NFL: The Bills Defeat The Lions To Win Their First Game This Season
The Buffalo Bills have done what no one expected them to do.
They won a game.
After no wins and eight losses in the past eight games, the Bills stunned spectators and the opposing Detroit Lions (2-7), by defeating them, 14-12.
However, the Lions have broken a record. It’s not a good one, but a record nonetheless. They have lost their 25th game on the road.
Center guard Eric Wood could hardly believe their victory, exclaiming, "Holy cow, we won a game!” his voice echoing in the Ralph Wilson Stadium tunnel.
He was not the only one. "Relief!" cornerback Leodis McKelvin said. "We won. We're not going to be talking about being an 0-16 team or nothing like that. It feels great to get a win and get that off our chests."
Running back Fred Jackson ran for a season best of 133 yards and both of the team’s two TDs.
The Lions, however, were not as happy as the Bills, having lost every game outside of their Detroit home stadium since October of 2007.
"It was really frustrating, especially coming here and feeling we were the better team," receiver Calvin Johnson said. "We weren't thinking about the streak. That should have ended it. But it didn't."
The rain-stricken field turned muddy and slippery, making it difficult for both teams to run their plays and making their performances shoddy and even absurd.
The Lions almost made a comeback with 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter, with a 20 yard pass from QB Shaun Hill to Johnson. They failed their two-point conversion, which would have tied the game and pushed both teams into overtime.
The most amusing play was late in the second quarter, when Lions QB Hill attempted a pass, which was tipped off by linebacker Arthur Moats. Three Bills players ran for the ball, coming in from three different sides. More like a car crash than a play, all
three players crashed into each other, and dropped the ball.
But Lions fans can’t really laugh about this either, seeing as they didn’t play much better throughout the whole game. They had 11 penalties for 60 yards and were forced to punt eight times. Kicker Dave Rayner attempted a 49 yard field goal in the fourth,
which he missed. They didn’t really have any good offense until late in the fourth, by which time it was too late.
"All this killing ourselves and making mistakes, it's almost juvenile," Lions receiver Nate Burleson said. "The mistakes are killing us, and today I really noticed it."
Neither team scored in the first quarter, with the Bills scoring the first TD of the game with 13:10 left in the second quarter. Jackson carried the ball for 1 yard, followed by Rian Lindell kicking the extra point, giving the Bills and early lead, 7-0.
With no time left in the second, Rayner kicked a 25 yard FG for the Lions for 3, with the score at the end of the first half 7-3, with the Bills still ahead.
In the third, the Bills extended their lead with 11:26 left in the quarter. Jackson caught a pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick for a TD, making Jackson the first player since 2003 to make both a running and receiving TD. Lindell followed for the PAT, which was
good, putting the Bills even further ahead, 14-3.
The Lions scored twice in the fourth quarter, but their offense just wasn’t good enough to win. With 5:53 left in the fourth, Rayner kicked the Lions’ second FG, this time for 45 yards.
With only 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Hill passed to Johnson for a 20 yard TD, for the Lions’ first and only TD of the game. A two-point conversion attempt failed, ending the game with the Bills ahead by 2, 14-12.
Detroit’s next game will be on Sunday November 21, 2010, against the Dallas Cowboys. No one can say who will win the game, seeing as Dallas has had their worst start in 26 years, with a 2-7 record, same as the Lions.
The Bills finally added a W to a very long list of L’s in their Sunday victory, but will they be able to add another? Only time will tell with their next game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday November 21.
Stay tuned!
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