Two Bills Drive

‘Drew Bledsoe flunked his exam against his former teacher, Bill Parcells, completing just half of his 34 attempts for a mere 104 yards. Worst, he fumbled on two of the three times he was sacked, his first setting up the only TD Dallas would need. Was 2 of 8 for 1 yard in the fourth quarter when game was there to be won. Where’s Rob Johnson when you need him?’

‘The rest of the game, he was chased, sacked, hurried and generally harassed into a dreadful performance. Against a constant blitz, Bledsoe never could connect with his open receiver to force the Cowboys to back off. Even when he had time, it looked like he was in a hurry.’

‘Going against Newman and Mario Edwards, Moulds left Sunday with five catches for 32 yards, and Bledsoe had 104 yards passing. The Bills passing game looked as bad as the Redskins’ the week before.’

‘To ensure Buffalo would be fooled by the run fake, Parcells put two tight ends and two fullbacks in the game. Carter faked a pitch left and rolled right, where he threw a pass to Campbell, who was open in the back of the end zone.’

‘Buffalo quarterback Drew Bledsoe went to pieces in the face of the blitzes and failed to produce a touchdown in a 10-6 loss to the Cowboys at Texas Stadium.’

‘Carter averaged fewer than 4 yards per pass attempt. The reason that didn’t spell defeat was that Drew Bledsoe averaged fewer than 3.1 yards per pass attempt and fumbled twice on sacks.’

‘Murrell finished with 76 yards on 16 carries, including a game-clinching 17-yarder on third-and-8 from the Dallas 40 with 1:09 left in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys’ 10-6 win against Buffalo. “That’s one of the best feelings in the world,” Murrell said. “They were trying their hardest to keep us from getting that first down. And it wasn’t like it was third-and-1 or third-and-2. It was third-and-8, and we got a first down. It’s just a great feeling.”‘

‘Punter Toby Gowin had five of his eight punts downed inside Buffalo’s 20-yard line.’

‘Bledsoe’s fumble sets up only TD.’

‘Drew Bledsoe never really had a chance. When Dallas wasn’t pressuring him or hitting him with its variety of blitzes, cornerbacks Terence Newman and Mario Edwards were shutting down Eric Moulds, Josh Reed and Bobby Shaw. They combined for 11 catches but only 70 yards. Bledsoe became the fifth consecutive quarterback to pass for fewer than 150 yards against Dallas.’

‘If losing Sunday’s game wasn’t bad enough, the Bills fans in attendance had to relive some ugly memories. Between series in the first half, the giant video screens showed highlights of the Cowboys’ Super Bowl victories against the Bills in the 1990s.’

‘After Sunday’s 10-6 win over Buffalo, the Cowboys are 2-0 against the AFC East. They will finish off play against the division by the end of the month. Now that the easy portion is finished, the Cowboys still have to go to division leader New England on Sunday night and host Miami on Thanksgiving Day.’

‘Tony Labarba and 17 of his closest hardhat buddies made the roadie to Dallas in what has become a once-a-year thing for the upstate New York natives. “We went to Houston last year, Dallas this year. We’ve had a good time here, but the fans are pretty tame. People are extremely nice and helpful, but the fans are low-key.” Memo to Cowboys fans: Don’t take Labarba that seriously. Dude let his buddies paint a Bills replica helmet on his shiny dome.’

‘Of the Bills’ five possessions of the fourth quarter, their best starting field position was the 22-yard line. The four others started on the 17 (twice), the 11 and the 20. The Bills gained one first down and went three-and-out four times against a Cowboys defense that held them to 185 yards. It was the sixth consecutive week the Cowboys held an opponent below 135 yards passing.’