Free agency and salary cap constraints threatened to knock Buffalo and Baltimore down a notch last offseason.

A year after making the cut to successfully resume his football career following a near-death experience, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin reached a new plateau in his comeback in being selected a season-opening starter.

The passage of time has allowed Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin to gain perspective and grow in confidence a year after he resumed playing football following a near-death experience.

Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott says he recognizes his mistakes while also noting he still has the support of the team in light of a questionable comparison he made four years ago in crediting the 9/11 hijackers for their coordination.

Sunday’s airing of the late afternoon games on the NFL RedZone Channel literally went code red.

Damar Hamlin’s objective to resume his playing career after a near-death experience in early January became complete when the Bills safety took the field as part of Buffalo’s kickoff return unit to open its game against the Miami Dolphins.

Buffalo Bills starting safety Jordan Poyer was ruled out from playing against the Miami Dolphins this weekend, potentially opening the door for Damar Hamlin to appear in his first regular-season game since going into cardiac arrest during a game in January.

Damar Hamlin was listed among Buffalo’s inactives so he will not play in a regular-season game for the first time since going into cardiac arrest when the Bills open the season against the New York Jets.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has made the 53-player cut.

Two Buffalo Bills trainers say they stuck to their pre-planned treatment when Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest during an NFL game in January.

A person with direct knowledge of Von Miller’s injury told The Associated Press that tests showed no tear to the anterior cruciate ligament in the injured right knee of the Buffalo Bills star pass-rusher.

The Buffalo Bills have placed starting safety Micah Hyde on season-ending injured reserve because of a neck injury.

Buffalo Bills cornerback Dane Jackson was released from the hospital after tests revealed he sustained no major injury to his neck or spinal cord when he was struck by a teammate.

Josh Allen threw four touchdown passes, including three to Stefon Diggs, and the Buffalo Bills rolled past Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans 41-7 in their home opener.

Tom Brady earned the right to skip voluntary workouts a long time ago.

Micah Hyde considered canceling his charity softball game after hearing about the shooting Saturday at a Buffalo supermarket.

It’s Von Miller time in Buffalo.

Josh Allen walked off the field inside Arrowhead Stadium a year ago juggling the disappointment of an AFC tile game loss to the Chiefs with a profound sense of optimism about the future of his up-and-coming Buffalo Bills.

Josh Allen set a franchise record by throwing five touchdown passes and the Buffalo Bills showed who's king of the AFC East with a 47-17 throttling of the New England Patriots in a wild-card playoff game.

Derrick Henry scored his third touchdown with 3:05 left, and the Tennessee Titans stopped Josh Allen on a fourth-down quarterback sneak in the final seconds to beat Buffalo 34-31.

Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Buffalo Bills beat the Kansas City Chiefs 38-20 on Sunday night.

The Kansas City Chiefs won their first NFL title since 1970 when they beat San Francisco in last year's Super Bowl. What we get Sunday is a matchup of dynamic offenses and overlooked defenses, the top two teams in the conference. Kansas City (15-2) has the confidence of a reigning champion and a charisma few NFL teams can match. That could provide an edge over Bills rookie Tyler Bass — except that Bass has been very reliable all season. Buffalo punter Corey Bojorquez and Kansas City rookie Johnny Townsend were two of the most dependable in the AFC.

Buffalo Bills' Micah Hyde (23) celebrates with teammates after an NFL divisional round football game against the Baltimore Ravens Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Leslie Frazier’s faith in his Bills defense never wavered even at the lowest point of Buffalo’s season. It was mid-November and the Bills were entering their bye week on the heels of a 32-30 defeat at Arizona. In the NFC, the Packers are allowing an average 306 yards offense over their past seven outings. Here comes Patrick Mahomes, should he clear the NFL’s concussion protocol, and the league’s top-ranked offense.

Nearly every team still vying for the Super Bowl has an elite cornerback often capable of shutting down an opponent's top receiver all by himself. The NFC playoff bracket has three of the conference's four Pro Bowl cornerbacks: Green Bay's Jaire Alexander, Los Angeles' Jalen Ramsey and New Orleans' Marshon Lattimore. Staley's scheme has employed Ramsey in multiple roles throughout the season, and his job often changes from play to play. Oddly enough, the remaining playoff team perceived to have the least dominant cornerbacks is defending champion Kansas City, the favorite to make it back to the Super Bowl. “Some of the best cornerbacks happen to play on the best teams, that’s all I can say,” Bills safety Micah Hyde said.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) reacts during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Buffalo Bills, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Colts coach Frank Reich couldn’t manufacture another comeback in Buffalo. We just didn’t get it done.”After squandering scoring opportunities through three quarters, the Colts finally mustered a response when trailing 24-10. Rivers engineered consecutive touchdown drives over a six-minute span before coming up empty on the Colts' final possession. The game ended with Rivers throwing three consecutive incompletions, including a 47-yard desperation pass intended for T.Y. “He exceeded expectations on what he brought to the team this year on and off the field,” Reich said.

The Bills won the game 27-24. The first tripleheader of NFL wild-card games Saturday saw Tom Brady extend his postseason record for victories to 31 with a 31-23 victory for Tampa Bay at Washington. After a quarter-century, the Bills got one of those triumphs that Brady collects — and they even figured out how to stop a Hail Mary. The previous playoff win was over Miami on Dec. 30, 1995. And it came in the Bills’ first home playoff game in 24 years, with a limited number of 6,700 fans in attendance for the first time this season.

In a season in which the Bills busted numerous slumps, Allen became Buffalo's first starter in a quarter century to win a playoff game. Made enough plays to win,” Allen said. The Colts responded with a seven-play, 75-play drive capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass to Pascal. Rivers’ pass for Michael Pittman glanced off the diving receiver’s fingertips on fourth down. Facing fourth-and-3 from the Colts 26, Allen drew defensive end Kemoko Turay offside with a second left on the play clock.

(AP Photo/John Froschauer)Dalvin Cook is back for the Minnesota Vikings from a one-game absence, his injured groin cleared to play in Green Bay. Packers: QB Jordan Love, CB Kevin King, S Raven Greene, RB Aaron Jones, LB Randy Ramsey, OT David Bakhtiari, DL Billy Winn. ___LOS ANGELES RAMS AT MIAMIRams: RB Raymond Calais, OL Brian Allen, WR Trishton Jackson, TE Brycen Hopkins, DL A’Shawn Robinson. Dolphins: RB/WR Lynn Bowden Jr., RB Salvon Ahmed, FB Chandler Cox, CB Jamal Perry, RB Jordan Howard, DE Jason Strowbridge. Bengals: K Austin Seibert, WR John Ross III, RB Joe Mixon, OG Michael Jordan, C Trey Hopkins, OT Bobby Hart, OT Jonah Williams.

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)Cleveland receiver Odell Beckham and Washington safety Landon Collins will have more tests Monday to determine the extent of what could be season-ending injuries. Collins injured his left ankle/Achilles tendon in noncontact fashion early in the second quarter. Phillips was carted off the field early in the second quarter. — Carolina left tackle Russell Okung (calf) left in the second half against New Orleans and did not return. — New Orleans offensive tackle Terron Armstead (arm) left in the second quarter and did not return.

FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2020, file photo, members of the Tennessee Titans take part in the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, in Minneapolis. The NFL also is rescheduling Sunday’s Broncos-Patriots game from Sunday to Monday at 5 p.m. EDT as part of an ESPN doubleheader. The Titans' outbreak increased to 23 Thursday with tight end MyCole Pruitt and a defensive back from the practice squad put on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday afternoon. The Titans' facility remains closed with the team still prohibited from any in-person activities. Sills noted they wanted to learn how to improve and the NFL already has made a number of changes.

Allen reached a career high in yards passing for the second week in a row, and became the first Buffalo quarterback to have back-to-back 300-yard games since Drew Bledsoe in 2002. The Bills totaled 524 yards, with 342 in the first half, the most by the team since 2000. The Dolphins closed to 31-28 on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Mike Gesicki and a successful 2-point conversion with 49 seconds left. Allen threw touchdown passes to four receivers and Stefon Diggs led the Bills with eight catches for 153 yards. The Bills had scoring drives of 97 yards, 84 yards, and 73 yards in the first half.