Craig is With Bills but He Continues to Fritter Away His Money
Bills fritter away what would have been a big win over Chiefs
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – In NFL stats parlance, FF stands for "forced fumble."
In Ralph Wilson Stadium parlance, it's the consonant you hear rolled for emphasis on the word fans bark in disgust after seeing it all go cruelly, tragically, predictably, wrong again, just when their Buffalo Bills are on the cusp of getting somewhere as a team.
As in . . . "Fffffffffiretruck."
Only the fans contract that somewhat.
Because of two ruinous, second-half FFs (the forced-fumble variety) -- and thanks to one momentum-flipping, killer run from Jamaal Charles -- the Kansas City Chiefs inexplicably rallied to beat the Bills 17-13 on Sunday, before 68,119 mostly livid fans at the Ralph.
"It's disappointing. Frustrating. All those words," said Bills tight end Scott Chandler, a grizzled veteran in these cackups.
The Bills were achingly close to earning their earliest sixth victory of the season since 1999, the last year the club has reached the playoffs. Instead, they dropped to 5-4.
The Chiefs improved to 6-3.
"I don't know what to say about it," Chandler said in a quiet Bills locker room dripping with disappointment. "We've got to be better."
Outside of that one killer play, Bills defenders could hardly have played much better. They beat up Smith -- sacking him six times, hitting him 10 times. They otherwise held Charles to 59 yards. They limited the Chiefs to just a field goal through three quarters. And they surrendered 278 yards.
"They didn't earn it. Nonetheless, they got it," said Toronto-raised Buffalo defensive tackle Stefan Charles.
The Bills offence stumbled most of the game, as it usually does. Yet all it had to do to win was (1) not turn it over, and (2) cash in just once in the red zone.
Couldn't do it.
The first of Buffalo's two second-half fumbles is destined to squeeze onto a packed showcase shelf in the Bills Pantheon of Guttings.
Early in the third quarter, Buffalo was a split-second from going up 17-3. But no.
Fourth-string running back Bryce Brown -- promoted to active duty because of injuries to C.J. Spiller (cracked collarbone) and Fred Jackson (who played sparingly Sunday with a groin injury) -- burst off right tackle and into the clear, headed for a touchdown.
But Chiefs safety Ron Parker dived at him at the 5 and knocked out the ball, which bounded into the end zone.
Tight end Chandler then had an easy chance to scoop it up for the touchdown anyway. But he stone-handed it out of the back of the end zone.
Touchback.
Chiefs' ball at the 20.
Asked afterward if he'll have nightmares about that play, Chandler practically whispered, "I hope not, but . . . maybe."
A few minutes later, Buffalo quarterback Kyle Orton piloted the Bills right back down to the KC 2-yard line. There he threw two incomplete passes and Buffalo had to settle for the second of two Dan Carpenter field goals, to go up 13-3.
Early in the fourth quarter the Chiefs were still in it, facing a 4th-and-1 at the Buffalo 39. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid quickly decided to go for it, calling a nifty misdirection run for Charles.
All the blocking went to the right. So did Bills defenders. But quarterback Alex Smith faked a handoff that way to fullback Anthony Sherman, and quickly pitched back left to Charles.
No one there. Gone, touchdown.
"Maybe we were a little discombobulated," Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams said of the play. "It actually crossed my mind to just stand up and take a timeout real quick.
"We crashed down on it too hard, and when you do that with (Charles) he can take it the distance."
With 9:57 left, the Bills still were in good shape, up 13-10. The defence forced a Chiefs punt from their 16. That's when normally reliable Bills returner Leodis McKelvin got pounded -- and fumbled -- at the Buffalo 26.
The Chiefs recovered.
Charles burst 18 yards on another counter then, from the Bills' 8, Smith faked a handoff to Charles and ran into the end zone around left end, with 8:59 left.
The Bills had a chance to retake the lead with under three minutes left. But once they reached the KC 15, Orton threw four incompletions -- two to star rookie receiver Sammy Watkins (who appeared hampered by the groin injury he suffered in practice last week), two to slot receiver Chris Hogan.
The Bills continued to be brutal in the red zone, failing to score a touchdown on 15 snaps. Orton missed on his final six red-zone throws.
"We were right there," Orton said. "We were knocking on the door, and I really thought we'd get it done."
Added Stefan Charles: "It's hard, especially when you've got guys giving that kind of effort and it doesn't pan out into a W."
Fffffffrustrating, indeed.
'DIRTY TOUGH'
Alex Smith hardly ever impresses you as an NFL quarterback. Especially on any stats sheet.
In Kansas City's 17-13 win over Buffalo on Sunday, he threw for but 96 yards in the first half, 81 in the second, didn't throw a touchdown and was sacked six times.
Lousy day, right? Not really.
Smith and the Chiefs offence might have been rendered utterly impotent by a wicked Bills defence until late in the third quarter, but Smith never lost faith. His teammates similarly kept the faith.
And somehow, the Chiefs offence got it done.
"That's how he is," Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said of Smith. "He's also a phenomenal leader, and he's dirty tough.
"He handles everything and he never complains about anything. He's not afraid to get after you, but at the same time he's going to build you up. He's like a coach on the field there."
On the complexion-changing drive of the game, with Kansas City behind 13-3 late in the third quarter, Smith cranked up his level of play. He completed 3-of-5 passes for 30 yards before getting crunched on a sack to set up a third-and-16.
Smith shook it off to throw the prettiest, most clutch pass of the afternoon -- a 15-yarder perfectly placed at the sideline on a deep out to Dwayne Bowe.
That set up Jamaal Charles' 39-yard touchdown burst on 4th-and-1 that changed the game's momentum for good.
Smith scored the winning points on a fake-handoff-and-run from the Buffalo 8 with 8:59 left.
The 30-year-old didn't throw an interception, and the Bills had been tied for the lead league with 12. Indeed, Smith is careful with the football, always, and doesn't lose games for his team.
"We came in at halftime and there wasn't any panic," Smith said. "We all knew (we were) one play away from changing the game … These games are sweet when you come out on top."
john.kryk@sunmedia.ca
@JohnKryk
blogs.canoe.ca/krykslants/
Source: https://torontosun.com/2014/11/09/bills-fritter-away-what-would-have-been-a-big-win-over-chiefs
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