Seen and Herd | Week 11: Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

It comes as no surprise: The Bills found yet another agonizing way to lose a football game.

We've seemingly seen it all of late.

This week, it wasn't a last-second missed field goal, or an opponent scoring as time expired.

Against the Jaguars, two untimely penalties sealed the Bills' fate in Jacksonville.

A Fred Jackson touchdown scamper in the first half was negated by a holding penalty. The Bills later settled for a field goal.

In the fourth quarter, Ryan Fitzpatrick launched a pass that resembled a Hail Mary attempt and Lee Evans came down with the touchdown, but an illegal hands to the face penalty called that one back, as well.

Neither would have been that "dagger" that we often hear about in sports, but imagine, the Bills could have put almost 30 points on the board had the penalties not taken place.

Bright Spots

In a time when the Bills aren't making any fans happy, let's start with the good news from Sunday's loss in Jacksonville, the little that there is.

Terrell Owens had his best day in a Bills uniform, hauling in nine receptions for 197 yards and a score. His 98-yard TD was a thingy of beauty, but the fact that he was targeted 14 times is what had me most impressed, as the Bills coaching staff realized he could victimize Jacksonville's young secondary.

Ryan Fitzpatrick nearly eclipsed the 300-yard mark, throwing for 297 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

He doesn't have the raw talent to be a great NFL quarterback, or even a consistently decent signal-caller, but he makes the right reads, and is the polar opposite of the check-down happy Trent Edwards. He lets it fly.

On defense, the Bills held the sneaky Maurice Jones-Drew to 66 yards on the ground, and although the Jags attempted numerous screen plays to the fantasy football god, he only mustered four grabs for 18 yards. Not bad, worst rush defense in the NFL.

Without Marcus Stroud in the lineup, I thought the Bills would have trouble stopping Jones-Drew, and certainly didn't envision any pressure being put on David Garrard. Boy, was I wrong.

Kyle Williams' engine resembles that of a monster truck; he was in Garrard's grill all afternoon, and believe it or not, there were a few John McCargo sightings in the Jaguars backfield. Williams has become my favorite player on the Bills defense not named Jairus Byrd.

As far as interim head coach Perry Fewell, I'd give him a "B" for his first day on the job. His defense was more stout than anyone believed, and he kept his team in the game. I knew things would get better, but it'd be nearly impossible to see drastic improvement, because the players haven't changed. The situation he's in is still pretty bad.

He automatically received a good grade from me based on the fact he showed passion and a fiery demeanor on the sidelines. Something I, as a Bills fan, haven't seen in some time.

The Bad

Buffalo again couldn't revitalize their running attack against the Jaguars. The offensive line was the obvious culprit, but 17 total carries between Lynch and Jackson? Not enough.

This game wasn't a blowout either. The Bills didn't need to throw the ball all over the field to come back. They held the lead with a minute to go in the fourth. Even though it hasn't come with much success this season, Buffalo needs to pound the rock.

Even in a game where I would have guessed the Bills held the ball a respectable amount of time, they still lost the time of possession battle by a whopping 14 minutes. They were their usual 3-11 on third downs, while Jacksonville converted on nine of 15 attempts.

That usually leads to a loss in the NFL.

The Ugly

Eric Wood. His injury was gruesome, and it's thought to be very severe. The rookie guard with loads of promise going down with injury was by far the worst part of the game on Sunday.

Marshawn Lynch injured his shoulder, and he's slowly but surely falling out of favor in Buffalo, especially because Fred Jackson has become a more downhill runner (That's something I thought I'd never say).

Seth McKinney was injured as well, and is also thought to be done for the season.

Here's the updated, ever-growing list of Bills players on IR this season: Kawika Mitchell, Leodis McKelvin, Marcus Buggs, Brad Butler, Derek Schouman, Eric Wood, Seth McKinney (not official yet), and Keith Ellison.

Other role players have been lost to injuries this season - the steamroll of injuries hasn't stopped.

News Flash

Today the Bills signed former Steelers Guard Kendall Simmons. He's an eight year veteran and has accumulated more than 80 starts in his career. Simmons is exactly what the young, injury-ridden offensive line needs.

What's Ahead

A recently injury-battered Dolphins team comes into rival Ralph Wilson Stadium this Sunday. We've reached a point as Bills fans where we'd just like to see our Bills beat up on our most hated opponents.

Ronnie Brown is out for the year, along with beefy nose tackle Jason Ferguson. They've won five of seven and are hungry to remain in the wild-card hunt, after an 0-3 start to the season.

It'll be interesting to see how Perry Fewell leads his team during his home debut. Sure, we're angry the season is all but over, but who wouldn't love to see a win over the Miami Dolphins? Squish the fish.

Bills/Dolphins Sunday 1:00 Ralph Wilson Stadium. Seen and Herd to follow.