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Buffalo Sports
Buffalo News Sports icon once told me, “When the Bills win a game, avoid saying anything negative about the game.” OK, I won’t mention the bomb that Terrell Owens let go right through his hands in the second quarter; I won’t mention that offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt decided not to throw long again until the 4th quarter when Owens finally gathered in a long pass from Trent Edwards for his first TD as a Bill. I won’t mention the lull and lack of spirit after great running back Freddy Jackson fumbled deep in Tampa territory that was run back by Sabby Piscitelli 72 yards leading to a Bucs touchdown with seconds left in the first half. I won’t mention the not-so-great first half stats of Trent Edwards where he was 6 of 13 for only 85 yards, though Buffalo was never headed after jumping off to that 17-0 lead.
And I won’t mention the dispirited Buffalo Bills who went punt-punt-interception in their first three possessions of the third quarter.
It was a very satisfying victory for the win-starved Bills fans. What I will mention is that suspended RB Marshawn Lynch may have a tougher time to gain the top spot at running back following Freddy Jackson’s outstanding performance where he rushed for 163 yards to lead the way. I’ll also mention the defense of the Bills that bent a lot but stood tall when they needed to, including a 4th and 1 stop of Tampa with the score only 20-14.
There were highs and there were lows, but the highs took the lead over the lows thanks to a first quarter that saw the Bills jump to a 17-0 lead. One of the highs was the first quarter bomb for a touchdown to Lee Evans, something fans have been waiting for.
As mentioned, in the second quarter Edwards tried another bomb as Owens got a step behind the defender only to short arm the ball as it went between his arms, falling harmlessly to the ground. That caused Van Pelt to ignore the bomb – even though it was evident Edwards could get the ball to Owens or Evens.
Actually, when reviewing the game – it wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Lindell connected on 4 field goals but the Bills gained the initial momentum on the first drive of the game by Tampa Bay. On the first possession, Edwards hooked up with Evans on a 32-yard bomb for a 7-0 lead. Then Donte Whitner picked off a Leftwich pass and raced 76 yards giving the Bills a 14-0lead. Later in the first quarter, Buffalo picked off another pass but managed a field goal to take a 17-0 lead.
Tamps made it a 17-7 when Kellen Winslow caught a 42-yard pass from Leftwhich. Buffalo answered with another Lindell field goal and it was 20-7. That’s when Owens misplaced the bomb and Tampa began to close the gape. Cadillac Williams caught the 8-yard pass following the long return of the Jackson fumble and the half ended with the score Buffalo 20, Tampa 14.
The Bills came out very flat in the second half, mustering very little but the Bills defense stood tall holding Tampa off the board. Finally awakened after the punt-punt-interception start in the third quarter, the Bills took the game over. Lindell booted FG #3 from 27 yards in the 4th quarter and on the next possession, Owens took the 43-yarder in stride and into the end zone, celebrating with arms outstretched for a 30-14 lead.
Leftwich fired another 8-yard TD pass, this time to Jeremy Stevens. The final points came on Lindell’s 20-yard field goal, giving Buffalo its first win of the season.
Edwards finished 21 of 31 for 230 yards and two touchdowns to go with his first interception of the season. Leftwich wound up 26 of 50 for 293 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Once again, that’s a lot of yardage given up through the air in the first two games and guess who’s coming to town next week? Why its Drew Brees and the high powered New Orleans offense. The Bills will need all the pass rush they can muster.
Buffalo was helped along the way with 11 penalties called on Tampa for almost 100 yards, including four facemask penalties.
Now, Lynch will sit out one more game before he returns and Jauron is going to have quite a decision. Jackson had an outstanding game – gaining yards when he was seemingly stopped. He’s averaging better than 110 yards a game in the first two of the season. He also grabbed 6 passes. I’m almost sure that fans will be shouting “RB controversy.” That’s a decision that Jauron must make.
The win didn’t come without some injuries. Derek Schomann, the starting tight end left the game with a knee injury; Shawn Nelson, the rookie tight end left with a shoulder injury and starting right tackle Butler also suffered a knee injury. Depending on the severity of Butler’s injury which looked serious, it will be interesting to see if the Bills will go after Runyon who was in town recently and was about to sign back with the Philadelphia Eagles before talks broke down.
So, Larry – there were the good spots. The Bills, despite giving up 353 yards, managed to take that stat by gobbling up 436 of their own yards for the 33 points. Remember Marv Levy who always said you have to run the ball and stop the run? How good was the Bills run defense? Tampa managed only 57 yards on the ground while the Bills chewed up 218.
Naturally, the sold out crowd was ecstatic. There were a lot of great plays, including the three bombs thrown – though fans would have preferred more since all three were on target with two of them resulting in touchdowns.
So the first ever visit by the Tampa Bay Bucs turned out to be a very satisfying win. Now, here come the high-powered Saints from New Orleans, with a 2-0 record and scoring scores of points in the process including 48 in its win at Philadelphia
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