WGR

‘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.’

‘Unless they want to rely on beating the New York Jets in Week 17, Buffalo will have to take down at least one team with the elite defenses that quarterback Josh Allen and the offense have struggled against many times this season.’

‘There is a lot to like about how the Bills’ future looks. Some of their strategies have been greatly improved this season. Their pass-to-run ratios have gone up and rank near the top of the league (smart); their willingness to go for it on fourth down, also increased (smart); the faster pace on offense in recent games also provides an advantage that some teams willfully pass on. The Bills of the last, oh, 20 years have been one of those franchises, and perhaps they are one no longer.’

‘Allen may not need to throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers or New England Patriots who both have extremely limited offenses, but the second-year quarterback needs to come through in critical situations.’

‘”I probably watched more film leading up to this game than any ever. The good thing is we limited Lamar on big plays. We limited him to a few 7-yd runs, but not much more. They keep it simple for Jackson.”‘

‘“One week at a time,” the Bills head coach said when asked what the message is to his team now that they know there’s a clear path to the playoffs. “Respect the opponent. Respect our preparation. Respect the process as we prepare and get some rest today for them after they left this afternoon. Get themselves ready to go. This is a good football team we’re going to face. A team that’s had a lot of success if you study the tradition of the NFL and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s going to be a good week in preparation for us and we’re looking forward to it.”’

‘Baltimore got careless in Buffalo’s last gasp, with three critical penalties that totaled 56 yards and gave the Bills a trip to the red zone and advancing as far as the Baltimore 16 yard line. After heavy pressure applied by the Ravens defense, Allen and company were left with 4th and 8 on the 16 yard line looking for a first down to keep their hopes alive, but the pass to John Brown fell incomplete and sealed the loss for Buffalo.’

‘I know every week is different and the individual matchups within a given game will likely determine your winner. But I feel like what I learned today is that no matter who the Bills draw in a likely Wild Card matchup, they’ll be in the game. Need it be said, if you’re in the game then you’ve got a chance to win the game. They’ll need some combination of better throws from Allen and his receivers doing a better job of catching the good passes. But I’m heading into the final 3 games of the year feeling like the Bills have the potential to be a factor in the NFL Playoffs, not just get in.’

‘Despite the loss I think this game should leave with you a couple of thoughts. One, the Bills won’t have any trouble winning at least one more game which should be enough to get them in the playoffs. This Bills team is good enough to go on the road in the wild card round and win a game.’

‘Winning the division is still a tough road for the Bills as they would need an upset win from the Miami Dolphins or Cincinnati Bengals over the Patriots, and win-out including their own win against New England at Gillette Stadium in two weeks.’

‘The Ravens brought more pressure than the Bills had seen all season, and they didn’t handle it well. Running backs had to stay in and protect a lot, giving Allen fewer options, but he also was under duress a lot of the afternoon. Baltimore wound up sacking him 6 times and Ravens defenders were credited with 12 QB hurries!’