The Buffalo Bills are 2-0. Two wins, zero losses. Two wins against playoff teams from 2007. One was a blowout, one was a come-from-behind win on the road. Both were very solid wins.
Aren't you a little bit surprised?
I am forever a fan of my team and just generally an optimist in life. So, I always think my team can win. Indeed, I did pick them to win today (by a score of 21-17, no less) but as game time approached, my confidence was wavering.
It was going to be very hot...That was not in the Bills' favor. Jacksonville was going to be ready–injuries or no injuries—to defend their home turf and avoid starting the season 0-2. The crowd and home-field energy would be with them.
Jason Peters would be starting...Would that throw off any rhythm the offense had from the preseason? And, did I mention it was extremely, ridiculously hot?
More Obstacles
The Bills got the ball first, and really controlled the game on their opening drive. They passed and ran at will. Marshawn Lynch scored on an 11-yard TD run to cap the drive that covered 82 yards. When the defense also managed to dictate the play on Jacksonville's first possession, it almost seemed it would be a rout.
But Jacksonville is good. And they proved it. They stayed with the Bills. They moved the ball very efficiently, getting Garrard outside the pocket (weakened by injuries to the offensive line). They played in an up-tempo, "hurry up" offense that did not allow the Bills much in the way of substitutions.
They connected on many quick-hitting, 10-to-12-yard passes that kept drives alive. It was a great gameplan.
The momentum really started to shift in their favor on their final possession of the first half. They put together a good drive (six plays, 46 yards) that ended with an interception by Terrence McGee near the goal line, but the damage had already been done. That drive wore out our defense. No time to substitute, covering lots of ground quickly...You could see the heat starting to get to them.
Then, thanks to the "defer" choice from the beginning of the game, the Jags got the ball to start the third. So, the defense was out on the field again, and for much of the same: quick-hitting passes and a bit of success on the ground for Jacksonville. Not only were they moving the ball and threatening to score, they were also really wearing down our defense.
The "hurry up" pace in the super heat was really starting to show. The tackling was sloppy, and the Bills were now the ones having the pace and play dictated to them.
Brilliant Move of the Day
The long first drive of the second half by Jacksonville was punctuated by a Maurice Jones-Drew TD run to tie the game at 10. It was a great drive, and already I was saying, "Our offense might be a tad rusty. They've been sitting for a very long time now, going back to the first half."
Well, perhaps Jack Del Rio heard me. In a bold (and brilliant) move, the Jaguars surprised the Bills with an on-side kick following the previous extra point...And they got it! What a great call! The tired Bills defense now had to take the field again, and the Jags took it to them.
They ran right at them, daring the Bills to stop them. And, mostly, they could not. Taylor, then Jones-Drew, then Taylor. The Bills were being dominated by the team that had definitely seized the momentum.
The defense stiffened, and held Jacksonville to a 50-yard field goal attempt. Kicker Josh Scobee blasted the ball through the uprights, hitting relatively high on the net behind the posts. Easily could have made the kick from another 10 yards away.
On the following drive by the Bills, despite a few good plays, Jason Peters on his first game back made a very big mistake and got beaten very badly by a rookie defensive end, who came around Edwards' blind side and knocked the ball out of his hands. Fumble. Turnover. Jags ball.
The momentum—thanks to good play and good coaching—had definitely completely swung in Jacksonville's favor.
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