A winded Bills defense fails to hold its ground
Published: November 01, 2009, 10:06 pm
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Marcus Stroud ripped his helmet off and slammed it to the turf.
The Buffalo Bills defensive tackle was frustrated that the Houston Texans' offense kept moving up and down the field, and neither he nor his teammates could do anything to stop it.
"Toward the end of the game we let them run the ball down our throat," Stroud said. "We're much better than that. We fight harder than that. We just weren't making it happen and it pissed me off.
"I'm a competitor, man. I never want to walk off the field and feel like somebody imposed their will on us and I felt they did that."
The Bills lost, 31-10, on Sunday largely because of their inability to stop the Texans, who scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns. They got points on six of their last eight possessions, including four straight drives in the second half.
As has been the case most of the season, the Bills got very little from their offense. The defense did its part early by pressuring Texans quarterback Matt Schaub and by forcing three turnovers.
But that unit could hold up for only so long. With the Bills' offense unable to stay on the field, their defense wilted in the second half.
Of the 58 offensive snaps by both teams in the second half, the Bills' defenders were on the field for 40 of them. In fact, the Texans' 40 plays on offense in the third and fourth quarters were only five fewer than the Bills ran the entire game. Is it any wonder why the Texans held the ball nearly 40 minutes on Sunday?
"Their offense had a lot of opportunities," said Bills strong safety George Wilson, who was credited with 15 tackles. "We started off good, produced some turnovers, got off the field on third down. But they kept hammering away at us.
"Even though they were experiencing adversity early in the game they stuck to their game plan, kicked some field goals to keep the game close and they were able to make the plays down the stretch in the kicking game and offense and defense as well."
To get an idea of the Texans' offensive domination, consider that they had three scoring drives of 72 or more yards and four that included at least 10 plays and took more than five minutes.
The two possessions in the final eight that didn't end in points were kneel-downs that ended each half.
The Bills actually did about as well as can be expected against the Texans' high-powered passing attack. Schaub, who entered the game as the NFL leader in yards (2,074, plus 16 touchdowns), threw a pair of interceptions in the first half.
But even though All-Pro wide receiver Andre Johnson was constantly double-teamed and Pro Bowl tight end Owen Daniels left early with a knee injury, Schaub still finished with 268 yards Sunday by spreading the ball around to 10 receivers.
"That whole receiving corps was pretty good out there," said Bills cornerback Terrence McGee. "It's not just Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels. Those other guys hurt us, too."
What really killed the Bills, as usual, was their inability to stop the run. The Texans benched their fumble-prone leading rusher, Steve Slaton, in favor of Ryan Moats, who proceeded to roll for 126 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. He gained 52 of his yards in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of a Bills defense that was clearly fading.
By allowing 186 yards on the ground overall, the Bills will head into the bye week with the NFL's worst run defense for a third straight week.
"We need to be more physical and get off the field in those situations," Bills middle linebacker Paul Posluszny said of the run defense. "We can't let a team just consistently drive and take up all that time.
"I thought we played well in the first half, but in the second half those long drives took its toll and they were able to score some points. We've got to stop that."
The Bills also have to avoid injuries that have riddled the defense. At various times Sunday, there were as many as seven defenders on the field who weren't starters when the season began. While the Bills don't want to use that as an excuse, some of the players admit that using so many backups is a factor in the defense's struggles.
"These guys have to step up, but at the same time it hurts to lose a starter because there's a reason they're out there starting," Stroud said. "We've got a much needed bye week — much needed. Hopefully we can get guys back and get healthy and go out and keep fighting and plugging."
Allen Wilson's postgame analysis
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