AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots

Bills

• NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reports Bills DE A.J. Epenesa, who was ejected Sunday for contacting referee John Hussey, isn’t expected to be suspended but the incident could still be reviewed for a possible fine.

Dolphins

• Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel said the team scheduled an appointment with a specialist for LT Terron Armstead, who remained behind in New York. (Marcel Louis-Jacques)
• McDaniel added that the team “had to pull” WR Tyreek Hill late because his calf was stepped on. (Armando Salguero)

Jets

Jets OT Duane Brown, HC Robert Saleh, and RB Breece Hall all commented on the team getting a big victory over the Dolphins in Week 5.

“We’ve been a part of some really close games, some comeback games,” Brown said, via Brian Costello of The New York Post. “We don’t have to keep it like that. You get up on some teams, being able to have that mentality to put your foot on the gas and pull away is a great feeling, especially at home.”

“We’ve got a great mindset. We have a young group that does not flinch,” Saleh said. “We get stronger as we go. Especially with a young group, the more they see, the faster they get, so when you get to the fourth quarter with such a young group who is not veteran-like and you get to see … it’s everything I talked about. When all the cards are on the table and everyone knows what the heck is going on, can you step up and rise to the occasion?”

“We know we have a really explosive offense and we know that we can do some real damage in this league,” Hall said. “We’ve just got to be consistent and not shoot ourselves in the foot so much. We still felt like we left some yards out there today, but it’s not really a surprise to us. We feel like we can do this pretty often. It was good that we finally put it all together today.”

Saleh also praised the strong performance by Hall against Miami.

“He was awesome,” Saleh said of Hall. “He’s an explosive player. When we drafted him, it was because we needed a home run hitter on this team, and he did that. He had a couple of home runs today.”

Patriots

Patriots HC Bill Belichick thought that second-round WR Tyquan Thornton took a big step forward in his first game.

“It was good to have him back out there,” Belichick said, via Zack Cox of NESN.com. “He’s got a long way to go. There are a lot of things that he learned from (Sunday) that will be better next week in practice and hopefully be better next week in the game. He’s a hard-working kid, he’s smart, and he’s got good versatility in the skills that he can do and has. But a long way to go. Just try to keep stacking days together here. I wouldn’t expect anything to just happen overnight, but good progress. Good guy to have as a receiver for our passing game. I’m glad we have him. I think each practice every day — and of course, he had a lot in the preseason — but each practice every day will help him.”

• Belichick said he wouldn’t entertain hypothetical scenarios in which QB Bailey Zappe would start over QB Mac Jones. (Zack Cox)
• Belichick also said he didn’t expect RB Ty Montgomery to return to practice this week. (Karen Guregian)