Week 15: Bills Lose Again 28-17
Same old story leads to same old result.
by Steve Saslow
at
Week 15
Broncos  28
Bills  17
Gameday Grades

This game was a microcosm of a season fans would love to forget. The Bills won the toss and took the opening drive down for a score for an NFL leading ninth time this year. As usual however, they ended up losing the game as they couldn't put on a consistent effort in their 28-17 loss to the Broncos during a Saturday night affair at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The Bills moved the ball 56 yards in nine plays to their first rushing touchdown since October 16th when Willis McGahee rumbled in from the one to make it 7-0. Eric Moulds had a big 27 yard reception on the drive and had a big game in what may have been his last game in Orchard Park as a member of the Bills.

The Bills defense came up big most of the first half, actually stopping third down plays as the Broncos were just 1 of 6 in the first half. Like everything else in this forgotten season, the Bills defense couldn't play well consistently and the Broncos started taking the game over. They would score touchdowns on four straight possessions as they had drives 73, 69, 70, and 71 yards while the Bills countered with only a field goal as the Broncos cruised to a win after wearing down the weak Bills defense. Mike Anderson scored twice for the Broncos and Jake Plummer threw two touchdown passes as the Broncos moved a step closer to a division title.

The one bright spot after the opening possession was the first career touchdown for a workhorse. Joe Burns playing for the injured Shaud Williams caught a slant pass and went 19 yards reaching to the pylon for a meaningless touchdown. The Broncos would never give the Bills another chance as they recovered the onside kick and ran the time out.

This was the final game of the season at Ralph Wilson Stadium and the fans deserve credit for actually showing up on a cold December night for a game that meant nothing. There were barely any empty seats when the game started as the fans were excited about the first primetime home game in five years. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm of the fans was hindered by the bad product on the field and most of them left dejected before the final quarter begun. The team couldn't sustain anything, had stupid penalties and saw the ball never bounce their way. Like I said earlier, it was a typical 2005 Bills game with a typical result. The team played ok early only to lose their enthusiasm as the game went on and couldn't find a way to play 60 minutes as the defense was worn down by a dominating Broncos defense from the 2nd quarter on. At least the fans can stop worrying about the Bills, and now they can concentrate on the Sabres and UB Basketball.

Here are our exclusive gameballs and goats from the Bills game against the Broncos:



Gameballs
  • Eric Moulds - Rebounded nicely from the suspension. He finished with 9 catches for 110 yards.
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    Goats
  • Chris Villarrial - Was called for four penalties for 35 yards in the first half.
  • Lee Evans - Had two drops which is not the norm for Evans. He caught just two passes for five yards.
  • Eric King - Was called for a roughing the passer penalty that kept a Bronco TD drive going. He also was beat for a third down completion that kept another Bronco TD drive going.
  • Nate Clements - He was the man that was beaten the most by Rod Smith who had an awesome game.
  • Troy Vincent - His age continues to show as he was a second late many times.
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    Player Of The Week
  • Eric Moulds - If this is his last home game as a Bill, at least he went out with a good game.


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