AFC Notes: Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

Bills HC Sean McDermott stood by his decision to go for it on 4th-and-1 in the red zone.

“We’re this far from winning the game,” McDermott said, via Pro Football Talk. “I owe it to my players. I believe in my players. I believe in my quarterback. I trust my guys. Obviously we didn’t get it done in this case, but I trust my players.”

• According to NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo, Bills TE Dawson Knox has a broken hand, but the team is hoping he will return quickly.
• The Athletic’s Mike Sando writes the Chargers make sense as a trade destination for Bills OL Cody Ford, as he could help at either guard or tackle and has fallen out of the starting lineup in Buffalo. 
• CBS Sports analyst and former agent Joel Corry says the Bills and Eagles nearly agreed on a trade to send TE Zach Ertz to Buffalo in July, but Eagles GM Howie Roseman pulled back after the possibility of trading TE Dallas Goedert to the Texans as a part of a package for Deshaun Watson came up. 
• Corry adds Ertz was willing to take a pay cut and convert some of his $8.5 million base salary into incentives to make a deal happen earlier this year. He won’t have to do that in Arizona, though. 

Jets

Nobody could stop raving about Jets second-round WR Elijah Moore during training camp. That has not carried over to the regular season, though. Moore has just eight catches for 66 yards in four games to start his career. Fellow rookie, first-round QB Zach Wilson, says not to dismiss Moore yet. 

“Elijah Moore is a baller and his time is coming, just like the rest of us,” Wilson said via ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “I wish I could get him the ball more; I know that’s part of my job. I know he’s a dominant player. I need to get him the ball more. It’s just buying into the process, knowing it’s going to take time.”

• Jets HC Robert Saleh acknowledged Moore might be playing out of position a little bit as an outside receiver instead of in the slot, but they already have some solid slot guys in Jamison Crowder and Braxton Berrios: “You’re trying to get your best players on the football field.”

Patriots

Patriots first-round QB Mac Jones said he could’ve put the team in a better position to win.

“I left a lot of plays on the field, but we did fight hard,” Jones said, via Pro Football Talk. “When you look at the big picture, you never want to say you’re close, and it’s hard to do that, but the games that we’ve lost we’ve been two or three plays away, and I guess it’s just how the NFL works, and I’m learning that the hard way.”

• Patriots OC Josh McDaniels believes fourth-round RB Rhamondre Stevenson will earn his playing time: “He’s a skilled player. He’s a skilled player that is growing … He’s always had good hands. … He’s learning to be a better route-runner.” (Zack Cox)