BILLS BEAT THE JETS AND ADD TO OFFENSIVE DEPTH
After losing Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis in the offseason, Bills fans thought that the team would have to take a step back this season in order to take a leap in the coming years. Despite that narrative, Buffalo has proven that their window to compete for a Super Bowl is still wide open, and this week, they proved it’s just as open as it was the last few years.
On Monday, the Bills won a penalty-laden game against the New York Jets, 23-20. Despite giving up a hail mary touchdown at the end of the first half, and Tyler Bass missing two kicks, the Bills prevailed, and with the win, took a two and a half game lead in the AFC East Division. Each division winner is guaranteed a playoff spot, so that’s all that really matters to Buffalo in the regular season to set them up for a chance at their ultimate goal.
With a 4-2 overall record and two wins over divisional opponents, the Bills looked to be in good shape just over a third of the way through the season. But General Manager Brandon Beane felt it wasn’t enough, so he went out and traded for Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver Amari Cooper yesterday, adding to Josh Allen’s arsenal of weapons. Cooper, 30 years old, is a ten-year pro in the NFL, spending time in Oakland, Dallas, and the last two years in Cleveland. This move rewards Allen for his career best start to a season. Even through some tough stretches of poor passing during games, Allen has opened this year with zero interceptions in the Bills’ last six games, a stretch never before accomplished by the gunslinger.
By making this trade so early in the season, the Bills give themselves one thing that’s crucial down the stretch: repetitions. Allen and Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady now have 12 weeks to integrate Cooper into the offense, find what works for them best, and deploy it when each game matters most. Not that Brandon Beane necessarily cares, but this trade also helps Buffalo steal the national headlines a bit, as it came just hours after the Jets finalized their acquiring of former Raiders receiver, and Aaron Rodgers’ old pal from Green Bay, DeVante Adams.
The Bills will return to Buffalo and play at home for the first time in four weeks, as they host the 1-4 Tennessee Titans Sunday afternoon.
SABRES BEGIN THREE GAME ROAD TRIP TONIGHT
After making national headlines during practice over the holiday weekend, the Sabres return to action tonight, opening a three-game road trip in Pittsburgh.
On Monday, Buffalo took to the ice for their first practice since grabbing their first win of the season over the weekend. Early in the practice, Peyton Krebs and captain Rasmus Dahline got into a battle in front of the net, where Krebs allegedly got his stick up high on Dahlin. Later on, Dahlin threw an open-ice body check at Krebs, leading to both teammates tossing their gloves and trading a few punches. Once their teammates broke up the skirmish and practice concluded without further incident, Krebs and Dahlin both laughed off the clash, saying they’re both competitive on the ice and are good friends off the ice. Playing into the fun, a photo of the two Sabres was posted on Krebs’ social media account with the caption “hugging my best friend after scoring a goal.”
The reaction to the fight was boisterous as former players and analysts across the hockey world gave their two cents. The prevailing sentiment was one which I happen to agree with: given the lack of competitive nature which the Sabres have played in recent years, if the adage of “you play how you practice” is at all true, this is a positive for the youngest team in the NHL. They’ve been physical for the start of the season, mind you, leading the league in hits per game, but the number of checks thrown isn't Ruff’s concern, he said he’s glad to see his team getting in the way of the opponent with timely hits, slowing them down.
If there’s one area that the blue and gold need to show improvement in over their next three games, it’s the power play. As of today, the Sabres are one of four teams who have yet to score on the man advantage this season, going a stunning 0/14 to start the year. They’ve spent extra time on extra-man play during and before almost every practice since returning to North America, but they’re still trying to find their rhythm. This three game road trip will see the Sabres match up against two league-average penalty killing groups, and one basement-dwelling PK unit.
The Sabres three game road trip takes place over the course of four nights. All three games are against teams that missed the playoffs last year, with none of them striking fear on paper. Buffalo takes on the Penguins in the Steel city tonight before heading to the Buckeye state for a game in Columbus Thursday. The road swing ends Saturday night in Chicago.
YANKEES WIN GAMES BOTH HOME GAMES TO OPEN ALCS
The New York Yankees jumped out to a lead in the ALCS on Monday, defeating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in the Bronx. Behind stellar pitching, the Yankees took advantage of numerous Cleveland mistakes, scoring three runs in the third and not looking back. Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton each belted home runs to secure the victory for the pinstripes.
Last night, New York took game two at home, 6-3, giving them a 2-0 lead in the series. The Yankees got to work right away as they built up a 3-0 lead, forcing two Cleveland pitching changes in the first 4 innings. In the top of the fourth, Yankees ace pitcher Gerrit Cole struck out Brayan Rocciho with the bases loaded. That felt like the pivotal moment of the game, and it kept the Yankees up 3-0. Cleveland made it a one run game in the 5th, and poor base running cost the Yankees in both the bottom of the 5th and 6th but were able to scrounge up a run on an Anthony Rizzo double. With a 4-2 lead in the 7th, Aaron Judge delivered a two-run homer, giving the Yankees all the insurance they would need.
The ALCS heads to Cleveland, with the Guardians hosting game three on Thursday night.
METS EVEN NLCS IN GRAND STYLE AS SERIES HEADS TO NEW YORK
Out in Los Angeles, the Dodgers and NY Mets split the first two games of the NLDS, with the Mets taking the second game 7-3 on Monday. New York’s bats were hot to open game two, with Mark Vientos blasting a grand slam in the second inning, giving the Mets a 6-0 cushion early on.
The series shifts across the country to Flushing, NY for game three tonight Walker Buehler and Luis Severino are the expected starting pitchers for the Dodgers and Mets respectively. First pitch is just after 8pm.
WNBA FINALS GAME THREE TONIGHT
The Minnesota Lynx head home with the WNBA Finals split at one game, after beating the Liberty once in New York. Game one was an overtime thriller that went in Minnesota’s favor. New York responded with a win to even the series in game two. The third game is tonight with tipoff at 8:00.
WEEK SIX CONNOLLY CUP NOMINEES - HS Football
Chase Bonta (RB-LB/Jamestown) Against a strong division rival he ran for 117 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. Defensively he made 16 tackles.
Avery Cruz (LB/Maryvale) In a hard-fought victory he had seven tackles – three of which were for loss of yardage. He also had two passes defended.
Maxx DeYoe (RB/Portville) With 18 carries he gained 207 yards and scored four touchdowns. He also made seven tackles on the defensive side of the ball.
Amari Douglas (RB/Lackawanna) In a limited role due to illness he ran for 170 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries. Defensively he had an interception and three tackles.
Karter Giboo (RB-LB/Pioneer) Carrying the ball only eight times he gained 127 yards and scored a touchdown. He added five receptions for 78 yards and two more touchdowns. On special teams he returned a punt 85 yards for yet another TD. From his linebacker position he made nine tackles (one for loss of yardage) and defended a pass.
Douglas Hunt (RB/Cleveland Hill) Averaging nearly ten yards per rushing attempt he gained 206 yards on 21 carries and scored one touchdown.
Maddox Isaac (QB/Salamanca) He completed six of seven passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. He ran the ball nine times gaining 168 yards and scoring two more times.
Avahn Jackson (WR-DB/Kenmore West) Of his three receptions two were for touchdowns. Including a highly contested catch while being double covered. He also made seven tackles; three of which were sacks.
Justus Kleitz (QB/Iroquois) Throwing three touchdowns he completed 20 of 36 passes for 357 yards.
Xavier Peters (RB/Salamanca) Scoring three touchdowns he gained 100 yards on ten carries. On the other side of the ball, he contributed six tackles.
Ceejay Pratt (RB/Amherst) He gained 101 yards and scored three touchdowns carrying the ball 16 times.
Kamari Reimers (MLB/Williamsville North) With a team leading 11 tackles he had three tackles for loss of yardage and also defended against a pass.
Joe Santoro (RB/Williamsville East) Contributing to the passing game he caught seven passes for 115 yards and three touchdowns.
Nick Skutnik (WR-CB/Iroquois) He caught 11 passes for 134 yards and one touchdown. He made five tackles and recovered a fumble. He also was 5 for 5 on extra-point kicks.
Jimmy Valentine (RB-S/Bennett) With just 9 carries he gained 157 yards and scored one touchdown. He also ran for a 2-point conversion. On defense he had seven tackles including one sack.
