Game 16: Redskins 17, Bills 14

Up next, it's a rematch of Super Bowl.... Which one? XXVII? (Researching...) Nice job, trivia boy, Super Bowl XXVI, between the Redskins and the Bills.

The second-round rookie WRs are still out for the Redskins. ESPN Classic with the call, Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann. Paul McGuire's probably jockeying for head space up BFF's ass with Kornheiser. Oh Christ, Theismann calls the Redskins owner "Mr. Snyder". Yeah, we'll get a non-biased broadcast here.

Yay, Kelli Johnson! I think she may have moved ahead of Sam Ryan in the very, very small field in the Cutest Sideline Correspondent competition.

Marcus "Please Cut Me Now" Mason returns the opening kickoff to the 25, then has it fly right out of his hands to the waiting arms of kicker Ryan Lindell at the 30. Big break early for Buffalo.

Marshawn Lynch gets about two before a gang-tackle buries him. Maybe two more for Lynch up the middle. Big false start by the RT makes it 3rd-and-11. Trent Edwards hits Roscoe Parrish on a corner route with a nice pass for 19. Bills at the 13. Big hole left for Lynch for 5. Edwards throws into a crowd in the end zone, nearly picked off by Shaun Springs. 3rd-goal. Springs is at safety for the Redskins due to injury. James Hardy runs the wrong pattern on third-and-goal, and Buffalo has wasted a big opportunity early. Lindell makes it 3-0.

Buffalo should stay with the awesome throwback unis, by the way. Hey, it worked for San Diego. Furthermore, did Buffalo need a year in advance to wear those in a preseason game? Because the Rams never get to wear throwbacks because they don't give a year's notice.

I think that's Byron Westbrook returning the next kickoff, to the 25. Redskins keep the ball this time. Jason Campbell play-actions and dinks to Antwaan Randle-El for 5. Clinton Portis starts at RB. On 3rd and 4, Campbell finds Santana Moss for 13. 6 to Randle-El. Portis across midfield for about 3. Throwing on third-and-2, Campbell's pass for Moss is not very good, and Washington's punting. Buffalo fair-catches at their 16.

Lynch is already through for the night, replaced by Fred Jackson. Jason Taylor is on the field for the Redskins for the first time, wearing jersey #55. 2nd-11, Buffalo after Edwards blows a timeout with about 6:30 left in the 1st. Incomplete for the TE, covered by London Fletcher. 3rd-11. Dumpoff for Jackson broken up by Andre Carter. Sigh. Terrible punt dies at Washington's 48.

Portis is still in and takes a screen pass for about 5. Second-down pass is tipped at the line, and originally called a catch by Moss with DPI on Jabari Greer. The tip washes out the DPI, and on review, they find that Moss didn't actually catch the ball anyway. Bills blitz on 3rd down, and Campbell beats it by hitting Randle-El on a drag for 14. Give Portis credit for the big blitz pickup. Portis gains 10-12 on a draw left with a nice cutback to the middle. Skins at Buffalo's 19. Holding on Jon Jansen, now 1st-20. Looked like Buffalo blitzed again, and the Redskins beat it with a draw to Ladell Betts for 13. Campbell sets up and hits James Thrash at the 2, but it's OPI on Thrash. 2nd-16 now. Betts takes a pass in the flat upfield for 11. Just 3rd-6 now. First down over the middle to Thrash at the 4. Portis gets LIT UP by Paul Posluszny for no gain. Next play he thunders up the middle to the 1, but does not get in the next play thanks to fine defense by Keith Ellison. Timeout, Washington. They're going for it on 4th-and-goal. Portis scores behind Dennis Sellers' big block at fullback. 7-3, Washington. Campbell and the Redskin offense looked pretty darn good this drive.

New Bills QB is JP Losman. He hits the TE Derek Fine for 7 as the first quarter runs out. The second-down run gains zilch, though, and Reed Doughty blitzes in to drop Losman easily on third down. Westbrook returns the punt to the 35.

Todd Collins enters as Washington's QB. Collins gets the Skins out to midfield, with a 13-yard pass to Billy McMullen, while Kelli Johnson has a St. Louis reunion on the sidelines with London Fletcher. Betts cuts a run back inside for an 11-yard gain from the Buffalo 41. Collins hits Anthony Mix for 7, then Betts gains 11 more, decisively taking a designed middle run outside. Washington uses their last timeout at the 12. Betts takes a screen and continues to be a complete mystery to the Bills offense, juking a couple en route to a TD. Excellent blocking on that side as well by Justin Geisinger and Jason Fabini. Anyway, 14-3, Redskins.

Bills from their 35. Parrish makes a terrific diving play on an underthrown pass, while blanketed, for 30. Losman has Hardy open over the middle the next play but throws it behind him and incomplete. Fred Jackson's run left nearly gets the 1st. 3rd-and-1. Jackson doesn't get it, stopped by Khary Campbell. Buffalo goes for it from the 25; looks like Losman got there with a sneak. Next 3rd-and-short, a screen to Jackson gets Buffalo the first down inside the 10. Parrish drops a slant inside the five that would have given them first and goal. Lindell makes the game 14-6.

3:02 left till halftime. Skins start at their 25. McMullen makes a clutch play to break inside with a catch and gain about 10 for a 1st down at the 2:00 warning. Unfortunately, that sets up a terrible play by Collins, overthrowing two receivers and hitting Ashton (It's not your booty, it's) Youboty, who intercepts and laterals to Reggie Corner the corner for a return down to the 20.

Dwayne Wright for 4 down to the 16. On 2nd down, Losman drops a pretty pass into Hardy's hands in the end zone. Hardy pushed off but Jeff Triplette's crew doesn't seem to care. The Bills unconscionably go for two and tie the game with Losman hitting Justin Jenkins on a quick out. 14-14.

Redskins set up at their 23 with 1:11 left. They draw to Betts for 7, so I guess they don't care about scoring any more. STUPID. Betts crosses midfield for a nice gain off a circle route as the first half ends.
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Bah, almost nobody's impressing me. Jason Campbell's the main one who really is. That was a great second drive he and the offense put together for a TD. Zorn's system is the first one he's really appeared comfortable in. Betts is playing well and can really put moves on people. It's a tie game, but the only thing really impressing me right now about Buffalo is their uniforms. They're going to have growing pains with the young receivers Parrish and Hardy. They both make plays but also dumb mistakes. Posluszny's shaping up to be as good as he looked before he got hurt last postseason.

After a long delay for an Anthony Mix injury, Buffalo starts the second half from their 20 with Gibran Hamdan at QB. Wright breaks a tackle and gets 4. Hamdan hits #13, Steve Johnson, whose whole name is on the back of his jersey, for 5 and an initial first down. Wright breaks into the open after a cutback but gets bashed by #32, who is not identified on the NFL's or the Redskins' website, and puts the ball on the ground, where it's recovered by Washington.

Colt Brennan at QB for the Skins. He air mails his first pass to roughly Bethesda. On 3rd and 7, McMullen is at least a yard short. Zorn opts to go for the long FG, which Shaun Suisham hits from 46 to move Washington into a 17-14 lead.

From the 27, it's the immortal combination of Gibran Hamdan to Felton Huggins for 11. Matt Sinclair stuffs a Wright run for Washington. Justin Jenkins drops a slant pass on 2nd down as the Bills receivers continue not to impress with their hands. Good thing it never gets cold up there or anything. The inevitable stupid fucking swing pass is inevitably immensely short of a first down, so let's punt.

Redskins start at their 33, then hold and fall to 1st-and-20. THE COMPLETELY PREDICTABLE SCREEN THAT NEVER WORKS doesn't. Much to Buffalo's disgrace, the COMPLETELY PREDICTABLE DRAW PLAY THAT SHOULD NEVER WORK does, as Mason gallops for 13. On 3rd down, Brennan dumps to McMullen all alone underneath, and he's out to midfield with a first down. Sloppy, sloppy Bills defense. Horace Gant, from St. Olaf, gets crunched on the sideline but hangs on for an 8 yard catch. Brennan misses Maurice Mann with the 3rd-and-2 pass. Redskins are punting.

It's inevitable that every local broadcast is going to do a feature at some point on the new radio helmet that can be used by the linebackers. Buffalo's broadcast is the first to explain to us that when one radio helmet is in use, the other radio helmet (each team has two) literally has to be locked away in a strongbox behind the team's bench. That's got to be one of the silliest rules in any sport, though that's becoming a pretty thick book any more.

Buffalo's drive starts at their 11. Right now I'm just hoping I can get this thing wrapped up before it's time to go to the Rams-Chargers game later tonight. Hamdan's 2nd-and-9 pass is tipped at the line and plunges incomplete. False start makes it 3rd-14. HIGHLY PREDICTABLE DRAW OF FAILURE gets maybe a couple. Time to punt.

Short kick's fielded by Mann at the Bills 46 just as he's overrun by George Wilson. Skins start in great field position. Bills safety John Wendling swoops in on first down to drop Mason for a loss on an attempted sweep right. Brennan can't escape the blitz on 2nd down; DiGiorgio gets him for a sack. Brennan erases their losses with a sideline pass to Mason, but it's still 4th-and-10. Punt is fair caught at the 15. This game has slowed down so much it may still be going on today for all I know.

New Bills RB is Xavier Omon, who stumbles for 2. Omon's great blitz pickup lets Hamdan hit his TE Fine for 11 and a first. Hamdan to Courtney Anderson for 18. Almost by magic, Omon breaks out of a pileup and bounces outside for 8. Shades of the great Quinton Ganther as the third quarter FINALLY ends.

Omon opens the 4th by diving for the first down. Hamdan just misses connections with Huggins on a bomb. I think that's a case where Huggins has to adjust to the ball better. Hamdan delivers to Scott Mayle for 17. Buffalo ball at the Washington 28. Hamdan airs it too deep for Mayle on 1st down. Looked like fine coverage by Matteral Richardson there, and the refs belatedly pick up a PI flag they originally threw. 2nd down, Hamdan throws too deep for double-covered Huggins. Hamdan is getting loads of time - his receivers aren't getting open. 3rd-10, Hamdan sees a blitz coming and calls timeout. On 3rd down, it's just a stupid short out route to Steve Johnson; not only that, Lindell can't hit from 47 and Washington maintains a 17-14 lead.

Brennan's already done for the night in favor of porn star-named Derek Devine. Mason gets about three yards on two carries. WATCH FOR THE DUMPOFF! Devine burns a timeout on 3rd-and-6. WATCH THE DUMPOFF! Bah, I called it wrong, but Reggie Corner the corner breaks up the quick slant and Washington will punt.

HUGE punt return by rookie Leodis McKelvin, who gets a running start at a terrible, short punt, and rips it right up the middle for a 50-yard gain. Bills at the Redskin 35, with Matt Baker at QB. Big penalty against Kevin Huntley for roughing the QB. They hand off to Omon at the 19, who appears to lose it out to the 13 with Washington returning it all the way, but he was immediately called down at the 16. The returner, that is, not Omon. Critical turnover for the Bills in scoring position with 10:00 left.

Cmon, Skins, eat some clock. Mason weaves out to the 26 for 13 and a first down. Nice! Then a nice rollout pass from Devine to McMullen for 11 more. Mason gets a huge hole on a 2nd-and-long draw play, gaining 22-23 yards. He juked a couple of players on that run. 10 more for Mason, who's making like he's the next coming of Omar Cuff or something. The Redskins' perfect drive, which has chewed 5:00 off the clock, is disrupted by a timeout, likely by Buffalo, Ray Bentley and Steve Tasker in the Bills' booth can't tell. Not their fault; if Triplette made an announcement, he made it on the sly. OK, the Redskins called timeout because they were afraid of getting a delay of game. They have driven inside the Bills 20, btw. Let's get that clock running again! The Skins keep grinding, inside the 2:00 warning, inside the Buffalo 5. They're my heroes after that epically-long third quarter. 4th and goal at the 1, 0:27 left. Devine throws a poor play-action pass off his back foot and one-hops it to the WIDE OPEN fullback running an out route along the goal line.

Buffalo has 23 seconds to go about 70 yards to get into FG position, IF THEY DARE TIE THIS GAME. An incomplete Hail Mary and the ultimate in futile dumpoffs end the game with Washington winning, 20-17.

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One thing you saw here was the advantage of the Redskins being in their second game and the Bills in just their first. Washington was better-conditioned and really wore the Bills down in the 4th. Mason recovered from his early kick return fumble and had a good game at RB. I think that saves him for the time being. McMullen also got a lot of looks and didn't disappoint. He's probably the leader in their WR6 race, maybe WR5. Colt Brennan did not set the world on fire, but one of the stories of preseason continues to be Jason Campbell's improvement. Buffalo's got some good things going with young players like Hardy, Parrish, Posluszny, and McKelvin, who shone on punt returns, and even Edwards and Lynch are just second-year players. Youboty also made a lot of plays. It's natural to wonder how many growing pains they're going to experience, though. Buffalo's biggest problem of all was the fumbles by Omon and Wright. As we fans love to say, that's coachable, and turnovers are job#1 for Dick Jauron and company to get cleaned up before their world tour hits Canada next week.

16 down, 49 to go. The next game that'll appear in this blog is the last game of Week 1 for me - Raiders - Whiners. One problem: it's Saturday evening at 4:00 as I write this and I have to leave for the Rams game, which'll be followed by a Week 2-a-palooza on NFL Network all night and all day tomorrow. So the next challenge? When to get the last game of week 1 watched.

The way the Rams played in Tennessee, maybe I should bring my laptop to tonight's game?