Really!?!

Anyone who has read my prior posts, knows how I felt about the Bills before their showdown against the Patriots on Monday night. It is needless to say that I was less than optimistic. For those who watched what happened last night, I assume you were just as flabbergasted as I found myself during the game and more specifically, after the game. The Bills lost to the Patriots for the twelfth straight game last night, 25-24. I know this is a bit of a cliche and the statement is overused, but the score doesn't even begin to tell the story from last night's game. A quick recap for those who are unfamiliar with last night's results: The Bills started off the game looking pretty solid on both defense and offense by jumping out to an extremely surprising 7-0 lead with a touchdown pass from Edwards to rookie TE Shawn Nelson. The Patriots quickly matched but were surprised by an athletic interception by Bills defensive end, Aaron Schobel, which he returned for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead. The Bills went into the half up 14-10 and surprising all but the most optimistic Bills fans. The expectations had been raised. Unfortunately, being a fan, myself and others now expected a win from a team that we never imagined would even stand a chance.

The second half began with the Bills playing a sold third quarter on both sides of the ball extending the lead to 17-10 heading into the 4th quarter. The Patriots led a scoring drive in the first few minutes of the 4th quarter and scored a field goal to pull the game closer, 17-13. At this point it was obvious the Bills needed a score to stand any chance at holding on for the win as the Patriots became more efficient offensively. The Bills offense responded admirably with a 14 play drive that spanned 62 yards in over 6 minutes, taking an 11 point lead, 24-13. Being a Bills fan, you always expect to blow the game in some way, shape, or form. It's a completely warranted feeling: we lost 4 consecutive Super Bowls, haven't made the playoffs this decade, the Music City miracle, need I say more? But what happened in the last five minutes was incredible, even by Buffalo Bills standards. The Bills allowed the Patriots to score relatively easily to bring the score to 24-19 Bills after a missed two point conversion. Anyone who was surprised by that touchdown was fooling themselves. Luckily the game still seemed to be in hand with a little over two minutes to play. Conventional wisdom would assume that the Patriots would kick an onside kick in order to regain possession but they chose to kick off to Leodis McKelvin. McKelvin received the ball in the endzone and ran out to try and bury the Patriots with good field position but was stood up by the Patriots and fumbled the ball. Patriots ball.

Every Bills fan's worst and all too familiar nightmare was unfolding in front of their eyes. The Patriots then scored very quickly to make the score 25-24 after another missed two point conversion. The Bills had 50 seconds to try and get a field goal to win but came up short after a few sacks that my boy Demetrius Bell was to blame for. However, Bell was only a part of the problem as the Bills lost a heartbreaker.

My thoughts on the game? Too many to write all of them here. Too many negative thoughts to write. But there were a great number of positives to counteract the negativity that normally comes with each Bills loss. I think the positives are the most important part of this game but let me get a few negative points out first:

• C'mon Leodis, you really couldn't have just held onto that ball?
• Posluszny and Kelsay out with injuries on the defense...definitely doesn't bode well for the team.
• The Bills defense was largely effective but I will never understand Perry Fewell's philosophy on covering the pass. Playing 5 yards off of the receiver has never worked and will never work. I understand trying not to let up big plays but I would rather the Bills put a bit more aggression in their defensive scheme to create more turnovers and havoc for the offense.
• The Bills are in trouble at linebacker. Poz is hurt and Ellison got played on both touchdown passes to Ben Watson.
• We need to look for T.O. more than 4 times a game. The honeymoon will soon be over if that doesn't change soon. Plus, we still haven't really seen Edwards throw down field.
• The people who vandalized McKelvin's lawn after the game: Really? How mature is that? I know people get fanatic about the Bills because I do too but it really is just a game despite how important we may think it is. That's a shame for Buffalo that people would do that.
• Dick Jauron is cursed. I don't know who else could have had so many incredible losses on such a large stage, Dallas in 2007, Cleveland in 2008, and now the Patriots. Monday Night Football must love us. We have given them three classic games in the last three years and lost all of them. Ouch.

Positive Thoughts:

• The Bills looked like an actual football team. To those who follow the Bills, they know this cannot be said for the last few years and this game was a breath of fresh air.
• The young offensive line played well for the most part. A huge surprise.
• Alex Van Pelt seemed to handle his new play calling duties very well. The Bills weren't stagnant on offense and most of the calls seemed very appropriate to each situation.
• The defense played a fair game against the prolific Pats offense. However, they did let up 12 receptions each to Randy Moss and Wes Welker.
• Fred Jackson is a very good football player who can get the job done in whichever way you need it. Negative: Marshawn Lynch is coming back eventually...
• The Bills might actually stand a chance at winning some games this year. The quality of the Patriots team may not have been as good as year's past, but they were still a good team and the Bills deserved to beat them. Hopefully, this is a good sign for the rest of the year and the Bills don't live up to some of their last flattering predictions.
• Bill Belichick doesn't respect the Bills. I say this because of the 4th down that they went for on the opening drive and because of the fact that he chose to kickoff to McKelvin as opposed to kicking an onside kick. The Bills consequently stopped the 4th down but fumbled on the kickoff return. What am I getting at? Even though we may have made Belichick look like a genius by fumbling the ball, his oversight of the Bills almost cost him a win. I hope this bodes well for the next game against the Pats so that we can catch him off guard with a win.

Word of the Day: Anachronisitc, adj.

out of place in time or history

Any hopes that the Bills would win the Monday Night game were anachronistic, given their recent history against the Patriots.

Last thought: While the Bills' loss on Monday Night was expected, it was very unfortunate in the way that it had to transpire. Fortunately, its transpiration gives Buffalo fans a glimmer of hope for the year and what else could you ask for.