Lack of big plays a big deal for Bills

By Anthony Bialy  |   Tuesday, December 16, 2008  |  Comments( 86 )

Buffalo Bills
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Football games can be like watching “Knight Rider” in the glorious 1980s: Fans patiently sat through David Hasselhoff’s dialogue knowing it was just a means of setting up a scenario where the smart-mouthed robot car could do something neat. In the same way, commonplace 4-yard rushes and screen passes are necessary before teams can get to the key moments that define games. Unfortunately for the Buffalo Bills, they didn’t pay off nearly enough Sunday, as the New York Jets manufactured a 31-27 win by getting the majority of the game’s huge gains along with most of turnovers and all the sacks.

For one, the hosts often picked up ground in massive pieces: The Jets managed seven total 20-plus yard plays, even if only two came in the second half when Buffalo’s defense finally adjusted and figured a way to impede its foe. Still, the damage inflicted by, say, running back Leon Washington’s 47-yard touchdown run with around a minute to go in the first half or quarterback Brett Favre’s earlier ridiculous/brilliant 27-yard bootleg ended up being cumulatively enough to cripple the Bills long term.

More importantly, Buffalo’s offense didn’t match: The Jets’ rate was seven times as good as what the visitors mustered. The Bills had exactly one play cover more than one-fifth of the field, namely Marshawn Lynch’s 35-yard dash on their first drive. Shockingly and shamefully, their longest pass play of the day was a 14-yard strike to Josh Reed; meanwhile, Lee Evans got 22 trifling yards on four catches.

The star’s longest effort covered a meager 8 yards, meaning he once again shamefully went basically unused; that’s particularly true on a day when his team needed an occasional spectacular moment. Quarterback J.P. Losman’s greatest strength other than running around like an Adderall kid is airing it out, and the fact that the Bills didn’t exploit his arm makes his failed day even more frustrating.

Still, Losman and his charges did exploit some chances dynamically handed to them by teammates: The two interceptions by Buffalo defenders, namely those made by Paul Posluszny and Terrence McGee, both led to points on the ensuing drives. The touchdown and field goal, respectively, served as two bright moments where the offense and defense worked in tandem despite the ultimately hideous outcome.

Of course, through no fault of its own Buffalo’s defense didn’t match New York’s in terms of turnover generation, either, as the Bills famously coughed up four footballs in the fourth quarter on painful snaps that needn’t be reviewed. That said, the three sacks the Jets had on the day, including the now-notorious play that led to the quarterback’s fumble, look even more impressive when compared to Buffalo’s sack-free performance: Just like coming up short in a pitcher’s duel, the defense didn’t match what the other side did.

Some of the Bills’ special teamers tried to pick up the slack. As for a smaller big play, usual linebacker Keith Ellison’s cunningly successful fake on the opening possession helped turn a three-and-out into three points. Also, Roscoe Parrish’s 56-yard punt return with a little more than four minutes left in the first half set up a touchdown drive, but the unit made its biggest impact in a negative manner, namely by keeping a colossal moment from ever really happening: Jon Corto’s holding on a kickoff during the final quarter took a relatively easy, potentially game-changing score off the board.

Whether returner Leodis McKelvin would have had enough open space to break through without the hold is debatable, but the play ultimately cost the Bills 70 yards and seven points.

Corto behaving could have made a notable difference, but the overall dearth of high-impact moments was the core problem: A single extra big play made or prevented in any of the three phases might have been enough to permanently forestall that needlessly painful finish. Allowing the sack, then fumble, then score was simply the most prominent example of the Jets dominating the most prominent moments, with the Bills responding far too infrequently.
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CommentsComments: 86  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Kegman		09:54 AM
12/16/2008
Longest pass play 14 yarder to Reed...The Beast and the O-line having their best game of the season, and Mauron calls a pass play...
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No.2
ddd		10:31 AM
12/16/2008
Was the O-line performance in the running game against the J-e-t-s Jets Jets Jets an aberration? They looked great Sunday...
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No.3
ba bye		10:35 AM
12/16/2008
The Cardinals-Patriots game at the Razor should be a pip. The Jets (Seahawks) and Dolphins (Chiefs) get freebees, and the Cards...
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