Dolphins Rout Bills 38-10
Total pathetic effort all around by struggling Bills.
by Steve Saslow
at
Week 4
Bills  10
Dolphins  38
Gameday Grades
Recap
The Skinny:
Trent Edwards threw three interceptions one was returned for a touchdown, another setup a touchdown as Miami routed the Bills 38-10. Buffalo could do nothing offensively and the defense had no answers for Miami's wildcat offense that ran up and down the field against an overmatched, banged up Bills defense. Miami took a 17-3 lead at halftime on Ronnie Brown one yard touchdown run. They then would hold the ball for nearly 12 minutes of the third quarter and score two touchdowns on a pass from Chad Henne to Brian Hartline and a one yard run by Ricky Williams to go up by four touchdowns after three quarters. Edwards hit Josh Reed for a short touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter.

The Turning Point:
Right after Miami hit a 33 yard field goal to go up 3-0, Edwards has a pass picked off by rookie Vontae Davis and returned 23 yards for an easy touchdown. That gave them a 10-0 lead that was pretty insurmountable the way the Bills offense was playing.

The Big Drive:
The Bills bounced back from the defensive score with a field goal drive but Miami immediately showed that they were in control of the game with a 66 yard drive in 9 plays that took 4:25 off the clock and ended with a Ronnie Brown fourth down touchdown plunge to give them a two touchdown lead at halftime.

Stat of the Game:
Miami ran for 250 yards on 45 carries for a 5.6 yard average.

What You Don't See On The Stat Sheet:
The wildcat formation worked very nicely for Miami as the constant motion confused the Bills defense and allowed for big holes in the running game up the middle and on the outside.

Quick Slants:
- Stat that didn't mean a thing. The Bills sacked Henne six times and pressured him like they wanted to but the running attack by Miami made that moot.
- Someone besides Jauron defers kickoffs. Miami did and the Bills got the ball first. It ended in a punt. Miami got the ball first in the 2nd half it ended in a touchdown.
- The Bills defense was definitely feeling the effects of all the injuries but the front seven was healthy enough and getting blown away in the running game.
- The Bills have now lost eight straight division games and 11 straight to 3-4 defenses.
- Bobby April's special teams continue to make too many mistakes and penalties. They are just undisciplined. They fell for fake end arounds on two kickoffs.

My Take:
There was every reason to believe that Miami could win this game even with a backup QB. They are the defending division champions and the three teams that beat them will all play Buffalo later on and probably beat them worse than they beat Miami. This team is in turmoil and the coach may be losing them. Jauron would be a logic choice to be the first coach fired and you would think it could happen tonight knowing Ralph Wilson's hatred of losing bad to Miami. Unfortunately for long suffering Bills fans he will likely survive a season that the team will be lucky to win five games in. As far as Edwards is concerned, I think we've found out that he's not the QB of the future. It's back to the drawing board at the most important position. Maybe they will be bad enough to get one of the top prospects? They will probably pick the bust of the group with the luck they have had.

What's Ahead:
The Bills finally have a 1pm kickoff next week as the lowly Cleveland Browns come to town as the Bills play a second straight game against a winless opponent they hope this opponent will stay winless. They will be looking to avenge last year's Monday night heartbreaking loss to the Browns. Cleveland tries to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss against Cincinnati where their offense finally showed signs of life.

Gameballs

  • None - Does anyone deserve one in this debacle?


    • Goats
  • Everyone - All 45 players and the entire coaching staff contributed to this clunker but here are a few players that were particularly bad:
  • Trent Edwards - He isn't the future of this team. He shouldn't be the present either.
  • Lee Evans - Is he still on this team? He did have two catches on the touchdown drive but that was way too little way too late.
  • Marcus Buggs - He did nothing as there were huge holes in the middle of the defense.
  • Marshawn Lynch - Beast Mode is back! Not really. He did have a 23 yard reception but did nothing running the football gaining just four yards on eight carries.
  • Offensive Line - When Miami had a big lead they just pinned their ears back and got to the quarterback for six sacks.
  • Kirk Chambers - He gave up three sacks to former CFL star Cameron Wake. Someone the Bills coveted this offseason.
    •

    Player Of The Week
  • None - This is a pathetic loss by a pathetic organization.


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