I must admit that I’m a little surprised at how well the Bills played in this football game. Rookie QB Trent Edwards looked like a seasoned vet as he completed 22 of 28 passes for 234 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception. Marshawn Lynch had another solid game with 79 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run. Edwards did a good job of spreading the football around as a lot of receivers were involved with the offense. Lee Evans finally showed up for this season as he led the way for the Bills with 6 catches for 72 yards. WRs Josh Reed (4 rec, 64 yards) and Roscoe Parrish (4 rec, 33 yards) did there parts to help out the passing game. And lo and behold the Bills had a productive day out of a tight end as Michael Gaines caught 4 passes for 20 yards and a TD. The Bills finished up the game with 86 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.1 ypc) and they completed 22 of 28 passes for 218 yards.

Linebacker Angelo Crowell (11 tackles) and cornerback Kiwaukee Thomas (10 tackles) led an inspired effort by the Bills defense in this game. The Bills held the Jets to 60 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.2 ypc). But, the Jets completed 32 of 39 passes for 286 yards through the air. The Bills did have two interceptions to slow the Jets offense down.

Looking at the Bills “offensive” stats one thing jumps off of the page. The Bills average more yards rushing (108.0) than they do passing (92.0 yards) and that is amazing and pathetic at the same time. What it does show is how talented running back Marshawn Lynch is as he has a target on his back. Lynch has carried the football 57 times for 228 yards (4.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs already this season. Look for big things from Lynch if the Bills ever get a passing game going to take the focus of the defense off of him. Fellow rookie Dwyane Wright (6 car, 36 yards) seems to have passed Anthony Thomas on the depth chart and that’s a good thing. Wright is a downhill runner that always seems to move the pile forward.

The Buffalo Bills have signed cornerback Jerametrius Butler and have released RB/KR Josh Scobey. Butler was signed to provide depth in the Bills’ secondary which has been decimated by a rash of injuries. Butler has played in 63 games in his NFL career and he has made 162 tackles, defensed 32 passes, forced 1 fumble and intercepted 9 passes. Scobey returned 5 kickoffs for 112 yards (22.4 avg) this season for the Bills.

Starting Bills’ QB J.P. Losman will miss at least the next two weeks with a sprained knee. Losman has completed 30 of 47 passes (63.8%) for 255 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception (69.0 QB Rating). Losman will be replaced by rookie QB Trent Edwards. Edwards relieved Losman last Sunday and he completed 10 of 20 passes (50%) for 97 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception (43.1 QB Rating). The Bills have also re-signed QB Craig Nall to back-up Edwards for the next couple of weeks and he would likely play well if pressed into service as he knows the Bills offense already.

It seems as if the Bills can’t play a football game without losing two or three players to injury. Rookie inside linebacker Paul Poslusny will miss the remainder of the season after breaking his forearm. This is a huge loss to the Bills’ defense as Poslusny already had 26 tackles on the season. He will be replaced in the starting lineup by John DiGiorgio. DiGiorgio is an undersized hustle player but he has played well this season as he has 18 tackles on the year. The Bills also lost important offensive lineman Jason Whittle who can handle either guard or center. Whittle tore a hamstring against the Patriots last Sunday.

Just when you think the season couldn’t get any worse, the Bills get destroyed on the scoreboard and with injuries. QB J.P. Losman went down with a knee injury very early in the first quarter and he will likely miss a couple of weeks. He completed his only pass attempt for 4 yards. Rookie QB Trent Edwards was then thrown in the fire and the results were as expected as he completed 10 of 20 passes for 97 yards in his NFL debut. Rookie RBs Marshawn Lynch (20 car, 74 yards, TD) and Dwyane Wright (6 car, 36 yards) both ran the ball pretty well for the Bills. WR Lee Evans was shut down again as he only caught 1 pass for 7 yards. The Bills finished up with 110 yards rushing on 27 carries (4.1 ypc) and they completed 11 of 21 passes for 83 yards.

The Bills defense was horrible against the Patriots. The bad news on defense was that rookie linebacker Paul Poslusny broke his forearm and he could be done for the season. Linebacker John DiGiorgio was all over the football field as he made 12 tackles and had 1/2 sack. Safety Donte Whitner (11 tackles) and CB Kiwaukee Thomas (10 tackles) were also very active for the defense. The Patriots finished up rushing for 177 yards on 38 carries (4.7 ypc) and they completed 23 of 29 passes for 308 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270923017

This game looks like a total mis-match on paper but it’s a division game so who knows what will happen on Sunday. The Bills have looked awful this season as they are 0-2 and they have been outscored 41-17 this season. The Patriots have won both of their football games by indentical 38-14 scores. The Bills would be smart to throw the football against the Patriots as Patriots opponents have completed 65.6% of there passes. To do that though two things must happen. The Bills offensive line must block better as they have already allowed six sacks this season and the Patriots have already sacked opposing QBs 8 times this season. Also, Lee Evans must play up to his ability because teams have focused on shutting him down as he has only caught 4 passes for 22 yards this season. Roscoe Parrish (8 rec, 81 yards), Josh Reed (4 rec, 37 yards) and Peerless Price (4 rec, 31 yards) must take the pressure off Losman and Evans by also pitching in to loosen the coverage on Evans. The Bills won’t forget rookie RB Marshawn Lynch (37 car, 154 yards, TD) who has done well running against two good defenses this season. But, the Patriots have been awesome against the run holding opponents to 56.0 yards rushing per game and 2.9 ypc.

The Patriots will likely mix things up on offense as they are averaging 419.0 yards per game and the Bills are allowing 445.0 yards per game. Look for the Patriots to lean on the running game more than the passing game as the Bills allow 177.5 yards rushing per game and 5.5 yards per carry. With that in mind look for Laurence Maroney (35 car, 149 yards) and Sammy Morris (21 car, 105 yards, TD) to both find a lot of running room against the soft defense of the Bills. Tom Brady (134.1 QB Rating) won’t be able to resist throwing the ball quite a few times against the Bills secondary which has been decimated by injury. Randy Moss (17 rec, 288 yards, 3 TDs), Wes Welker (14 rec, 152 yards, 1 TD) and TE Ben Watson (7 rec, 58 yards, 2 TDs) will be the primary targets on offense for the Patriots but keep an eye on Donte’ Stallworth (3 rec, 38 yards) who could be the secret weapon this week.

PREDICTION: The easy prediction would be to take the Patriots 38-14 against the Bills. But, I don’t see the Bills scoring 14 points this week against the suffocating Patriots defense. Look for the Patriots to win by as many points as they feel like in this game as their scout team in practice will put up more of a fight than the Bills will this week.

Quarterback J.P. Losman is having a rough time this season as he has completed 29 of 46 passes (63%) for 251 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception (68.3 QB Rating) and he has also carried the ball 6 times for 51 yards (8.5 ypc). In his defense the Bills have run into two of the best secondaries in the NFL (Broncos & Steelers) and they have shut down Losman’s favorite target WR Lee Evans who has only caught 4 passes for 22 yards (5.5 avg) this season. A lot of fans are already clamoring for rookie QB Trent Edwards but Losman is still a young QB in his own right and he deserves to play a little while longer based on his performance of last season.

The Buffalo Bills got dominated last Sunday by the Steelers both offensively and defensively. J.P. Losman had another poor game as he completed 15 of 25 passes for only 121 yards passing. He also rushed for 38 yards on 4 carries (9.5 ypc). Rookie RB Marshawn Lynch only rushed for 64 yards on 18 carries (3.6 ypc) as the offensive line couldn’t get much of a push against the Steelers defense. Roscoe Parrish was the leading receiver for the Bills with 6 catches for 56 yards (9.3 avg). Lee Evans had another awful game as he only caught 2 passes for 17 yards. The Bills finished up with 102 yards rushing on 22 carries (4.6 ypc) and they completed 15 of 25 passes for 121 yards. The Bills only had the ball for 24:33 of the football game and it’s hard to win that way. The offense must step up or the defense is going to continue to wear down like they have the first two weeks of the season.

The Bills defense was terrible again against the Steelers. Rookie linebacker Paul Poslusny led the way for the Bills’ defense with 12 tackles. The Steelers rushed for 184 yards on 33 carries (5.6 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 34 passes for 236 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270916023