I think the tendency of fans to try and boil down all the factors in a game to one or two reasons why it went one way and not the other is pretty silly. Buffalo got great special teams play. Moorman's punts inside the 20 really did a number on the Dolphins in the field position game. Mike Mularkey abandoned the running game too quickly. Culpepper's lack of mobility due to his surgery was a factor as was his difficulty finding an open receiver. Watching it on TV I couldn't tell whether that was because Buffalo DBs were winning their matchups with Miami receivers or Culpepper was just having troupbe seeing open receivers.
Losman was one for six in the first half and Buffalo was ahead at halftime. It would be pretty dumb now to give him credit for that first half lead, wouldn't it. In the second half, his completion percentage was stellar, but it was admittedly all dink and dunk type passes. If Losman deserves any credit, it is for following instructions and taking care of the ball. It's cliche, but Losman was not quarterbacking to win. He was trying not to lose. That's all he needed at that point. That's not to say he's good or bad. The Bills were just being very conservative at that point because they could be. They had a lead. The defense was playing well. They were able to run the ball well enough. It worked well enough to produce a win.
It would be a mistake to assume that because Losman had under a hundred yards of offence versus the Dolphins and the Bills had under 200 yards of offence that this is going to be the Bills' MO all season long. Sometimes when the Bills get behind, they will have to put the ball up more. Buffalo has guys who can get deep. They will get some big plays this season. They will also commit some turnovers. They will lose some games.
Hey, I'll be back and talk some more the week Miami comes to Buffalo. 'Til then, win some games OK.
