Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills
BUFFALO BILLS (3-4) vs. CINCINNATI BENGALS (2-5)
November 4, 2007
Press Box Pregame Notes - While the past three Bills home games have been warm and almost summer-like, today feels like football. My eyes were watering from the cool fall air on my walk in from the parking lot. But it’s nice and warm from my seat on the 42-yard-line here in the Press Box ….. The quarterback position in Buffalo seems to be a question mark each week, but it’s never because of one QB’s poor performance. After a knee injury sidelined J.P. Losman in the third game of the season against New England, rookie QB Trent Edwards took over, starting four consecutive games since against the Jets (twice), Cowboys and Ravens. With Trent suffering an arm injury last week in New York that will prevent him from starting today against Cincinnati, it’s J.P.’s turn once again. I just received my list of lineup changes for today’s game and Trent is actually listed as inactive. Gibran Hamdan will be the backup should J.P. get injured ….. On paper, this doesn’t look like much of a defensive show. The Bills are 30th and the Bengals 31st in yards allowed. The difference is when you look at points. Big difference. The Bills improve to 13th while the Bengals are 30th ….. The Bills are hosting their annual Canada Day today. Since 1994, for one game per season, the Bills host Canada Day in honor of the team’s dedicated fan base from the north. Approximately 23% of this afternoon’s crowd will come from Canada. Canadian indy jazz artist Kinga will perform the Canadian anthem prior to the game ….. Game time temp was just announced as 47 degrees ….. Although traffic into the stadium was unusually light today (I’m typically stuck in traffic anywhere from 15-30 minutes), today’s game was announced as a sellout last week. We’re just about ready for kickoff and the crowd is still arriving.
1st Quarter - Buffalo won the toss and will receive ….. J.P. Losman’s first pass drew groans from the press box (a knucleball that missed Josh Reed), but his next two were beautiful throws to Lee Evans, gaining yardage to the Bengals 18. Four plays later (including a 10-yard run by Marshawn Lynch), a potential TD pass to Lee is under review ….. After review, it’s overturned as an 8-yard TD pass. Scoring drive was 7 plays 75 yards, Bills lead 7-0. Rian Lindell’s extra point was his 235th consecutive, setting an NFL record. Rian has never missed an extra point in his career ….. The Bengals first play from scrimmage was a 24-yard pass from Carson Palmer to Chad Johnson …. Two plays later Kenny Watson catches a screen pass and runs 43 yards … One play later, T.J. Houshmanzadeh has a 15-yard TD catch and we’re tied at 7-7 in a hurry. There’s still 8:35 left in the first quarter and both defenses are living up to their rankings, at least in terms of yardage allowed. I’ll get back to you on the point total ….. Bills go three-and-out. J.P. heaved an ill-advised throw on third down that fortunately fell harmlessly incomplete, but it makes you wonder what he’s thinking ….. The Bengals next possession stalled and they punted on third and inches. Roscoe Parrish ran out of his shoe on a 10-yard return ….. A (gutsy) 27-yard completion to TE Robert Royal on third and one ….. One play later, J.P. is intercepted by Leon Hall at the 3-yard-line. J.P. has made some great throws and some awful throws this afternoon. He needs to make better decisions with the football. Lee Evans had Hall beat but the pass was severely underthrown. The Bengals take over deep in their own territory ….. The Bills aren’t getting any rush on Carson Palmer ….. First quarter ends tied at 7-7.
2nd Quarter - Chad Johnson fumbled on a two-yard completion, but out of bounds ….. The Bengals are converting third downs through the air. The Bills have been good at stopping the run. The Bengals only have eight yards rushing so far ….. Larry Triplett very nearly intercepted a tipped pass on third down. Offsetting penalties on 4th down forced a second punt which Roscoe Parrish made a nice running catch on to the Bills 25-yard-line ….. What looked like an offensive showdown early has really settled down ….. A couple of nice runs by Marshawn, but Josh Reed was called for holding on one, erasing a positive play ….. J.P. is getting lots of time to throw (kudos to the O-line) and he completed a 30-yard pass to Lee Evans on third-and-ten to the Bengals 26 …. A nice athletic play by J.P. on a broken play for three yards on what could have been a loss ….. It was first and goal from inside the one, but a great tackle by Bryan Robinson forced a four-yard loss. A short completion and unsuccessful run later and the Bills are forced to go for a field goal after a strong goal line stand by the Bengals. After the two-minute warning, Rian Lindell puts the Bills ahead 10-7. It was a great 70-yard drive that took close to nine minutes off the clock, but unfortunately, those could be four costly missed points later in the game ….. Glenn Holt returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards (second longest in Bengals history) for a Cincinnati TD. Bengals lead 14-10 ….. Bills two-minute drill. J.P. to Josh Reed for 16 yards, false start, J.P. to Anthony Thomas for 11 yards, incompletion to an open Lee Evans, J.P. to Lee Evans for 23 yards (great leaping catch in traffic), timeout Bills, J.P. to Derek Schouman for no gain, J.P. to Josh Reed for 14 yards, spike the ball to stop the clock, J.P. to Josh Reed for five yards, Rian Lindell field goal brings the Bills to within 1, 14-13. It was a nine-play, 63 yard drive that only took 1:41.
Halftime - Food service is serving Thanksgiving dinner a little early. What a great spread … turkey and gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn, salad, pie … I really need about an hour at halftime.
3rd Quarter - Bengals KR Glenn Holt almost broke another run after a great kickoff landed inside the five ….. Pass breakup by Terrence McGee on third and ten forced a punt ….. Jim Leonhard is returning this punt instead of Roscoe Parrish. Not sure why. After a 13-yard return, an unnecessary roughness penalty added 15 yards for the Bills. They start at their own 43 ….. Methodical drive happening, but the team has hit the red zone. Let’s see what they can produce ….. Once again, a drive stalls, but Rian Lindell kicks his third field goal and the Bills retake the lead 16-14 ….. It was just reported that Roscoe Parrish has been taken to the locker room with a thigh contusion …. Rian Lindell bloops a kickoff to the Bengals 30, forcing a fair catch. The way Glenn Holt has been returning kicks, this is not a bad idea ….. Carson Palmer is making some nice throws to his marquee receivers (to Chad Johnson for 23 yards and 17 more to T.J. Houshmanzadeh) and the Bengals have driven to the Bills one ….. Easy TD toss to yet another Johnson, Jeremi Johnson, and the Bengals are back ahead 21-16 ….. A swift 38-yard kickoff return by Terrence ….. Back-to-back scrambles by J.P. for six and 13 yards ….. J.P. put some zip on a slant to Lee Evans for 16 yards. Good throw and catch ….. End of the third quarter. Bengals lead 21-16.
4th Quarter - The Bills are back in the red zone and simply cannot get the ball into the end zone. Again, the field goal attempt and Rian Lindell kicks his fourth as the Bills draw to within two ….. This is turning into the Rian Lindell show. His kickoff lands in the end zone, no return ….. A George Wilson pass breakup is nearly intercepted by Keith Ellison. That thing hung in the air forever ….. Chad Johnson drops what would have been a first-down reception and probably a lot more had he caught it. The Bengals have to punt ….. Bills go three-and-out ….. Brian Moorman pins the Bengals at their own eight ….. Bengals also three-and-out ….. Three penalties by the Bengals on one punt play. The holding penalty is accepted so add 10 yards to the end of Jim Leonhard’s run. The Bills take over at Cincinnati’s 32. This is a tremendous opportunity for Buffalo to take the lead ….. Seven and five yards by Marshawn for a first down ….. Three more runs by Marshawn and another Bills first down ….. Marshawn Lynch runs for two yards. Are we seeing a trend here? ….. Marshawn gets the ball on a pitch but passes to Robert Royal for eight yards and a TD. Six runs and one pass by Marshawn Lynch gives the Bills the lead 26-21 ….. The Bengals got as far as their own 41 on four plays but had to punt. Bills take over from their own 28 with the lead and 4:12 on the clock ….. Marshawn finally broke one. It was just a matter of time. He got to show his power and speed on one play. What looked to be a loss turned into a 56-yard TD run and it looks like the Bills have put this game away, leading 33-21 ….. Just after the two-minute warning, Chad Johnson was hurt and taken off the field on a stretcher after taking a big hit from Donte Whitner ….. Kiwaukee Thomas intercepts Carson Palmer and this game is over. Bills win 33-21.
Final Thoughts - The Bills defense came up big today. Against some very talented playmakers and an offense that can score a lot of points, Buffalo only allowed 28 yards rushing and only 299 total yards. What matters the most is the point total and the defense only allowed 14 of those 21 Bengals points. It was a very solid defensive effort ….. Not to be outdone, the offense put up 479 yards. Marshawn Lynch had the breakout game we knew was coming. He’d been threatening to bust a big one all year and with his 56-yard game clincher, he did just that. He also threw the first TD pass of his young career. Marshawn finished the day with an impressive 29 carries for 159 yards. And aside from a couple ill-advised throws, J.P. played well — 24 of 34 for 295 yards. And Lee Evans piled up nine catches for a buck sixty-five. If those numbers continue, the Bills will have a “Big 3″ leading the way ….. The Bills played a clean game — only 3 penalties for 25 yards — and had the ball for about 11 minutes longer than the Bengals.
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