Final Game 2: Steelers 26 Bills 3
Hello Bills fans. Well my prediction was totally wrong. The Buffalo Bills lost their second straight falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers 26-3. The Bills came out flat and never looked like they were into playing this game. The offense was dismal for the second week in a row. The inability to move the ball is really hurting our defense because they were constantly on the field yesterday. The defense did hold the Steelers to only 12 first half points but the time of possession and the amount of offensive plays were in the Steelers favor. The score of this one could have been a lot worse. Our defense tightened when the Steelers reached the red zone in the first half. The only bright spot in my opinion on defense was Jim Leonhard getting an interception for the second week in a row. He has a knack for the ball and is a very smart player. It’s nice to see someone trying to help this team win.
Our offense continues to struggle in every aspect. Marshawn Lynch did have a few nice runs but was not used at all in the passing game. Lynch is a dynamic back and I don’t know why the Bills don’t run any specific pass plays for him. He ended up carrying the ball 18 times for 64 yards and had one reception for 21 yards. J.P. Losman looked out of sync all day and ended the game 15-25 for 154 yards. He was high on a lot of his throws and was not decisive when he had time to throw the ball. I don’t know if it’s the receiver’s inability to get open or if Losman just can’t go through his reads properly. We have one of the best receivers in Lee Evans and we can’t seem to find a way to get him the ball. Evans only had two catches for 17 yards yesterday. That is unacceptable. This team is not good enough to win if our #1 receiver does not get involved. Evans was showing signs of frustration in the 4th quarter yesterday. He had back to back personal foul penalties. On one play he was being held while going for a ball thrown in the end-zone. The ref did not call pass interference and Evans flipped out. In all his years with the Bills I have never seen that side of Lee. Even Coach Dick Jauron was upset with the officials in this one. Coach Jauron is a mild mannered man but was seen jawing at the officials yesterday. Offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild has to call a better game. I know that the Steelers have a great defense but we have to gain more than 223 yards of offense. Fairchild has to open up the playbook and let Losman loose. We have the speed at the receiver position to take our shots downfield. Hopefully Losman can rebound from two terrible games and show the coaches that he can lead this team.
Our defense continues to struggle to get off the field on third down. We give up way to many first downs and teams our killing us with the run. Willie Parker rushed the ball 23 times for 126 yards and a td. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 242 yards and one td. It kills me every time we let an opposing team’s offense march up and down the field like nothing. We have to be able to stop the run and stop giving receivers a 10-yard cushion. We were unable to get consistent pressure on Roethlisberger and at times it seemed like he had all day to find a target. Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay need to put some pressure on the qb because our secondary is not strong enough to cover for that long. Our defense gave up 420 yards of total offense. This is the second week in a row that we have given up more than 400 yards. Something has to change. Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell needs to mix things up a little bit. Maybe it’s because we are without Ko Simpson, Ryan Denney, Keith Ellison and Anthony Hargrove. I just hope that we can get this thing right and start holding teams in check.
Next week does not getting any easier Bills fans. The Bills travel to New England to face the 2-0 Patriots. The Pats blew out the Chargers last night 38-14. I just hope that we show some positive signs against the Pats. I don’t see us winning but hey you never know. Hopefully Losman can get back on track and lead this team to a victory. Just get the ball in the hands of your playmakers. Evans, Lynch and Roscoe Parrish are the guys that need to be heavily involved to make this offense succeed. Let’s Go Buffalo.
