Scott Pitoniak's Report Card: Bills vs. Steelers
By: Scott Pitoniak
Updated: November 28, 2010
SCOTT’S REPORT CARD
COACHING: Chan Gailey got them to play hard again and called a good game in the second half and during overtime in a hostile environment. (Terrible-Towel-waving Steelers fans had taken over the Ralph.) But the Bills still lack ability to finish the job. Grade: B
OFFENSE: Fred Jackson was outstanding for third week in a row, amassing 163 yards from scrimmage, including a 65-yard touchdown catch and run on a screen pass. Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 23-of-45 for 265 yards and a score and would have had better stats had Stevie Johnson not dropped five passes. Grade: B
DEFENSE: Despite yielding 206 yards on the ground and 246 through the air, the Bills “D” played well enough to win. Buffalo sacked Big Ben five times and drew four holding calls (all against left guard Chris Kemoeatu). Jairus Byrd had a big forced fumble and recovery. Grade: B-minus.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Lost in the shuffle was Rian Lindell’s clutch 49-yard field goal (he had to make it twice because of a timeout) to send the game into overtime. Brian Moorman pinned two inside the 20 and Leodis McKelvin averaged 26 yards on kickoff returns and almost won the game in overtime. Grade: B
OVERALL: Woulda, shoulda, coulda. For the fourth time Bills came up three points short and for the third time they lost in overtime. Up next: The dysfunctional Vikings in Minnesota. Grade: B-minus
Award-winning columnist and author Scott Pitoniak has covered the Bills since 1985 and has written five books about the team, including the recently published, Buffalo Bills Football Vault: The First 50 Seasons, which is available at any book store, the Bills team stores and Amazon.com. You can read more by Scott at www.scottpitoniak.com . He will be signing copies of his recently published books at the Barnes & Noble in Greece, Saturday, Dec. 4, from 2-4 p.m.
