Bill 13, Dolphins 10

I didn’t see all of this game; in fact, I pretty much missed the entire first quarter and the first few minutes of the second. Turns out I didn’t miss much, as the Bills waited until the fourth quarter to pretty much do anything at all in beating the worst team in the NFL. Seriously, Miami is a total mess of a franchise.

:: After that disastrous 0-3 start to the season, the Bills are actually above .500, and at 5-4, they’ve matched my predicted win total for them this season. (Remember, I’d picked them to go 5-11.)

:: Ryan Lindell made a game winning field goal at the end, with the score tied at the time. Everyone who insists that despite his accuracy he’s still not a “clutch kicker” is now lacking a bit of ammunition for their argument (such as it was).

:: Clutch defense. They gave up a 100-yard rusher today, but still made some big plays when it counted.

:: JP Losman. Look, I’m rooting for the guy, but he couldn’t do much of anything at all against the league’s worst defense? This was the kind of game we’d hoped for out of him last season, but this isn’t last season. Losman is now a veteran, and he should be able to go into the house of the worst D in the NFL and do better than 12 of 23 for 157 yards, no TDs, and a pick. Yeesh. Losman’s been in the league for as long as Ben Roeythlissburgerr (pretty sure I spelled that wrong), but Losman’s still “developing” while Big Ben’s won a Super Bowl, been to two AFC championship games, and currently has his team at 7-2? Oy.

I accept that Losman’s time here is nearing its end, and that we’re awaiting the official beginning of the Trent Edwards era. At least Losman could go out swinging, and enhance his trade value. Games like today aren’t going to help much.

:: The offensive line. We were told in the preseason, “Wait for the rebuilt line to gel, and then you’ll see good things.” Instead, we’re still seeing Marshawn Lynch run 19 times for only 61 yards. God, I hope Marv Levy uses next year’s draft to bring in some young O-line talent.

:: One first down in the first half? A third quarter score of 3-2? Huh?

There wasn’t a whole lot to love about this game. It was a game. Dull. Boring to watch. A game to have on when you’re in a cafe with free WiFi, so you can blog while halfway paying attention.

Next week? Smuggy McBrady and the rest of his nest of coiled vipers come to town. I can’t wait. (Well, yes I can, because let’s be realistic: this game is highly unlikely to go well for the Bills. I do hope that if the Forces of Evil start running up the score, throwing long passes and going for fourth-down conversions while up more than three TDs in the second half, the Bills have more moxie than the Redskins did and actually take some shots at Smuggy McBrady.)

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