MIAMI — Linebacker Kawika Mitchell paused when asked why the Buffalo Bills have played so poorly the last two weeks.

Invariably, he couldn't come up with an answer.

"It seems like we prepare really well," Mitchell said. "Whatever is happening on Sundays I

couldn't tell you. I don't know if our mind is prepared as our body all week. Whatever the

case is, we're just not showing up to play on game day when it obviously counts.

"I've been here two years and I'm 0-8 in the division. That's very frustrating. Just losing

games is very frustrating."

The Bills have lost games in different ways this season. They blew an 11-point lead in the

fourth quarter in the opener at AFC East rival New England. They faded down the stretch last

week at home against New Orleans.

Then there was Sunday's debacle. The Bills were simply dominated and embarrassed by a

winless Miami Dolphins team, 38-10, in Land Shark Stadium.

At 1-3, the Bills' season isn't over. But it will be soon if there are more games like this

one.

"Hopefully we can get this thing turned around, but it has to start happening right now,"

Mitchell said. "We've got to have some urgency about us. There are still games left, but we

don't have a lot of time to waste."

Neither side of the football is playing particularly well. For the third straight week, the

offense stumbled about like drunken sailors on a weekend furlough.

The Bills couldn't run the ball, and quarterback Trent Edwards was a sitting duck when he

dropped back to pass inside a collapsing pocket. The Bills converted just 1 of 11 third downs

Sunday and are 11 of 47 for the season.

That's 23.4 percent, folks.

With no ball control offense to keep it off the field, the tired Bills defense was once

again run over by the opposing team's running game. The Dolphins became the second opponent in

as many weeks to rush for more than 200 yards.

"It's not just a product of one thing or another, but everybody collectively hasn't really

found a rhythm, especially these past two weeks," said wide receiver Lee Evans, who had

another relatively quiet afternoon with two catches. "Everybody is going to have to look

themselves in the mirror and figure out what it is we're trying to do to turn this thing

around. We aren't playing really well right now."

So what needs to happen to get the Bills going in the right direction?

"We just have to keep working hard and try to get better," was the answer wide receiver

Terrell Owens offered. But is that enough?

Is it time for the team's leaders to stand up and address the situation, put their foot

down and let everyone know that enough is enough? Mitchell and Evans say yes.

"There are a number of guys that have to do that," Mitchell said. "A lot of people just

have to take ownership. We have to get better as individuals, obviously. But the veterans have

to step forward and set the tone. We have some guys in this room like myself, [Marcus] Stroud,

T.O. and Lee that can make a difference. We have to do that."

"Absolutely," Evans added. "That's what everybody has to do. It's not on just one person.

Everybody is going to have to buy into this thing, look themselves in the mirror and figure

out what they need to do to help us all turn it around. That will be the challenge moving

forward this week."