Buffalo Bills Vs. Cleveland Browns: Bills' Defense Stuffs Browns' Offense

The Buffalo Bills won their third game of the season yesterday, beating the Cleveland Browns 13-6 before a sparse crowd of 50,000 that braved freezing weather conditions in Orchard Park, New York.

The Bills improved to 3-10, while the Browns dropped to 5-8. The biggest factor in today's game was the strong showing by the Bills defense that only allowed the Browns to gain 50 yards in the entire second half, while pitching a shutout. Not only that, but the Bills defense created three turnovers that turned out to be big plays in the game.

The win all but assures the Bills will not have the first pick in the upcoming draft, but are still going to be in a position to draft an impact player. The Bills now finish off the year against their AFC East rivals, so they should be tested in each of those contests.

Another 100-Yard Rushing Game for Fred Jackson

Despite a number of injuries that kept out linemen Kraig Urbik and Geoff Hangartner, the Bills still found a way to run the ball for 190 yards on Sunday. The leading rusher was Fred Jackson, who ran 29 times for 112 yards, marking another 100-yard plus performance for Jackson.

Jackson now sits at 775 rushing yards for the year, so he only needs 225 over the final three games for another 1,000 yard season. He is facing some tough run defenses though with the Dolphins and Jets.

In addition to Jackson, Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick scrambled well, running four times for 49 yards, while C.J. Spiller ran effectively as well, picking up 33 yards in eight carries.

The Bills used Mansfield Wrotto, Cordaro Howard, Eric Wood, Andy Levitre and Demetrius Bell to get the job done today. There was even an Ed Wang sighting.

Bills' Leading Receiver? None Other Than Jonathan Stupar

There was a steady downpour throughout the game, and with temperatures hovering around the freezing point, the focus was on running the ball. Therefore, the Bills' leading receiver wound up being tight end Jonathan Stupar, who caught three passes for 45 yards. Stupar benefited from one Browns secondary member that gambled for an interception and missed. Stupar then turned and ran 35 yards on the play.

Steve Johnson came up with some big catches to keep drives alive, and netted 42 yards in his five grabs.

Lee Evans was hurt blocking downfield and did not return. He might now be out for the rest of the year.

The Bills' only touchdown for the game was a catch by rookie David Nelson, who now has caught touchdown passes in two straight games. It was the only catch Nelson made in the game.

Ryan Fitzpatrick Directs Bills Offense for 36 Minutes in Game

One of the keys to the game was that the Bills were able to control the clock for over 36 minutes, compared to just over 23 for the Browns. Ryan Fitzpatrick made some tough throws on third down conversions, used his athleticism to avoid sacks and took advantage of holes in the defense to take off with the ball and pick up some big yards on scrambles.

For the game, Fitzpatrick was 14 for 23 for 131 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. His passer rating was 93.0  Fitzpatrick was sacked twice behind the Bills' makeshift line and did give up one fumble when he was blindsided on a blitz.

Jake Delhomme went 12 for 20, managed only 82 yards passing and threw one interception to Leodis McKelvin, with no touchdowns. He also fumbled once off an Arthur Moats blitz, and finished with a QB passer rating of 49.2. The Bills sacked Delhomme once by Arthur Moats, but kept enough pressure on him.

Bills Defense Stiffens in Second Half

The Cleveland Browns talented running back Peyton Hillis, tried to jump airborne over Jairus Byrd. His plan backfired as Byrd grabbed his leg, and then Paul Posluszny grabbed the other leg. Soon after, Hillis coughed up the ball, and the Bills recovered.

In fact, there was one weird drive the Browns had that started in the third quarter, and continued on into the fourth quarter. The Browns fumbled on three different plays and recovered all three. There were some strange bounces going on. In one fumble pile, only Spencer Johnson and Chris Kelsay were on top of the ball, but it somehow squirted back over to Browns receiver Joshua Cribbs, who gratefully fell on top of his own fumble.

The Browns had an opening drive of 54 yards that resulted in a field goal, and also had a field goal on a second quarter drive that went for 72 yards. That was it for the Browns offense for scoring. For the entire second half, the Bills limited the Browns to 50 total yards. For the day, Cleveland converted on only two of 10 tries on third down.

The Bills ran 67 plays to 46 for the Browns, and the Bills had 19 first downs compared to the Browns' nine. This was one game that the Bills won the physical battle, despite allowing Peyton Hillis to gain 108 yards on 21 carries. For the record, Hillis fumbled three times, but the Browns recovered two of them.

Big Interception by Leodis McKelvin

Jake Delhomme was trying to lead the Browns to a tying touchdown in the fourth quarter, but he threw up a wounded duck pass that Leodis McKelvin intercepted that helped to seal the Bills victory. The pass hung up there for such a long time that McKelvin actually turned around to make sure that the Browns receiver hadn't doubled back for the ball. When he realized that nobody else was around, McKelvin focused on coming up with the pick, and ended the Browns' threat.

From there, the Bills controlled the clock by running the ball and not letting Cleveland have one last chance. McKelvin also delivered a big hit on the play before the interception, and had a good day.

Kyle Williams Shows Off His Stiff-Arm Form

Ryan Fitzpatrick had just been stripped of the ball and the Browns were threatening to add to their early lead. The Browns turned right around and gave it back as Peyton Hillis fumbled and Kyle Williams was there to catch the ball, turn around and run it up field.

During his run, Williams pulled out the Heisman Trophy profile, as he used his forearm to push away a Browns tackler.

This is just one more of the many Kyle Williams highlight reel plays that he has created this season for the Bills, and why he should be going to the Pro Bowl.

Bryan Scott Is Robbed of a Touchdown

When Arthur Moats sacked Jake Delhomme and forced a fumble, the refs wound up blowing the whistle and ruling the play dead as an incomplete pass. Before the whistle, Bryan Scott alertly came up, pounced on the loose ball and was headed for a touchdown return.

Luckily for the Bills, head coach Chan Gailey decided to protest the call. After further review, the play was overturned and the Bills were allowed to take over where Scott recovered the fumble. Had the referee let the play finish, Scott would have scored a touchdown, as there was nobody else in front of him. As it was, the Bills were credited with a sack and forced fumble to Arthur Moats, and a fumble recovery to Bryan Scott.

It also helped to set up some more points for the offense. Big play in the game.

Bills Keep Joshua Cribbs Under Control

The Bills' margin of victory was only a touchdown, so they had to stay focused to make sure that the Browns' electric return man, Joshua Cribbs, would not have any game-changing moments. Cribbs received the ball on a reverse, but Chris Kelsay sniffed out the play and forced Cribbs to fumble. This play was during the drive where the Browns kept trying to hand the ball back to the Bills, but the Bills couldn't seem to figure out how to fall on it.

The Bills did have a couple bounces their way also, for the record. C.J. Spiller returned a kickoff in the first half, only to fumble the ball. It bounced harmlessly over the sidelines before a Browns player could pounce on it. There were some deflected passes that also fell to the ground.

One memorable bounce that went the Bills' way was a Fitzpatrick pass that was deflected by a Browns lineman. He bobbled the ball twice and was about to corral it, until Steve Johnson raced in from the side and plucked the pass for a one-yard gain. That was a big play, preventing another Bills turnover.

Inside the Numbers

The Bills only went 1-for-4 in the red zone, which will bring down their average.

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a touchdown pass, so he is now in second place on the all-time Bills' list with at least one touchdown pass in 14 straight games. The Bills' all-time record belongs to Jim Kelly, who had a TD pass in 18 straight games.

The Bills were led in tackles by Akin Ayodele with 10, followed by Paul Posluszny with nine and Jairus Byrd with eight.

The Bills generated 323 yards of offense on a miserable weather day, playing behind a patchwork offensive line that saw Eric Wood start at center for Geoff Hangartner.

The Bills won the turnover battle three to one, but were hit with six penalties for 44 yards.

What Does This Win Mean at the 2011 Draft?

By defeating the Browns, the Bills now find themselves clustered in with a trio of other three-win teams that include the Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos.

The Carolina Panthers look more and more like they will be awarded the first pick in the draft. The Cincinnati Bengals are the only two-win team left, so they have the second pick right now. I am sure that Terrell Owens is amazed to see that the Bills now have more wins than his Bengals have. That is the breaks T.O.

All of the Bills' wins have come against teams with losing records. The final three games are all against teams in the AFC East, and all have winning records. Playing for pride, and trying to gain one win at least against a quality opponent, the Bills may pull off one more win this season. That would then drop them down even further in the draft pecking order, but would assure them still of a very solid impact type of player.

The defense has come out of its season-long funk, and has generated seven turnovers in the last two games. That is impressive. They still need some help in regards to pass rush and stopping the run. It will be interesting to see how they fare this next week when they travel to Miami to face the Dolphins.

Feel free to leave a comment about the game or about the Bills' draft needs.