Losman, Fairchild cost Bills in opening loss to Broncos

By Connor Byrne  |   Monday, September 10, 2007  |  Comments( 50 )

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Entering the 2007 season, fans of the Buffalo Bills seemed to believe that quarterback J.P. Losman and offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild would be two of the team's strengths.

Unfortunately, Bills followers found out Sunday that neither Losman nor Fairchild is a sure thing. In a 15-14 loss to Denver that ended in a last-second field goal by Broncos kicker Jason Elam, the QB and offensive playcaller were Buffalo's two greatest detriments.

Losman, in his first game of Year 4, was no better than dreadful. Though the rainy conditions in Orchard Park, N.Y., were not conducive to a huge day through the air, it's hard to really find excuses for the 26-year-old's 97-yard effort. It was as if the 2004 first-round pick zoomed back to '05, his first year at the Bills' helm, when he accumulated fewer than 100 aerial yards in two early season defeats.

Losman was jittery in the pocket, telegraphed passes and simply failed to connect on others. The offensive line, which was far from steady during the preseason, actually gave Losman time to throw throughout the contest. He was sacked only twice and lost an inexcusable amount of yardage on both, costing the Bills points each time.

On the first drive of the game, Losman lost 14 yards when he was sacked on a second-and-10 play by linebacker D.J. Williams. Prior to then, Buffalo was in field goal range and possibly would have gone up 3-0. Instead, the team was forced to punt after its third-down pass was unsuccessful. The next sack came on a third down midway through the second quarter; Losman, on the Broncos' 16-yard line, was hit by safety John Lynch -- who busted threw the left side of Buffalo's O-line -- lost 11 yards and kicker Rian Lindell missed a difficult 48-yard attempt on the following play.

Aside from all of Losman's other miscues, the most unforgivable error came when the 6-foot-2, 217-pounder missed a wide-open Lee Evans on a third-and-5 play late in the fourth quarter.

Leading 14-12, Fairchild took a risk and called for Losman to find Evans deep. Although Evans recorded just two catches for 5 yards and was closed off by the best cornerback tandem in the league -- Denver's Champ Bailey and No. 2 man Dré Bly -- all day, the receiver managed to beat the Broncos' coverage, but Losman overthrew him and Buffalo punted thereafter.

The rest, as they say, was history. The Broncos got the ball back with 2:13 left and marched downfield against the Bills' valiant, injury-riddled and exhausted defense, setting up Elam's triumph.

Fairchild, meanwhile, caught plenty of heat for his aforementioned third-down risk. Again, though, that would not have been an issue had Losman done his job and found Evans. The problem with Fairchild was his excruciatingly predictable calls. In fact, ineffective toss sweeps were perhaps the story of Fairchild's afternoon.

Additionally, Fairchild called backup running back Anthony Thomas' number three times on a crucial fourth-quarter drive. Thomas, 28, took two handoffs, accrued a total of minus-1 yards, then caught a short pass over the middle on a feeble third-down attempt.

While it's true that ultra-impressive rookie RB Marshawn Lynch -- 90 rushing yards and a score on 19 attempts -- required a breather, did he really need to sit for three straight plays late in the game? And couldn't Fairchild have come up with some more creative play-calls?

In the end, Sunday's game was a brutal slap in the face for those who have loyally stood behind Losman up to this point in his inconsistent career. The likelihood is that Fairchild will once again channel his solidity of last season. The question is: Will Buffalo's quarterback? If not, the era of third-round rookie Trent Edwards, whose preseason play was both poised and efficient, will begin soon enough.

Completing 14 of 21 throws for 97 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception wouldn't even be good enough for a rookie, so why should it be for a fourth-year passer who has amassed 26 starts?

Denver's Jay Cutler, in start No. 6, threw for 304 yards and led his team on an impressive game-winning drive. Not bad, huh?

E-mail: cbyrne@realfootball365.com

RealFootball365: Your best Internet source for Bills coverage.
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CommentsComments: 50  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
todd		07:39 AM
09/10/2007
LOSMAN SUCKS!!!! I've been saying it for three years. He just doesn't get it. He made cutler look like peyton manning. Some...
No.2
Greg Szczesniak		07:45 AM
09/10/2007
Connor, It's ironicc that Marv Levy once said that "good teams win close games". You'll be seeing those #7 jerseys on sale at...
No.3
markj		07:50 AM
09/10/2007
Lynch looked really good and the D faired OK. Other than that not much looked any different than last year.I think this year is...
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