Archives for September 16, 2013

‘”Finally, about 20 years after, that is a style that has finally come into vogue,” Levy said on Sunday afternoon during the Bills “Tribute to the Wall of Fame” game against the Carolina Panthers.’

‘A team-record and career-best 4.5 sacks? It’s unlikely that Super Mario read my preview of the game and saw this question, but whatever motivated him, it worked. He played like a man possessed and had his way with whomever was blocking him. He could have had at least two other sacks if he hadn’t been blatantly held (no foul was called) on one play, and Cam Newton hadn’t made a miracle escape on another.’

‘Welcome to Buffalo, EJ Manuel. The rookie threw for 296 yards and engineered the winning drive in the final 1:38 with no timeouts. Stevie Johnson had eight receptions for 111 yards and the winning catch. Protection was solid except when Manuel was stripped of the ball for a fumble that led to a Carolina field goal. Robert Woods’ 2-point conversion catch was critical.’

‘Fans that stuck around for the end of the game may be telling their grandchildren about the game if Manuel ends up being the franchise quarterback Buffalo (1-1) has been searching for since Jim Kelly retired.’

‘The offense was way too conservative for most of the game, but Nathaniel Hackett called a good set of plays on the winning drive. Mike Pettine’s defense held Carolina to field goals three times in the fourth quarter to keep Buffalo in striking distance.’

‘”It’s one game, but it does feel good to start getting back into the groove,” said Spiller, who had only 41 yards in the loss to the Patriots. “Last week I was very frustrated and they just took me out of my game.”‘

‘But the Bills bailed out Manuel after the young quarterback made two critical mistakes deep in his own end late in the game, holding the Panthers to field goals each time.’

‘”I saw power today in rushing that passer,” Marrone said. “I told him, ‘Hey, don’t dance with this guy early, let’s go and close the distance. Make a move and go.’ I thought he did a very good job of that.”‘

‘Defense may or may not win championships, but the Bills defense was a major reason why they won Sunday. And that’s why they get an A- on this week’s report card.’

‘For once, the Bills were the team making winning plays. The defense was stingy, and while mistakes were made, the unit buckled down in the red zone, where it limited the Panthers to 13 points in four trips. Late in the fourth, with Carolina in the middle of an 11-play, clock-killing drive that sent fans to Ralph Wilson Stadium’s exits, Arthur Moats stepped up and stopped big running back Mike Tolbert 1 yard short of a first down that would’ve ended the game.’

‘On the day Mario Williams broke a Bills team record, Manuel worked his way into the hearts of 72,000 euphoric fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘These 0-2 Carolina Panthers are a mess. Just ask Smith, who compared this gut-wrenching defeat to having a drill bore a hole into one of your choppers.’

‘Williams terrorized the Panthers’ offense Sunday en route to not only a career-high sack total but also a Buffalo team record. His career day came 18 games into his career in Buffalo after he spent his first six seasons in Houston.’

Late touchdown gives Bills 24-23 win over Panthers (Charlotte Observer)

Continued red-zone inefficiency costly for Carolina Panthers (Charlotte Observer)

Bills’ Mario Williams feels ‘great’ after big sack day vs. Panthers (Charlotte Observer)

Only thing that could have happened to Carolina Panthers, did (Charlotte Observer)

Panthers safety Charles Godfrey likely done for season (Charlotte Observer)

Panthers at Bills: 5 Plays That Mattered (Charlotte Observer)

Symbolic of a season: Panthers DBs on crutches (Charlotte Observer)

Report card (Charlotte Observer)

Photo gallery (Charlotte Observer)

Bills 24, Panthers 23 (Panthers.com)

Injuries take toll on secondary (Panthers.com)

Settling for field goals proves costly (Panthers.com)

Panthers down but not out (Panthers.com)

Photo gallery (Panthers.com)

Photo gallery (BuffaloBills.com)

Photo gallery (Buffalo News)

Photo gallery (Rochester D&C)

Photo gallery (WGRZ-TV)