the endzone; the team’s fourth and final interception of the night.’

‘It’s 2 a.m., I’m on a plane about to land. So I’ll make it short and sweet – the Bills are gong to the playoffs. It’s official. Enjoy it. I know some of you were already doing that…..’

‘Steelers QB Devlin “Duck” Hodges has made quite a name for himself since becoming the team’s starting quarterback a few weeks ago. He’s simply been asked to be a game-manager and not make mistakes, and he’s done exactly that, completing 75% of his passes with a pair of touchdowns and one interception. He’s not lighting up the scoreboard or the leaderboard, but he plays within the confines of the offense, and then will put a few balls up for his receivers to go after. The Bills need to make sure those chances aren’t completed and make Hodges feel and look like a rookie and force him into making some mistakes.’

‘”There’s good energy. There’s been good energy all year in our building, which is key to success. Having said that, everyone understands that it’s a one week at a time approach. You see it every Sunday when you look at the scores. You have to take the right approach, the right focus into each and every week in the NFL.”‘

‘Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips appeared on the team’s injury report Thursday as being lmimted with a knee injury, as they get set to play the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night. Running back Frank Gore did not practice with an illness, and defensive tackle Corey Liuget was limited with a knee injury one day after not participating at all.’

‘Alexander became the seventh player in team history to have multiple nominations for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award last year. He becomes the second player in franchise history to be up for the award three times, joining former Bills offensive lineman Ruben Brown.’

‘The Bills did not wear any pads for practice. With a physcial game last Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, another physcial opponent in the Steelers up next, and the season now into the month of December, it’s understanable head coach Sean McDermott wants to give his players every opportunity to recover and be as physically ready as possible going forward.’