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It’s always an adventure with the Buffalo Bills, but they did hang on to win their first game of the season on Sunday, beating the Detroit Lions, 14-12, in a game that was much more entertaining than the low final score would indicate. The win was a long time coming and has to be a huge relief in the locker room, even if it was against a team playing a backup quarterback that has now lost an NFL record 25 consecutive games on the road. Coach Chan Gailey, after the game, made it a point to mention how enthusiastic the crowd was, how they helped the team hold on and get the win, and how they continue to support the team despite the mounting losses this year. I believe that the fans have mostly stuck with the Bills this year because they have played entertaining football even in their losses, and the fans will support the team as long as they see that they are getting an honest effort.

On Sunday, the Bills’ offense played a pretty good game but had trouble finishing drives. The running game had its’ best outing of the year, as Fred Jackson rushed for 135 yards, had 170 total yards, and scored both Buffalo touchdowns. Ryan Fitzpatrick managed the game well, for the most part extending drives long enough to keep his team in favorable field position even if they had trouble putting points on the board. He connected with Lee Evans and Stevie Johnson on a couple deep passes, but also, as has been the case in almost every game this year, missed open receivers on plays where he took shots downfield.

The defense played an inspired game, as they again showed improvement in both stopping the run and getting off the field on third down. Kyle Williams continued to play at a Pro Bowl level on the defensive line, and Chris Kelsay, who seems to be playing more and more in his old familiar three-point stance along the line rather than at outside linebacker, played his best game of the year. Dwan Edwards led the team in tackles and had an interception also. On the negative side, whatever defense the coaches called that had LB Paul Posluszny attempting to cover Calvin Johnson on the Lions’ touchdown at the end of the game was a mistake. At that point, with the clock running down and Detroit out of timeouts, priority one for the defense should have been to keep everything in front of them and make sure to tackle whoever wound up with the ball short of the goal line. Instead, they left one of the NFL’s best receivers all alone, with Posluszny frantically chasing him, to haul in what could have been a tying touchdown. To their credit, the defense stopped the two-point conversion try to preserve the win.

Hopefully the Bills can build on the win, continue to improve each week and win a few more games this season. They have at least shown the ability to compete each week with whatever opponent they face.