Buffalo Bills Winners and Losers: Bills/Vikings Edition

The Buffalo Bills' second preseason game is officially in the books. The Buffalo Bills are now 0-2 after falling to the Vikings 36-14. While the score looks lopsided, the starting offensive and defensive units had plenty of encouraging moments that Bills fans should feel good about. That said, for every good moment the Bills had, there were just as many bad moments against the Vikings. Which players ended the nights as winners and losers? Read on to find out!

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Winner: Kyle Williams

Kyle Williams was by far the best player on the Bills starting defensive line against the Vikings. If you only looked at the stat sheet, Williams' night ended with one tackle, which was a sack of Christian Ponder. That said, Williams was also responsible for the Marcell Dareus sack as he forced Christian Ponder from the pocket into Dareus' clutches.

Kyle Williams has almost become the forgotten man on the Bills defensive line. After ending his 2011 season on the injured reserve with a foot injury, Williams was determined to come back healthy and return to his 2010 form. Right now, Kyle Williams is looking like his old dominant self at the defensive tackle position.

Winner: Donald Jones

Donald Jones is entering his third year in the NFL. The cliche is that the third year is a make it or break it year for many NFL players. This appears to be true for Donald Jones if he wants to prove that he is worthy of being a starting wide receiver in the NFL.

Against the Vikings, Donald Jones made a lasting impression with one play. With the Bills driving, Ryan Fitzpatrick hit Donald Jones in stride running a slant pattern across the middle and Jones did the rest. Jones avoided one tackler and then took the ball 31 yards for the Bills first points of the game. The Bills need someone who can create big plays across from Stevie Johnson and tonight he was successful in doing his part.

Winner: T.J Graham

T.J. Graham has had an outstanding training camp. He's shown the Bills that he can run solid routes, has good hands, and has displayed his outstanding speed. Against the Vikings, Graham showed off all of his attributes as a wide receiver, especially his speed on the field.

On the Bills first play of the second half, T.J. Graham ran straight down the field and pulled in a 64-yard reception in stride. Graham's expectations have quickly changed in the last month. Originally thought of as a project player of sorts, Graham has shown that he is likely to make an immediate impact this season. Look for Chan Gailey to come up with many creative ways to incorporate Graham into the Bills' offense.

Winner: Delano Howell

On August 2nd, Buffalo Bills general manager Buddy Nix told BuffaloBills.com:

"

“We’re still looking for a fourth safety.”

"

The good news for the Bills is that the fourth safety may already be on their roster. Delano Howell, an undrafted free agent from Stanford, had himself an excellent game against the Minnesota Vikings. Howell showed great instincts on the field as he broke up a short pass, played well against the run, and recovered a fumble that was forced by Leodis McKelvin. Playing with many of the Bills starters on defense, Howell did not look out of place.

If Delano Howell continues to play well for the Bills in the next two weeks, there is a very good chance that the former Stanford standout will be a Buffalo Bill this season.

Winner: Vince Young

Tonight was Vince Young's first opportunity as the Bills' backup quarterback and he passed with flying colors. In last week's game against the Washington Redskins, Vince Young showed the Bills how valuable he can be as a running quarterback. Against the Vikings. Toung showed off his passing ability. Young completed eight of fourteen passes for 123 yards. His best play came on the Bills first play of the second half. Young ran a play action pass and throw the ball in stride to speed receiver T.J. Graham. The play resulted in a 64-yard gain. Young continued the drive with a 14-yard pass to Dorin Dickerson before Tashard Choice ran the ball in from one yard out.

Vince Young was possibly the biggest winner tonight. He created a good deal of separation from Tyler Thigpen in the backup quarterback competition and with two preseason games to be played, the job looks like it'll go to Vince Young hands down.

Loser: Kelvin Sheppard

The starting defense was a bit overaggressive against the Vikings and it cost them ten points in the first quarter. Since it is only the preseason, this didn't bother me. Most players did well in their roles, but a few big plays cost the team in general.

One defensive starter did perform poorly against the Vikings though. This player was starting middle linebacker Kelvin Sheppard. Sheppard found himself out of place on a few plays and was torched by Toby Gerhart, who is far from a speedster, on a 19-yard reception. There is no need to overreact as I'm sure the Bills will address where Sheppard should have been and he'll learn from the experience.

One problem the Bills have at middle linebacker is lack of competition. Simply put, Sheppard has no one pushing him for the starting job. Scott McKillop, Sheppard's backup, has actually had a great training camp and played well against the Vikings, but he has no chance of replacing Sheppard as the Bills' middle linebacker to start the year.

Loser: Tyler Thigpen

Tyler Thigpen's night started off well enough. Thigpen made some nice throws and showed athleticism running the ball for 14 yards. His first drive ended with a four-yard pass to Ruvell Martin on 4th-and-5, but if anyone was at fault, it was Ruvell Martin. Unfortunately, these were the highlights for Thigpen's night.

Thigpen's last pass against the Minnesota Vikings ended in a touchdown, but it was for the opposing team. Thigpen threw an interception to Audie Cole who returned the ball 20 yards for a touchdown. In a night where Thigpen needed to play on par with Vince Young, he simply failed. Going forward, the Bills would be best off playing Thigpen in garbage time for the duration of the preseason. As soon as the preseason is over, wish Thigpen well and send him on his way. He just doesn't cut it as a backup quarterback in the NFL anymore.

Loser: Brad Smith

Tyler Thigpen can take solace in knowing that he wasn't the worst Bills quarterback against the Vikings. Following Tyler Thigpen's pick-six, Brad Smith entered the game. Brad Smith, the Bills Wildcat quarterback, is supposed to be more involved this year. Having no off-season hurt Smith in 2011 as the Bills weren't able to create many packages for him.

I didn't expect the Bills to show much in terms of their actual Wildcat plays, but wanted to see what Brad Smith brought to the table. If tonight is any indication, the answer is "not much." Smith's first pass went to Audie Cole of the Vikings. Cole, fresh off of an interception for a touchdown of a Tyler Thigpen pass, read Smith's eyes and cut into the path of Smith's pass. A few seconds later and Audie Cole had his second touchdown of the evening. Smith ended the night completing one of five passes for 12 yards, one rush for 14 yards, and an interception.

I'll give Smith and the Bills the benefit of the doubt. He's making a lot of money as the Bills third quarterback so they must have a game plan of how they plan to utilize him this season.

Losers: Tashard Choice and Johnny White

In the battle of third running back, both Tashard Choice and Johnny White completely underwhelmed Bills fans. If either player had to be declared the winner, it'd be Tashard Choice.

Choice scored a touchdown from one yard out on the first series of the second half. His actual rush stats were far from impressive though. Choice rushed the ball seven times for fifteen yards. Choice did have two receptions for 20 yards, one of which was a nice 18-yard reception.

Johnny White truthfully didn't receive nearly the same amount of opportunities tonight as Tashard Choice. White ended the game against the Vikings with two carries for one yard. Minus Fred Jackson, the Bills running game was stagnant against the Vikings. Next week against the Steelers is going to be a telling game for Tashard Choice and Johnny White. The role of third running back is wide open, but right now Tashard Choice may have a slight lead.

Loser: James Carmon

I'm not going to lie. I had saved this slide for the NFL replacement referees, and while they are certainly worthy of being listed as a loser of the game, I'll go with offensive tackle James Carmon instead.

James Carmon doesn't really have any chance of making the Bills team, but he was so bad he deserves a spot on this column. Carmon had a false start, a holding penalty, and looked like a human turnstile on the field.

Carmon is a maddening player as he's had his moments at training camp and at 6'7" and 320 pounds, Carmon has the size you like in an offensive tackle. I was hoping he'd show enough flashes in the preseason to make the Bills practice squad, but right now he is playing his way out of Buffalo.

There you have it, Bills fans, five winners and losers from the Bills following their preseason loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Who are some additional players that could have been listed as a winner or loser following the game?

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