Bills notebook
Losman puts on brave face after fumble
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Quarterback J.P. Losman was two minutes away from winning his first game as a starter this season. It took only a few seconds for him to lose it.
Losman fumbled when hit from behind by safety Abram Elam and defensive end Shaun Ellis recovered for an 11-yard touchdown to give the Jets an improbable 31-27 win Sunday.
Losman has started the last two games because Trent Edwards was sidelined with a strained groin. It was an opportunity for Losman, who will be a free agent after the season, to show other teams what he could do. But the sack-fumble was just another indication of why he'll be playing elsewhere next year.
The play was supposed to be a short pass to fullback Corey McIntyre, and if he wasn't available, Losman should have just thrown the ball away. Instead, he held the ball too long and that gave Elam time to blitz from the backside and sack Losman.
Losman bristled and refused to answer when asked if he felt the pressure behind him, but offensive coordinator Turk Schonert didn't mince words.
"He's got to see the blitz," Schonert said. "And when the fullback gets stuffed immediately, he's got to protect it or just throw it away."
Losman, who agreed with Schonert's assessment, had a rather pedestrian performance before his big mistake. He completed 24 of 39 passes, but for only 148 yards. His longest completion was for 14 yards.
He did help the Bills snap out of their two-game touchdown-less drought by throwing for one and running for another. Still, all his good deeds were overshadowed by one egregious error.
While some players said it will take a while to get over this loss, Losman took it in stride.
"That's the way it goes," he said. "People can remember whatever they want to about this game. That's this league, that's the game itself. Sometimes you just don't win when you're supposed to, for whatever reason. It's a funny shaped ball for a reason. It bounces weird ways sometimes.
"Certain athletes get this far in their career because they're able to somehow put these games behind them, move on and let's go to the next one. And if you're given another opportunity, you go in there and show them that you have learned from your mistakes. So as a player you just kind of ... can't wait to go out there and show them that you can go in there and actually do this job. That's how the mind-set has to be."
. . .
Sunday was a tale of two halves for the Bills' defense. In the first half, the Jets' offense moved at will, piling up big yardage on the ground and in the air.
It was a different story in the second half as the Bills bottled up the Jets' attack. After giving up 278 yards, 14 first downs and three touchdowns in the first half, the Bills held the Jets to 94 yards, four first downs and one field goal in the final two stanzas.
"We just went in the locker room and corrected our mistakes," defensive tackle Marcus Stroud said. "We played with more intensity and more effort. The first half wasn't pretty. But we came out in the second half and did what we had to do."
. . .
The only major injury Sunday was rookie wide receiver James Hardy, who hurt his left knee on the Bills' first drive. Hardy was carted off the field and was on crutches after the game.
Coach Dick Jauron didn't have an update after the game, but should know more when he speaks to the media today.
Cornerback Terrence McGee suffered back spasms at the beginning of the game and did not start, but played later in the first quarter and intercepted a pass in the game.
. . .
Leodis McKelvin's 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was nullified by a questionable holding penalty on Jon Corto. The public address announcer erroneously said George Wilson was flagged on the play.
"It was a play that needed to be made," McKelvin said. "Where we were going didn't work, but I cut it to the opposite side and there was a hole. George Wilson made a great block. Unfortunately, the referee decided to throw the flag."
A flag that should not have been thrown, according to Corto.
"There was no way they could have called it on me," he said. "When I talked to Coach [Matt] Sheldon, he said, 'We saw the replay and couldn't find any hold.' As far as I'm concerned it was bogus."
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