The Bills have placed 24-year old rookie TE Lee Smith on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to an ankle injury.  Smith played in 10 games for the Bills this year and he caught 4 passes for 11 yards (2.8 avg).  The Bills claimed Smith off waivers from the Patriots, who wanted to keep them on their practice squad.  Smith is a good run blocker and he will have a good chance of making the Bills again in 2012.

The Bills lost this game early as they fell way behind.  They had a late surge to make the score look a lot closer than the game actually was.  Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 31 of 47 passes for 316 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 INTs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 7 yards.  C.J. Spiller had another really good game for the Bills today with 12 carries for 91 yards (7.6 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 9 passes for 76 yards (8.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Tashard Choice pitched in with 5 carries for 15 yards (3.0 ypc) and 3 receptions for 41 yards (13.7 avg).  WRs Steve Johnson (5 rec, 82 yards), David Nelson (6 rec, 60 yards) and Derek Hagan (2 rec, 12 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bills yesterday.  The Bills finished up with 113 yards on 19 carries (5.9 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 47 passes (66%) for 291 yards as they had possession of the ball for 31:11.

The defense was pathetic for the Bills in this game.  LB Nick Barnett (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), Chris Kelsay (7 tackles and 1 sack) and safety George Wilson (7 tackles) led the way for the Bills in this game.  The Dolphins finished up with 254 yards rushing on 38 carries (6.7 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 20 passes (50%) for 194 yards.  The Bills are now 5-9 on the year.

For some reason the Bills were playing 22-year old rookie DT Marcell Dareus at DE when the season began.  But at 6’3″, 340 pounds, he wasn’t helping much in the form of outside containment.  Then DT Kyle Williams got injured and the Bills decided to shift Dareus to his natural position and he has played well ever since.  Dareus has played in 13 games for the Bills so far this year and he has 35 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  Dareus is going to be one of the core young players in a rebuilt Bills’ D.

The Bills have waived 25-year old linebacker Antonio  Coleman.  Coleman played in 3 games for the Bills this year and he had 4 tackles.  Coleman played in 11 games in his two years with the Bills and he had 16 tackles.  If Coleman clears waivers, the Bills will likely try to re-sign him to their practice squad.

The Bills have lost six games in a row, including a beating at the hand of the Dolphins (35-8) in Miami just four weeks ago.  The Dolphins got beat 26-10 last weekend in Miami by the Eagles and it cost head coach Tony Sparano his job.  Todd Bowles will be the new head coach this Sunday, his first ever in that role.  The Dolphins have won four of their last six games and they are trying to finish this season on a bright note.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills should try to be more balanced than usual in this game.  That means they need to get the ball to RB C.J. Spiller more in this game.  It won’t be easy for Spiller though as the Fins are only giving up 89.9 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per carry so far this year.  WRs David Nelson, Brad Smith and Steve Johnson are going to need to step up in this game, because their are plays to be made against the Dolphins’ secondary.  The Dolphins are giving up 244.2 yards passing per game so far this year.

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins are likely going to come out running the ball with Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas, which is going to challenge the front seven of the Bills.  The Bills are giving up 130.7 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry so far this year.  Matt Moore might not play in this game due to a concussion.  If he can’t go, former Bills’ QB J.P. Losman will take over under center.  No matter who plays QB for the Fins, they like to throw short passes to Brandon Marshall, Brian Hartline, Davone Bess and Anthony Fasano and let them make plays after the catch.

PREDICTION:  DOLPHINS 23, BILLS 20

29-year old QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been awful lately and he has taken his team down with him.  The Bills are 0-6 in their last six games and they have only scored 77 points in those games.  In Fitzpatrick’s last six games, he has completed 123 of 220 passes (55.9%) for 1,271 yards with 6 TD passes and 9 INTs.  Fitzpatrick seems to be buckling under the pressure of his new contract that he recently signed before the downfall of the Bills.  Fitzpatrick has played in 13 games for the Bills so far this year and he has completed 278 of 449 passes (61.9%) for 3,013 yards with 20 TD passes and 16 INTs (81.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 46 times for 150 yards (3.3 ypc) so far this year.  The Bills need Fitzpatrick to step up if they are going to win more games this year.

The Bills looked terrible yesterday in San Diego.  Ryan Fitzpatrick flat out stunk yesterday as he completed 13 of 34 passes for 176 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (one of which was returned 26 yards by safety Steve Gregory for a TD).  Tyler Thigpen finished up this game by completing 2 of 3 passes for 19 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception.  C.J. Spiller led the way for the Bills on the ground with 46 yards rushing on 12 carries (3.8 ypc).  He also caught 3 passes for 10 yards (3.3 avg) in this game.  WR Steve Johnson led the way for the Bills in the passing game with 4 grabs for 116 yards (29.0 avg).  The Bills finished up with 96 yards rushing on 20 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 37 passes (40.5%) for 185 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 24:27.

The Bills were pretty awful on D in this game.  LB Kelvin Sheppard led the way for the Bills on D in this game with 14 tackles.  Safety Bryan Scott (8 tackles, 1 pass defensed and a fumble recovery in the end zone for a TD), LB Nick Barnett (8 tackles) and DT Marcell Dareus (5 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits) also had decent games for the Bills.  The Chargers finished up with 150 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 33 passes (72.7%) for 216 yards in this game.  The Bills are now 5-8 on the year.

The Buffalo Bills have played better the last couple of weeks, but they have still lost five games in a row.  The Chargers snapped a six game losing streak last week by thumping the Jacksonville Jaguars 38-14 on Monday Night Football.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills will probably try to be balanced offensively in this game.  C.J. Spiller played well against the Titans last weekend and they hope he will repeat that effort against a Chargers’ D that is allowing 131.7 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  The Chargers don’t have much of a pass rush and they are giving up 202.9 yards passing per game, so Ryan Fitzpatrick is likely going to have another good game this weekend.  Steve Johnson and David Nelson will have to likely carry the load in the passing game as TE Scott Chandler doesn’t look like he’s going to be able to play.

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers looked like a machine last Monday Night offensively in Jacksonville, against a defense that’s a lot better than the Bills’ D.  The Bills are going to have a hard time stopping RBs Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert as they are giving up 129.1 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  They will have an even harder time dealing with Philip Rivers and his receivers.  WRs Vincent Jackson, Malcom Floyd and TE Antonio Gates give Rivers three large targets to throw to and that is going to be a huge problem for the Bills in this game.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 34, BILLS 24

The Bills have signed 25-year old TE Fendi Onobun off of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad.  Onobun played in 1 game for the Jaguars this year but he didn’t catch any passes.  Onobun has now played in 4 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg).  The Bills are hurting at TE with Scott Chandler a little banged up, so this signing makes perfect sense for them.

25-year old, 6’5″, 215 pound WR David Nelson is stepping up for the Buffalo Bills.  He has taken over for the departed Lee Evans (traded to Baltimore) in a trade before the 2011 season began.  Nelson has played in 12 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 48 passes for 514 yards (10.7 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  The Bills need Nelson to finish this season strongly.  Nelson has now played in 27 games in his first two years with the Bills and he has caught 79 passes for 867 yards (11.0 avg) with 8 TD grabs.