Buffalo Charging

So the Buffalo Bills are now 14 games into the 2006 season and possess a 7-7 record. For a team that most people thought would be in rebuilding mode this season, 7-7 is respectable. But let's do a quick run through of their schedule so far and see what could have been.

Week 1: Lost to the New England Patriots 19-17. Man, they should've had this game. The Bills controlled this one but couldn't hold on. Now, I'm not going to say that the refs were biased toward the Patriots in this one but I'm going to say the refs were biased toward the Patriots in this one.

Week 3: Lost to the New York Jets 28-20. The Bills did play catchup most of this game but nonetheless a close one. Losman threw for 328 yards - wasted.

Week 6: Lost to the Detroit Lions 20-17. The Lions? C'mon, the Lions? Up until about a week ago, I had actually completely forgotten about this game - probably my mind doing me a favor. Only lost by a field goal.

Week 10: Lost to the Indianapolis Colts 17-16. The Bills were one missed field goal from upsetting the then undefeated Colts. Oh, Rian Lindell, why this one? Of all the times to miss, why this one? Good grief. Anyways, the Bills did all the work in Week 9 and all the Cowboys did the following week was take the lid off.

Week 13: Lost to the San Diego Chargers. Once again, another close game to an elite team. Just a field goal separated the Bills from the Super Chargers.

These five games, had they been wins, would put the Bills at a fearsome 12-2 and would have them atop the AFC, not the Chargers. That's how close this team has been this season to being great. Heck, wins against the Colts and Chargers would have the Bills on a seven game winning streak and undefeated since their bye week.

It kills me to wonder what could've been had a couple more points gone Buffalo's way. I have to say though, JP Losman has quickly won Bills fans over with his play of late. After falling to the Colts, the third year QB has posted the following stats:

Vs. Texans: 26/38 for 340 yards and 3 TDs (one being a thrilling last second gamewinner)
Vs. Jaguars: 21/28 for 169 yards
Vs. Chargers: 21/37 for 184 yards and 2 TDs
Vs. Jets: 10/15 for 157 yards and 2 TDs
Vs. Dolphins: 13/19 for 200 yards and 3 TDs

This isn't the same Losman that Bills fans have been emotionally battered with over the past year and a half. This isn't the same Losman that I almost killed myself when the Bills didn't draft Matt Leinart over. This is a Losman who has learned how to win and how to strike with a touchdown when needed.

Over the first seven games of the season, the Bills went 2-5. During this period, Losman threw six TDs. Over the second half of the season so far, Losman has eleven TDs. I chalk this up to a combination of an offensive line that was shuffled around during the bye with the fact that the kid really has learned. That was Mike Mularkey's problem last year - he didn't let Losman learn. If you're going to break in a new quarterback, you have to play him. That quarterback shuffle that Mularkey conducted last year was counterproductive. Oh well, this is the same Mularkey whose as Miami's offensive coordinator has only been able to muster six points in two games against Buffalo in 2006. Dick Jauron really has done a good job as of late making Bills fans forget the Gregg Williams-Mike Mularkey era.

Back to how this kills me. Losman has just about doubled his TDs output over the second seven games. Just imagine if the Bills had that extra TD a game over the first seven games. Beat the Patriots 24-19? Check. One point loss to the Jets? Maybe they could've gone for the two-point conversation and sent the game to overtime. Beat the Lions 24-20? Done. The loss to the Bears and the second loss to the Patriots are beyond fixing. That's pretty impressive though. Out of the 14 games the Bills have played so far, only two were out of reach.

The Bills need to pick up wins against the Titans and the Ravens to have any chance of qualifying for a wild card spot. The Titans are red hot right now with Vince Young leading a resurgence of the franchise. The Ravens will probably have a first young bye wrapped up by the final week and should rest its players including the aching Steve McNair. Of course, this game shouldn't be taken for granted. The 2004 Bills, needing a final win to make the playoffs got stomped by a third string Steelers.

One final note: the Bills game was blacked out again in Western New York. Third home game in a row for the Bills. I'll have more on that later on.