Bad news is coming in threes
Bills Replay
Just when you think the Buffalo Bills’ offense couldn’t get any worse it does.
One week after scoring only three points in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Bills duplicated that offensive output in a 16-3 defeat to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
The Bills couldn’t block, couldn’t run, couldn’t catch or complete a pass in racking up a putrid 163 yards while converting just once in 10 third-down opportunities.
“The last two games with three points, what can you say?” left tackle Jason Peters said. “We have to put more points on the board. We are driving the ball. We are just not getting in the end zone.”
The Bills ran 49 offensive plays Sunday, but 23 of them were in Dolphins territory.
The Dolphins’ primary objective was neutralizing Bills running back Marshawn Lynch. Mission accomplished as Lynch finished with just 31 yards, 103 less than he had a week ago.
“We knew coming into the game that we were going to have to gang tackle him and do some of those things and get as many hands on him as we can,” said Dolphins coach Tony Sparano. “We were a little bit bigger in there in some of the nickel stuff and I thought those guys made a few big plays.”
The Dolphins weren’t too shabby defending the pass either. They blanketed the Bills’ receivers, making it hard for quarterback J. P. Losman to find open targets. Wide receiver Lee Evans was particularly ineffective as he caught just three passes for 23 yards.
Here’s a sampling of the Bills’ offensive ineptitude Sunday:
• The Bills called a run play on first-and-10 at the Miami 34-yard line. C Duke Preston and Peters released upfield to make blocks on the second level of the defense. But NT Jason Ferguson slipped past LG Derrick Dockery and DE Kendall Langford beat RG Brad Butler to the inside. Ferguson and Langford met Lynch and held him to no gain.
• On another run play, Ferguson shot through the guard-center gap untouched and dumped Lynch for a 4-yard loss. There was a miscommunication upfront because Preston and Butler allowed Ferguson to run past them without attempting to make a block. Even if Ferguson didn’t make the play, LB Akin Ayodele blitzed off the right side of the defense and had a clean shot at Lynch as well.
• On the following play, Dolphins LB Charlie Anderson used a speed rush to run by RT Langston Walker and knock the ball out of Losman’s hand. Losman recovered, rolled out to the right with DE Vonnie Holliday in hot pursuit and delivered a good throw to Lynch. But Lynch dropped what would have been a first-down catch.
• In the third quarter, the Bills adopted Miami’s “Wildcat” formation on third-and-2. They used an unbalanced offensive line, moving Walker and backup OT Kirk Chambers to the left side next to Peters and Dockery. Lynch took the direct snap and ran to the left, but the O-line got no movement and Lynch was stuffed by Ayodele for no gain.
• During the next set of downs after a first-down pass, Randy Starks drove Butler to the turf and pressured Losman. Losman broke away from Starks, but had to throw the ball away with LB Joey Porter bearing down on him. On third down, Anderson beat Peters around the edge and knocked the ball away from Losman. Peters recovered the fumble, but the Bills were forced to punt.
• The killer play for the Bills was Losman’s third-quarter interception in the end zone. What is interesting is that James Hardy, the Bills’ 6-foot-5 rookie receiver, was lined up on the other side. But Losman never looked in that direction. Evans didn’t have a lot of room in the corner, but he didn’t get a chance to make a play because the pass was underthrown.
• In the fourth quarter, the Bills couldn’t deal with the Dolphins’ pass rush, which registered three sacks. The first was by Porter, who used his hands to beat Chambers and drop Losman at the 2-yard line on third down.
The last two sacks on the Bills’ final possession were due to Losman holding the ball too long. Porter wrestled his way free of Peters and made Losman pull the ball down. Losman spun away from Porter, but LB Reggie Torbor and Starks brought him down. Porter didn’t miss Losman on the next snap, outmaneuvering Peters after a series of moves and forcing a fumble that Miami recovered.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments