Week 8: Chiefs Rout Bills 38-5
Bills totally embarrassed in seven turnover effort.
by Steve Saslow

at Week 8 Bills    5 Chiefs   38 Gameday Grades

The Bills needed a fast start if they were going to have any chance at winning this game in a very hostile environment. Well they got it but unfortunately it didn't last very long. Pierson Prioleau blocked a punt on the Chiefs first possession and it went out of the end zone for a safety to give the Bills a 2-0 lead. That ends the Bills highlight portion of this article.

The Bills had amazingly solid field position but could not gain any points despite starting past their own 40 on three of their opening four possessions. The ineptness on offense spread to the defense that looked more like last year's version in the first half. The Chiefs had their way offensively with the Bills from midway through the first quarter into halftime as they dominated their way to a 28-5 halftime lead.

The Bills were worried about stopping Dante Hall as a return man and they accomplished that goal but forgot about him as a wide receiver. Hall caught a 67 yard bomb for a touchdown enroute to a 100 yard first half receiving. That gave the Chiefs the 7-2 lead and they were off and racing. They moved the ball at will scoring touchdowns on their last three possessions of the first half. When Trent Green wasn't picking apart the Bills secondary because he had all day to throw, Priest Holmes was eating up yardage on the ground as he scored twice in a row to stretch the Chiefs lead to 21-2.

The Bills battled back a bit but when they had second and goal from the 2 yard line they forgot about the running game once again that got them there. A pathetically overthrown ball by Drew Bledsoe followed by a near interception forced the Bills to settle for three. That was surprising enough since it only pulled the Bills to within 16 and gave the Chiefs enough time for another easy walk in the park touchdown drive. Tony Gonzalez's score sent the Bills into the locker room embarrassed, demoralized, and totally dominated.

The defense settled down in the second half and shut down the Chiefs in the third quarter as they were just trying for the most part to keep the clock moving. The Bills got desperate on Offense and it led to turnovers. In fact, the team had six complete possessions in the second half, and turned the ball over five times and turned it over on downs the other time. Drew Bledsoe interceptions on the first two series after the intermission. He also threw a pick on a hail mary at the end of the half giving him three in three series. The Chiefs aren't undefeated by accident, they did it with a great turnover ratio. They were a whopping +7 in this game as they teed off on Bledsoe in the fourth quarter. They sacked him on a fourth down play then forced him to fumble on the next possession.

To add insult to injury, Priest Holmes scored his third touchdown of the game after the Bledsoe fumble. On the misdirection run Green just leveled Nate Clements allowing Holmes to waltz in to the end zone and a 35-5 lead. Alex Van Pelt got into the act and threw interceptions on his two series. The first one resulted in a field goal that gave the Chiefs the final margin of victory, 38-5.

The season is now officially half over and the Bills have the bye week to sit and think about how they have totally underachieved. They actually are one game behind where they were last year at this time with much more talent. It is increasingly evident that this isn't a playoff team despite having playoff talent. When Ralph Wilson thinks about this it must eat at his stomach, maybe it will eat at him enough to make a coaching change. The team has two weeks to prepare to try and save their season. Gregg Williams job isn't an easy won, football is a team game and it is tough to get all the parts to fit like a puzzle but that is his job and he has failed miserably. He won't be back next year, so why wait to make a change. This is the time to do it.

Here are our exclusive gameballs and goats from the Bills win. Obviously there are many more goats that heroes in this one:

Drew Bledsoe - When the team fell behind, Bledsoe panicked and many even more errors.

Antoine Winfield - Was burned by Hall's long touchdown and was called for a costly pass interference in the end zone just before halftime.

Lawyer Milloy - He was also partly to blame for Hall's long score. He was also beaten for a few receptions by Tony Gonzalez.

Defensive Line - They got no pressure on Green as he had all day to pick apart the secondary. They didn't do any better in run defense as Holmes picked his way through some big holes.

Pat Williams - He gets a separate goat to go along with the goat for the whole unit. He got the Chiefs fired up by yapping about stopping Holmes. He did not back it up as the Chiefs were inspired to totally dominate the Bills front four.

Offensive Line - Couldn't stop the blitz as Bledsoe was battered many times. They couldn't open up holes for the running game either when the game was in doubt in the first half.

Gregg Williams - The team wasn't ready to play. The 12 man in the huddle penalty on the third offensive play was pathetic. Kicking a field goal down by 19 and not using the running game by the goal line were two totally stupid moves.

Player Of The Week

Travis Henry - Was the best player on the field today but his stats were a bit inflated since most of his 124 yards were after halftime.

Print Friendly Version
Positional Breakdown and Grades
NFL.com Gamebook
Chiefs Game Preview
Gameday Homepage