The end of the first NFL week is generally followed by a wave of overreactions regarding most teams but, with the Buffalo Bills, the concerns seem valid.
Buffalo lost 48-28 to the New York Jets and 14 of those Bills points came in the fourth quarter, when the game was already out of reach.
To make matters worse, the Bills lost starting running back Fred Jackson for at least two weeks to a knee injury and second wide receiver Donald Jones, who tore his anterior crucial ligament, for the year.
“It hurts. It is no fun. It is awful, all of the above,” said coach Chan Gailey, at the post-game press conference. “We made too many mistakes to win a game like that.
“You can’t make mistakes and win games like that. I told them to not feel sorry for themselves and not to mope around. I am not going to tolerate that.”
Now the Bills have to regroup after an embarrassing defeat without two of their most important offensive players and with questions surrounding this supposedly improved team.
“I don’t think the sky is falling,” Gailey said. “Everybody is going to say that.
“You (the media) are going to say that, the fans are going to say that, I understand that. That is your job to say something like that, but I don’t believe it in a million years.”
During the off season the Bills made Mario Williams the highest paid defensive player in the history of the NFL, assuming that he would automatically improve their pass rush.
Unfortunately, Williams and the Bills were unable to pressure Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez who in turn had one of the best games of his career.
“It would be too soon for that to be an issue. Let it go. It was awful today, I understand that, but don’t kick dirt on (it),” said Gailey about the Bills pass rush.
Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick made it tough on his team by throwing three interceptions in the game, including one right to defender Antonio Cromartie who waltzed into the end zone for a defensive score.
The Bills will need their quarterback, who signed a hefty contract extension last season, to play much better if they hope to be a playoff team this year.
[He was] really bad early on. Some of those I put him in bad situations with some play calls. After we got past a couple of those bad situations, he did some decent things,” said Gailey. “Overall it was not a good day. It was a bad day for him.”Now the Bills must prepare for a tough contest against the Kansas City Chiefs, who will not have forgotten last season’s game against the Bills on opening day when Buffalo marched into Arrowhead Stadium and ruined the Chiefs party.