Two Bills Drive

‘Four starters were missing, so Buffalo’s defensive problems in Sunday’s 33-6 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Ralph Wilson Stadium was no surprise. The Bills’ offense had no excuse, however.’

‘How did the Dolphins exploit the Bills so badly? Let us count the ways…’.

‘"It was tough to watch," said linebacker Sam Cowart, who was one of the walking wounded. "To see our defense struggle out there and knowing you could do something about it but can’t . . . It was a helpless feeling."’

‘But the Dolphins’ dominance didn’t belong solely to the offense. Their defense trampled Bills quarterback Rob Johnson, sacking him five times before he was benched in favor of Doug Flutie late in the third quarter.’

‘There is still a mathematical chance they could make the playoffs, but you might as well turn the Bills over now. They’re done. Barbecued. Home for the New Year. They had hopes of running the table before the Miami debacle. Now it wouldn’t be a surprise if they ran it in reverse by dropping their last four.’

‘Coach Wade Phillips has resisted the idea of using Black or Price all season, but injuries left him no choice. Price took over punt return duties to relieve Watson, who is now starting at cornerback and is on all the other special teams.’

‘Ralph Wilson Stadium sold out for the seventh time in as many games as 73,002 showed they were more agreeable to handling the blustery weather than the Bills’ performance. About 3,002 were there at the end.’

‘The offense was outclassed by a staunch Miami defense that limited the Bills to 14 first downs, 196 total yards, 36 net passing yards, 8 completions and 3 third-down conversions, numbers that tied or set season lows.’

‘Another thing you can put to rest are the Bills. They’ll be home for the holidays. Unless wild-card contenders collapse all around them, there will be no postseason for these Bills.’

‘After the Miami Dolphins came into the Bills’ house yesterday, stealing their wives, their beer and the remote control in a 33-6 victory, there were no land mines though. Only blank stares and hollow statements.’

‘…Rob Johnson threw an ill-advised pass to the right front corner of the end zone to Jeremy McDaniel, which Patrick Surtain intercepted to kill the threat. From that moment on, the Bills were never in the game.’

‘And the vaunted Buffalo Bills defence? The 73,002 at Ralph Wilson Stadium are still waiting for it to charge out of the tunnel.’

‘"It was just like a snowball that kept getting bigger and bigger," Johnson said. "It just seemed that no one was picking up the slack."’

‘Defensive tackles Daryl Gardener and Tim Bowens playfully tossed a little stuffed Buffalo about the locker room, which is about the same thing the Miami defense did to the Buffalo offense.’

‘They came in here, where winter has forever flattened them, and flat buried the Bills.’