Two Bills Drive

‘The Buffalo Bills made a real game of it late against the Philadelphia Eagles. Problem was, they had made such a mess out of it early.’

‘Buffalo is more set back than finished here, in need of a running component to take the heat off Bledsoe. The Bills apparently can’t win without Bledsoe at his very best, especially with running back Travis Henry inactive, as he was with a rib problem. They have three winnable games approaching (Bengals, Jets, Redskins) and there’s nothing wrong with their defence that more rest might not cure, although a warning here: Takeo Spikes, accused of being such a great leader when things were going well, pulled a no-comment with the media. Stand-up guys are there for any result.’

‘Buffalo running back Travis Henry missed Sunday’s game with bruised ribs, which contributed to the Bills’ anemic running game. But the Bills stepped in too many other minefields to overcome their lack of a rushing attack. They bumbled their way to 10 penalties and through the first three quarters allowed the Eagles to dominate time of possession. They also converted just six of 15 third-down plays.’

‘Now, the 26-year-old McNabb didn’t treat the Bills on Sunday as he did Clemson in 1996 or East Carolina in 1997 or Miami in 1998. But the one-time Orange posterboy, who has since morphed into the highest-paid athlete in the history of professional football, was good enough. Moreover, he was back to being the Donovan everybody has long known.’

‘For only the second time in their last nine games, the Eagles ran the ball more than they threw it.’

‘”Donovan made some very good plays,” Bills coach Gregg Williams said. “He’s going to make those kind of plays. People have been wondering when he would and he stepped up and made some today.”‘

‘”We were going to match Troy up on Moulds the whole game,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know how Sheldon Brown was going to match up against Moulds. Then Hood had to play a lot. We played a lot of nickel on first and second down…They grew up and learned how to play.”‘

‘They had a third-and-7 at their own 23 and were staring at the very real prospect of handing the ball back over to Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe, with more than enough time on the clock for the Bills to drive down for a game-winning score.’

‘In the Eagles’ 23-13 victory over the Buffalo Bills, Akers kicked field goals of 26, 34 and 22 yards, as automatic as ever on a windy, rainy day in upstate New York, a day when big, dark clouds took turns racing by. He now has 92 field goals for this team since arriving in 1999, the most-ever by an Eagles kicker.’

‘Fraley’s hit wasn’t quite late. He avoided a flag. But Milloy, enraged, went at Fraley, and the yellow hanky fluttered: 15 yards, unnecessary roughness, automatic first down for the Eagles on the Bills’ 35. Eventually, David Akers kicked a 26-yard field goal that gave the Birds a 10-0 first-quarter lead, matching their point total for the first two games.’

‘Key No. 1: Shut down the Bills’ running game. What happened: Held the Bills to just 21 yards on 12 carries.’

‘”Everybody in the stadium knew we were running it,” Fraley said afterward. “They slanted; their front, to our right, slanted inside. We made a good call, picking it up on the line, and Westbrook, once he got through the hole, made a nice cut left. He was in front of me, and he was out – nobody touched him.”‘

‘But they won, and they beat the Bills, who are competent but nothing more. They did, however, beat the Bills in Buffalo, though they played there in September, when the sullen sky deposits rain and not chimney-top-tall snow, rather than December.’

‘After a porous 98-yard passing performance vs. Miami one-week earlier, Drew Bledsoe followed up with a 27-of-43 (296-yard) passing display, but one that was rendered relatively ineffective until late in the fourth quarter.’

‘Have the Eagles really turned the corner or did they simply catch an average team having a bad day?’