Click here to see all recaps on a single page
| Other Week 4 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI at NYJ | ATL at CAR | BAL at PIT | BUF at STL | CLE at CIN | DEN at KC | GB at TB | HOU at JAX |
| MIN at TEN | PHI at CHI | SD at OAK | SF at NO | WAS at DAL | |||
Week 4 Game Recap: Buffalo Bills 31, St. Louis Rams 14
What you need to know
| Buffalo Bills |
The surprising 3--0 Bills trailed the winless but fired up Rams 14--6 at half time. In the fourth quarter Buffalo used a defensive touchdown, an offensive touchdown, and a two point conversion to help pull out a win that was closer than the final score might suggest.
Trent Edwards was sacked four times in the first half but remained cool throughout the game. He completed 15 of 25 for 197 yards and one touchdown and scrambled five times for eight yards. Marshawn Lynch failed to score for the first time this year but picked up 57 tough yards on 19 carries, while Fred Jackson chipped in with 46 yards on seven carries. He scored in the fourth quarter on a sweet 29 yard run up the middle and is proving to be handcuff worthy for all Lynch owners.
Lee Evans caught two passes for 88 yards and scored his first touchdown of the season. He is having a fine contract year and remains a consistent downfield threat. With Roscoe Parrish sidelined up to a month following hand surgery, rookie James Hardy got the start and was targeted twice in the end zone unsuccessfully. Josh Reed caught four for 47 yards.
Jabari Greer scored a touchdown on a 33 yard interception return in the fourth quarter to give Bills the lead for good.
| St. Louis Rams |
The Rams made six lineup changes, emptied the playbook, and played inspired football in hopes of winning their first game of the year and possibly saving their coach from being fired.
Trent Green started at quarterback and threw for 236 yards but failed to score a touchdown. His timing was a little off, but St. Louis still held the lead at the end of the third quarter. A balanced attack, spiced up with a wide receiver option pass and a few reverses out gained the Bills by over 100 yards. While Green benefited from a much improved running game a badly under thrown pass in the fourth quarter was returned for a Buffalo touchdown which put the Rams down for good.
Steven Jackson has officially shaken off the rust from his 27 day holdout and had his best game of the year. He scored his first touchdown, became the first runner to gain over 100 yards on the Bills' defense, and once again was the Rams leading pass receiver. He ran angry and it seemed gang tackling was the only way to stop him.
First round pick Donnie Avery got his first start and scored his first NFL touchdown, but on a running play, not a pass. His blazing speed showed why the Rams made him the first receiver taken in the 2008 draft. Torry Holt caught four passes for 65 yards which is okay, but his days as an elite receiver suddenly seem long ago.
The defense blitzed Edwards with everyone but the equipment manager and registered four sacks in the fist half. They had the Bills back on their heels through much of the game but ultimately couldn't hold the lead in the fourth quarter.
What you ought to know
| QB Trent Edwards, Pass: 15 - 25 - 197 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 5 - 8 - 0 |
Edwards faced a St. Louis defense that rushed him from every angle and roughed him up. He was sacked four times, took at least five additional shots just as he released the ball, and was forced to scramble five times. But he kept his composure and helped engineer three scoring drives in the second half to lead his team to victory. He completed 15 of 25 for 197 yards, including a 39 yard pinpoint TD pass to Lee Evans in the fourth quarter to put the game away. It's easy to forget how young he is. For now, he is at least good enough to use as a bye week replacement. His quick delivery looks a little awkward but he has great accuracy. The Bills have yet to get into a shoot out this season, but when they do Edwards could put up sick numbers.
| RB Marshawn Lynch, Rush: 19 - 57 - 0, Rec: 4 - 24 - 0 (4 targets) |
Lynch had a down game for him, averaging just three yards a carry for 57 yards and no touchdowns, but he helped Buffalo control the game in the fourth quarter. He runs behind the biggest offensive line in the NFL and is able to stay quick late in games because of Fred Jackson.
| RB Fred Jackson, Rush: 7 - 46 - 1, Rec: 3 - 9 - 0 (3 targets) |
Jackson continues to be a great role player, whether he spells Marshawn Lynch in the backfield, catches passes down field, or fills in for Roscoe Parrish returning punts. He also punched in a two point conversion on a short run up the middle but the play was flagged for illegal procedure. Lindell then kicked the extra point.
| RB Darian Barnes |
The big blocking back was inactive.
| WR Josh Reed, Rec: 4 - 47 - 0 (4 targets) |
Reed is a sure handed possession receiver who picks up key first downs and often goes over the middle. He averaged 11.8 yards per catch.
| WR Lee Evans, Rec: 2 - 88 - 1 (6 targets) |
Evans only caught two passes, one on the Bills' first play of the game for 49 yards and one in the fourth quarter for 39 yards and a touchdown, but the Rams secondary had to account for him on every play. He is clearly the team's top vertical threat and has sneaky speed. Evans is in his contract year and has gotten off to a much better start than he has in past seasons.
| WR James Hardy (4 targets) |
Hardy got the start with Roscoe Parrish sidelined. He was targeted twice in the red zone in the first quarter but was unable to properly use his 6'5" height advantage to box out the defender. He was not targeted after that, although he remains in Buffalo's plans. They drafted him to be a red zone target.
| WR Roscoe Parrish |
Parrish underwent thumb surgery this past week and will be out at least a month. Rookie James Hardy replaced him on offense, while Fred Jackson and number one draft choice Leodis McKelvin covered his punt return duties.
| TE Robert Royal, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
His role in the passing offense is somewhat limited, although he is a TD threat. He is a good blocker and has pretty good hands but the Tight End position has never been a focal point of the Bills offense.
| TE Derek Schouman, Rec: 1 - 21 - 0 (1 targets) |
Schouman wasn't targeted until the fourth quarter, but he often lined up as a blocking back behind Trent Edwards in place of the injured Darian Barnes.
| PK Rian Lindell 3 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points |
One of the more accurate kickers in the NFL, Lindell hit two field goals from 45 yards, one from 35 yards, and converted both extra points.
| BUF Rush Defense |
Steven Jackson had his best game of the season, gaining 110 yards and scoring a touchdown. The Rams gained 167 total yards on the ground when you include wide receiver pitch plays and reverses. MLB Paul Posluszny led the team with 8 tackles. Most of the yardage came in the first half, but when the Bills took the lead St. Louis tried to pass the ball more often.
| BUF Pass Defense |
Jabari Greer intercepted Trent Green on the first play of the fourth quarter and returned it for a touchdown, while Donte Whitner and Spencer Johnson recorded sacks. Green passed for 236 yards but was held out of the end zone.
| QB Trent Green, Pass: 17 - 32 - 236 - 0 TD / 1 INT |
The Rams turned to Green because they needed a spark, and they scored a TD in the first quarter for the first time this year. They also out gained Buffalo by 100 yards, held the lead into the fourth quarter, but didn't have enough to earn the victory. He was a little rusty, his timing wasn't always perfect, but he gave the Rams a real chance to win this game against a team that was heavily favored.
Green had productive seasons in Kansas City from 2001 through 2005 when Saunders was the offensive coordinator.
| RB Steven Jackson, Rush: 24 - 110 - 1, Rec: 5 - 78 - 0 (5 targets) |
After having missed most of the preseason in a contract dispute Jackson finally has his timing back. Earlier in the week he was openly critical of the decision to bench Marc Bulger and took out his frustration on the Buffalo defense. He ran angry and broke too many tackles to count. He also scored his first TD of the season on a 29 yard effort, became the first back to rush for over 100 yards against the Bills, and led the Rams in receiving yet again. His ability to pick up chunks of yards in the first half enabled the passing game to become more of a factor.
| RB Brian Leonard, Rush: 2 - 7 - 0 (1 targets) |
Leonard made his first start of the year but saw little action. He gained seven yards on two carries and was targeted in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach.
| RB Dan Kreider (1 targets) |
Kreider was targeted in the third quarter but he couldn't make the catch.
| RB Antonio Pittman |
He was injured on the opening kickoff against Seattle and was not active for this game.
| WR Torry Holt, Rec: 4 - 65 - 0 (8 targets) |
There was a little more room for Holt in this game and he responded with four balls four 65 yards. Green waited on him to break into space on at least two occasions and knew where the pass had to be thrown. While these numbers are far from his glory days, Holt may yet be productive enough keep off your bench. Maybe Green can help Holt rediscover the magic.
| WR Donnie Avery, Rush: 1 - 37 - 1, Rec: 3 - 22 - 0 (6 targets) |
Avery made his first NFL start a memorable one. He was targeted on the Rams first play, a 50 yard bomb that Green under threw slightly and was knocked down by a defender. Later in the first quarter Avery lined up in the backfield with Jackson, faked right, and then took a pitch 37 yards around left end for the touchdown. That play really fired up the fans and the whole team.
| WR Dante Hall, Pass: 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 13 - 0 |
Hall had a busy day, with six kickoff returns for 144 yards, one punt return for eight yards, two running plays for 13 yards, and one pass attempt for Randy McMichael that fell incomplete. He picked up a key first down on a fourth down run when the game was still winnable.
| WR Dane Looker, Rec: 2 - 37 - 0 (2 targets) |
Donnie Avery has replaced Looker in the starting lineup and he didn't get into the game until the fourth quarter. After his second reception he was knocked woozy and fumbled the ball. He was down for a few minutes before being helped to the sidelines.
| WR Eddie Kennison (1 targets) |
With the game out of reach in the fourth quarter Kennison was targeted once in the end zone.
| WR Drew Bennett |
Inactive for this game.
| WR Keenan Burton |
Inactive for this game.
| TE Randy McMichael, Rec: 2 - 26 - 0 (6 targets) |
On a passing attempt from Dante Hall, McMichael hurt his ankle. It was taped on the sidelines, but he reinjured it in the fourth quarter, had to be helped off the field, and was unable to put any weight on it.
| TE Joe Klopfenstein, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
He managed to catch half of all the passes thrown to him.
| TE Anthony Becht |
He started opposite McMichael but did not show up in the stats.
| PK Josh Brown 0 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points |
The former Husker missed a 51 yard FG attempt but made both extra points.
| STL Rush Defense |
Marshawn Lynch only averaged three yards per carry and did not score a touchdown for the first time this year, but Fred Jackson averaged 6.6 yards a carry and scored one TD. The Rams did a good job against the biggest offensive line in the NFL, and was by far their best effort of the season.
| STL Pass Defense |
The Rams had only registered three sacks through three games, but Leonard Little sacked Trent Edwards twice while Chris Long and Ricky Manning pitched in with one each. Edwards was also pressured into throwing a rare interception that was picked by O.J. Atogwe. Newly signed Jason Craft was beaten by Lee Evans for the touchdown.
