Week 13: Bills Choke In Miami 24-23
Another in a history of devastating losses
by Steve Saslow
at
Week 13
Bills  23
Dolphins  24
Gameday Grades

The Bills have always found a way to break the hearts of their fans. There is wide right, the homerun throwback, the pass interference in the end zone against New England in the "just give it to them" game. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, the Bills found a way to give their fans another crushing loss. After scoring three first quarter touchdowns, as J.P. Losman hit Lee Evans three times in the first 13 minutes, the Bills had a collapse of epic proportions in a 24-23 loss in Miami.

The Bills came out smoking as Losman hit Evans three times from 46, 56, and 4 yards out in the first quarter. Miami matched the Bills three touchdowns in the fourth quarter including a pass from Sage Rosenfels to Chris Chambers with 0:06 remaining to give Miami the win.

The bottom line was the three first quarter touchdowns by Losman, were countered by three fourth quarter touchdowns, the difference was the Miami second quarter field goal was worth more than the Bills third quarter safety giving Miami the win.

Ah, the safety... the play that cost the Bills the game. Who would have thought that a huge play by London Fletcher and Jeff Posey, as they sacked Gus Frerotte in the end zone giving the Bills a 23-3 lead, would prove to be the play that cost the Bills a win.

They meant well with the play but they were too good. They knocked Gus Frerotte out of the game, and in came Sage Rosenfels, and he wouldn't be deterred. Losman moved the Bills down the field but threw a pick on the drive following the safety. On first and goal from the three, Losman tried to force the ball and was picked. A touchdown on that drive and even the Bills pathetic defense couldn't have blown this game. Instead he was picked, and despite the Bills holding on fourth down in the red zone, Miami had the momentum. Rosenfels led Miami on Three scoring drives on their next four possessions. Only an interception by Aaron Schobel kept Miami from winning earlier.

It was a pathetic way to finish a game against a weak performance and proves once again that this team just doesn't have the toughness to win big games. It is a problem that goes back to the beginning of the quickly closing Tom Donahoe era. This team is in total disarray and the only good thing that came out of today's loss was a possible higher draft pick and hopefully some honest talk about the fact that this team has no shot at the playoffs. It was so bad for Buffalo that a little used Eric Moulds had his 121 game reception streak snapped.

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



Gameballs
  • Lee Evans - His first three receptions went for touchdowns in the first quarter alone! Too bad he couldn't do more down the stretch.
  • London Fletcher - The only defensive player worth a damn. He had 12 tackles and 2 sacks.
  • Aaron Schobel - He had a sack and a big interception that should have been enough to win the game.
    •

    Goats
  • J.P. Losman - Yes, he hit the big plays earlier but was awful from the 2nd quarter on. Did he hit the beach after the first quarter?
  • Nate Clements - Lockdown Corner? Please... He has been awful. He doesn't deserve the league minimum next year let alone top corner money. He was playing soft most of the game, drops a sure pick for a score, and missed some tackles.
  • Jabari Greer - The Bills need to replace two corners next year. Clements and Greer. He was constantly beaten by Chambers, when Clements wasn't. He finished with 238 yards on 15 receptions including the game winning score when Greer couldn't knock the ball away. He also had a bad illegal contact penalty that kept a Miami scoring drive going.
  • Willis McGahee - When was the last time he made a big play? If he could run the ball, he could have helped the team run the clock out. But he can't. He seems a step to slow and isn't even one of the top 10 backs in the league, let alone the self proclaimed best in the game. He finished with a 3.0 yard per carry average.
  • Eric Moulds - Didn't have one pass thrown his way in his limited use. His reception streak is over.
    •

    Player Of The Week
  • Lee Evans - Finished with five catches for 117 yards and three touchdowns.


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