Two Bills Drive

”’A true heavyweight fight on both sides,” coach Dave Wannstedt called this nose-to-nose savagery. Say this: The Bills never quit trying or trash-talking.’

‘A true heavyweight fight, yes. But a TKO, the loser with eyes swollen, beaten shut.’

‘Buffalo hasnt been slowed this way all season, and Miami reduced Drew Bledsoe and his band of merry men to a pile of dust and rubble. The Bills couldnt run, couldnt get open, couldnt breathe, and that suffocation started with the carnivores up front. Travis Henry was a Pro Bowler last year. Miami’s D-line made him look like a pro bowler.’

‘Play: FS Marion intercepts a pass by Bills QB Drew Bledsoe in the end zone on third-and-goal from the Miami 8-yard line. The play stopped the second of two strong scoring threats by Buffalo in the first half as the Dolphins defense didn’t allow the Bills to score an offensive point. What happened: This was a terrific bit of defense and a very poor bit of work by Bledsoe. The Dolphins were excellent in bracketing WR Josh Reed on the right side and forcing Bledsoe to stare down Moulds. Bledsoe made life worse for himself by staring at Moulds and holding the ball. Marion deftly moved in from underneath to snare the ball before Moulds had a chance.’

”’Miami did a great job of changing things up,” Bledsoe said. “They threw things at us we have never seen them do. But we have to respond to the situation.”’

‘Although Royals averaged a relatively decent 42 yards on three punts in the first half, the attempts were not exactly impressive.’

‘Buffalo quarterback Drew Bledsoe was intercepted twice and sacked four times while throwing for only 98 yards in a 10-for-25 outing.’

‘The Bills eventually wore down from trying to stop Williams. He had 45 yards at halftime on 18 carries and two receptions, touching the ball on 59 percent of the Dolphins’ plays.’

‘By working Williams overtime, the Dolphins were able to maintain possession for 40:50, leaving Bledsoe only 19:10 to work. The Bills came in averaging 32:30 and 346.5 yards in their first three games and had scored 69 points.’

‘It wasn’t all Surtain. It was Jason Taylor jawing at Moulds as he broke the huddle. It was Marion standing over him on the Bills’ first series of the third quarter, when he couldn’t pull in a pass slightly in front of him. It was any other Dolphin you could think of trying to get a word in. It was a team that acted like one, guys taking up for their teammate.’

‘Buffalo quarterback Drew Bledsoe came off like Nancy Drew, completing 10 of 25 passes for 98 yards and a handle-with-tweezers 18.4 rating (he entered the game with a 112.5 rating). Even that overstates his night. Before its final drive, the Bills had more penalty yardage (84) than total offense (67).’

‘Rogers is familiar with Buffalo special teams coach Danny Smith and much of his personnel. Smith and the Bills also are familiar with Rogers, who had a down year in 2002.’

‘”This isn’t shocking, this is pleasing,” said defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, who had two sacks. “Drew is a future Hall of Fame quarterback. But man, we’ve got players all over the locker room, too.”‘

‘”He’s the best back in the league,” Buffalo coach Gregg Williams said. “He was the best back in the league last year, and he’s the best back in the league now.”‘

‘Look at the Buffalo Bills, hottest team in the AFC East. Last week they scored 38 points at Jacksonville, this week at Pro Player Stadium the only touchdown they get is provided by the defense and Miami gives them a 17-7 plunking.’