Archives for October 21, 2013

‘Winning is contagious, and the veterans figuring out how to win in time for it to spread to the rookies could be most important to the franchise’s future.’

‘Most of all, however, the Bills won because their defense came up with timely big plays.’

‘”Oh, my goodness! He’s a legend,” said Stevie Johnson. “He’s a real-life legend. He got injured, came back, leg’s messed up, still running and making first downs and touchdowns. Everybody can see what he’s doing, battling the injuries and everything. He inspires me, seriously.”‘

‘Dolphins return man Marcus Thigpen said he was “shocked” to field the ball: “I thought he was going to squib it or kick it out of the end zone. When I saw I had the opportunity, I was definitely excited about that.”‘

‘Some will knock Miami coach Joe Philbin for throwing with 2:57 left, giving the Bills the opportunity for a turnover. But the Dolphins were protecting a one-point lead. They could not simply run three times into the line and punt in that situation.’

‘The Bills got somewhat lucky with that late takeaway, but their ability to keep the game close allowed them to cash in on their good fortune. Special-teams coach Danny Crossman must shore up deficiencies in kick coverage. For the second straight divisional game, the Bills failed to run out the clock at the end of the first half and gave up a score. The Jets added only a field goal in Week Three, but the Dolphins scored a touchdown Sunday.’

‘Of course, the Bills made it interesting by giving up a 46-yard kickoff return to Marcus Thigpen, but the defense survived, and the Bills improved to 3-4 and made Miami native Thad Lewis’ homecoming a happy one.’

‘Well, here’s the point. Had they run twice in that situation, they probably would have won the game, even if they hadn’t earned a first down.’

‘This was certainly a nice victory for the Bills. They started the game so well, went into a funk throughout the middle two quarters and seemed headed for yet another disappointing road loss, but then gathered themselves at the end and made the key plays that you have to make to win.’

‘The Bills found a way to blow an early 14-point lead, but also stuck with it and found a way to win a game that appeared to be getting away. They snapped an eight-game road losing streak to AFC East foes, and they deserved it.’

‘For the record, coming in, Buffalo was 26th of 32 teams in the league at converting third downs, succeeding one-third of the time. However, against the Dolphins, Lewis helped them succeed on 9-of-19 (47 percent).’

‘Quarterbacks: In Thad Lewis’ second start for Buffalo, the young quarterback didn’t make many big plays, but he kept the Bills in the game. He found T.J. Graham downfield for a 30-yard gain to set up a field goal, but his best throw was a 17-yard gain to Stevie Johnson despite getting his helmet knocked off by Jelani Jenkins, which added on 15 yards. The interception he threw wasn’t his fault, as his arm was hit on the play. Grade: C+’

‘The coaching staff has had better days. That includes some of the team’s defeats this season.’

‘”It’s got extra meaning since it’s a division game,” Carpenter said. “There was nothing special about it, and I have no hard feelings about what happened with the Dolphins. I’m glad to be in Buffalo right now and doing anything I can to help this team win.”‘

‘Carpenter, who remains close friends with Dolphins deep snapper John Denney and punter Brandon Fields, almost gave the game back to the Dolphins when he had a short kickoff that Thigpen field at the 1-yard line and broke into the open field.’