Game 6: Bills 27, Bears 20

Without even a moment to breathe, let's get right to the onset of the Jay Cutler Era in Chicago as Da Bears visit Buffalo.

Wait a minute. Six games, and I'm already watching my second Buffalo Bills game? Viva preseason!

See if the extra game last week doesn't give the Bills a bit of an edge tonight.

Here's the Bears starting their second possession at their own 12. The overrun of the Atlanta-Detroit game has denied me the opportunity to see every play of the 2009 NFL preseason. Curse you!!!!! Cutler fires to Devin Hester at the 36 for a first down on 2nd-and-6. We missed almost six minutes of this game. Cutler throws a deep pass away with good coverage on Hester downfield. Wow, look how much throwing the Bears are doing. Cutler tries to throw a deep jump ball for, yes, Hester AGAIN, but Leodis McKelvin makes the leaping catch instead for an INT. See how that goes over in Chicagoland.

Bills from their 26. Trent Edwards gets a lot of time and dumps off to Marshawn Lynch for 2. I believe T.O. is out tonight. I believe Edwards is on his face, after 21 Graham blitzes in for a sack to make it 3rd-16. Lynch takes the swing pass and knocks 26 flat on his face but still only gets 8, and Buffalo does nothing with the big turnover. Bears commit an illegal block on the punt return and will start from their 26.

Kevin Jones over the right side for 4. Draw to Garrett Wolfe gets nowhere, blown up by Reggie Corner the corner. 3rd-9. Plenty of time for Cutler, who throws a woefully-awful pass right to Corner the corner, who just as woefully drops it. Bears are lucky they get to punt here.

That ain't the half of it, as Dominic Rhodes muffs the punt and Wolfe falls on the loose ball. Bears ball again, now at the Bills 43.

Cutler hits Desmond Clark behind most of the Bills defense for 29. Bills have had the extra game; they shouldn't be blowing coverages like that. Announcers blame rookie Nic Harris. The Bears have turned into the 90s-era Oilers; here's another pass, to Earl Bennett for 6. Buffalo stuffs the 2nd down run. After a timeout, Harris deflects the pass by Cutler, who was looking for Hester AGAIN at the back of the end zone. Robbie Gould musters in a short FG.

Chicago 3, Buffalo 0.

Rhodes returns the kick from the 7 to the 30. Edwards stays in and hits Lee Evans with a quick slant for 9. So they run a bam left for Lynch for 4. Quick hitch to Josh Reed gains 4. After Fred Jackson gains only 1, Edwards finds Evans on a comeback for 7. Brian Urlacher closes down what looked like a big hole for Jackson, who gains only 1 on a run right. Low pass to Derek Fine at the 39 for 3. On the last play of the quarter, Jackson takes a swing pass and bounces through several Bears to get at least close to another first down.

End of first quarter: Chicago 3, Buffalo 0.

4th-and-1 for Buffalo from the Chicago 34. Just one back behind Edwards, who play-fakes to Jackson and bootlegs left for 13. Jackson then plows over the right side for 6. Lance Briggs trips Jackson up in the backfield for a 1-yard loss. I haven't found Pisa yet. 7-yard completion to Derek Schouman makes it first-and-goal at the 9. Jackson gets stuffed on first down. Pisa's #59 now instead of 5-0, but I don't think he's on the field right now. Alex Brown gets a coverage sack. 3rd-goal from the 14, where the Buffalo home crowd roundly boos a we-give-up middle handoff to Jackson. Rian Lindell sticks it through from 28.

Chicago 3, Buffalo 3.

Well, here's something you don't see every day. The Bears drop 6'3", 260-pound defensive end Henry Melton, number 69, back to return the kickoff. He fields a bouncing kick and returns it to the 23. Hell, he's already as good as any of the Rams' kick returners.

OK, I see Pisa was on the field during the last drive thanks to some of the replays. Bears are guided now by Caleb Hanie. Orlando Pace keeps #76 in Chicago but they have the second unit line in now. Something else the runover of the Lions game made us miss. Wolfe runs for a first down and Hanie rolls right and hits Kellen Davis across midfield for 15. Buffalo shuts down a pitchback left to Kevin Jones, and good pressure forces Hanie to throw away a screen pass. 3rd-and-10. Hanie gets time and hits Rashied Davis for 13. Bears now at Buffalo's 36. Hanie steps up out of pressure but airmails a pass well over Davis' head. Kevin Jones bashes right for 5. Third down. Bills zone blitz works nicely and Harris forces Hanie out of bounds for a statistical sack at the 33. The 50-yard FG attempt is no sweat for Gould, though. (Note to self: look for Gould in upcoming fantasy draft.)

Chicago 6, Buffalo 3.

First half is moving rapidly: just 5:54 till they bring out the pee-wee players to knock the crap out of each other. Rhodes gets a lot of running room and returns a short kick to the 31. Ryan Fitzpatrick(!) in for Buffalo. He audibles to a handoff to Jackson up the middle for 3. 2 for Jackson the next play even after sidestepping a tackle. False start on Justin Jenkins makes it 3rd-and-10. Fitz hangs tough in the pocket and drills Felton Huggins on the sideline for 19. Bills at midfield. Give them 15 more because Dusty Dvoracek roughed Fitzpatrick. D.J. Moore nearly picks Fitz off on first down. Fitz hits Jonathan Stupar for 5. Fitz hits Roscoe Parrish on a slant for a first down but Craig Steltz knocks the ball out and (here's a name for you) Woodny Turenne recovers for the Bears inside the 15. That's not going to help Parrish's reputation for coughing the ball up, even though it was a good play by Steltz.

From the 14, Wolfe gains 6 right up the gut. Lots of time for Hanie again; he hits Davis on the sideline for 11. They're at the 31 at the 2:00 warning. It'll be a blessing if the second half of this game moves anywhere near as briskly as the first.

Hanie to Kellen Davis, who powers an extra 5 yards out to the 47. Both Bills DEs beat their man the next play, though, with Chris Ellis dropping Hanie from behind for a sack. 2nd-11 from the 45 with 1:22 left. Good pressure by the Bills again - this time Copeland Bryan whips around LT (are you serious?) Cody Balogh, swats the ball out of Hanie's hand, and his DE tag-team partner Ellis is there to recover the fumble.

Cody Balogh?

Big chance for the Bills here starting from the Chicago 39. False start, LT Demetrius Bell. Viva preseason! Fitz hits Parrish, who wiggles down to the 30. Bills call timeout at 1:08. 2nd-1. Out route to Jenkins good for 6. Bills are definitely in FG range. Bears bring the blitz but don't get there; slant to Jenkins for 9. Parrish makes a tough catch at the 10, hammered in midair by Turrene. To describe Bills HC Dick Jauron as stoic and unemotional on the sideline right now is about the same as calling Megan Fox "kinda hot". After an end zone incompletion, Fitz hits Stupar at the 2. They calmly line up and Fitz has Huggins in the end zone for a fade pass in the left end zone flat, but he drops it and Jauron unemotionally and stoically settles for a FG, which the emotional and un-stoic Buffalo crowd boos. Lindell ties the game at 6.

IT'S PRESEASON - WHY NOT GO FOR IT?!?!?!?

Halftime score: Chicago 6, Buffalo 6.

Bruce Hall out to the 25 for Buffalo as I'm still waiting to see a decent kickoff return from ANYBODY this season. Fitz stays in at QB. Rhodes takes a big hit after getting up the middle for 3. False start, Seth McKinney. Rhodes gets about 3 back on an inside handoff. 3rd-and-8. Great pass by Fitz to Stupar on a deep slant out to midfield. Fitz nearly gets sacked the next play but finds Stupar again, for 6. Fitz underthrows a deep corner route for Jenkins, who can't come up with it. Turenne had illegal contact with him, though. 5 and a first for the Bills. Fitz hits Jenkins inside the 30 before Rhodes gets swallowed up trying to go up the middle again. 2nd-9 from the Bear 27. Fitz wings a quick hitch to C.J. Hawthorne for a couple. Great pass and catch to Hawthorne on a crossing route inside the five. Hawthorne plucked that right out of the air. Rhodes drives down to the 3. Second-and-goal. DO NOT KICK A FG HERE JAURON. The Bill o-line pulls right and gives Rhodes a good lane for a TD run. Yay!

Buffalo 13, Chicago 6.

Soda #9 of the Preseason Challenge coming right up.

Here's a decent return, as Johnny Knox gashes Bobby April's vaunted special teams for a return out to the 38. Screen to Wolfe gains maybe 1. End-around to Rashied Davis for 6. Hanie's third-down pass is by Rashied Davis again and incomplete. Hall grabs a short punt at the 20 and is taken down immediately by Trumaine McBride.

Bills turn their offense over to Gibran Hamdan. Oh man, it's Xavier Omon time, up the middle for 3. Inside handoff to Omon to the 25, 3rd-and-6. Mark Anderson nearly gets to Hamdan with a spin move but the QB hits Jenkins for 7 and a 1st instead. Perfect bullet pass to Jenkins on a slant gets Buffalo out to the 49. Hamdan's next pass Travis McCall is badly overthrown, though, and picked off by Steltz, who brings the pick all the way back to the Buffalo 30.

Hanie hits Knox at the 15 for a first down. It's Slant Pattern Night at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Great play by the Bears next: Hanie rolls right and unloads just before getting blasted by Nic Harris. Fullback (here's another name for you) Will (Two Apostrophes!) Ta'ufo'ou releases up the sideline, takes Hanie's pass, bounces off a Bill defender and dives for the near pylon and the touchdown.

GO FOR TWO, LOVIE! WE DON'T RISK TIES IN PRESEASON!

Apparently we do.

Chicago 13, Buffalo 13.

How cool is it that the middle three letters of the name of the guy who scored the last TD are - UFO?

Hall returns the kick to the 32. Hamdan's got some redeeming to do now. 6 to Stupar over the middle. This Bills no-huddle offense really makes their games a challenge to work. Omon cuts back and forges up the middle for about 5. First down. 7 more over the middle to Stupar. Another first down for Omon, who drags DE/KR Melton for several yards. Bills at the Chicago 45. SECOND false start for Seth McKinney, Buffalo's fourth, I think. 1st-15. Omon bounces up the middle for a couple. Hall up the middle for maybe 1. The Bills running game could use some variety right now. They'll get the end-of-quarter switch to think about it.

End of third quarter: Chicago 13, Buffalo 13.

3rd-and-12 for Buffalo to start the 4th. Nice 4-man rush by Chicago, and the Bills can't get the screen pass set up. 4th down. Knox fair catches the punt at the Chicago 10.

New Bears QB is Brent Basanez, who walks immediately into disaster. Knox runs a quick dig and bobbles a perfectly good pass to Ellis (Rhymes With Wankster) Lankster, and he returns it to the 4-yard line.

DO NOT KICK A FG HERE JAURON. Omon up the middle for 1. Hamdan hits Shawn Nelson on the fade for the TD. Nelson's actually a TE; they pretty brilliantly had him split out wide to take advantage of his size. 5'11" Marcus Hamilton was trying to defend 6'5" there. Hamdan's throwing motion was so funky on that pass I briefly thought the pass had been deflected.

Buffalo 20, Chicago 13.

Is the new movie "The Goods" really that much different from the old Kurt Russell movie "Used Cars"?

Bills kick off with 14:05 left. Juaquin Iglesias has some trouble fielding it and the Bears will have to start inside their 20. Bears run that quick dig again, and it's off Michael Gaines' hands. Another anxious moment for Bears fans. Under pressure, Basanez tries a goofy off-balance throw that Gaines can't catch up with deep downfield. 3rd-10. Basanez tops off an absolutely pathetic night with a sideline pass WELL short of Devin Aromashadu, and it's picked off AGAIN by (Rhymes With Wankster) Lankster, who cosmically enough, returns it all the way down to the 4 again. It's like the Bills are paying Basanez to help their offense get in some live goal line drills.

Bruce Hall thumps his way in over left tackle to give the Bills a 1-play scoring drive and another score off a turnover.

Buffalo 27, Chicago 13.

Now here's that big kick return I was looking for, as Iglesias croons his way out to midfield. How about the great Bobby April's special teams?

Bears from the Buffalo 45. Hey, Basanez doesn't get intercepted! Because he handed off to Adrian (Not That One) Peterson for 5. BASANEZ'S NEXT PASS IS TIPPED AT THE LINE (by Corey Mace) AND NEARLY PICKED OFF AGAIN BY (RHYMES WITH WANKSTER) LANKSTER. Iglesias looks completely lost on the next play, which is supposed to be a quick hitch. Iglesias makes his cut, then drifts behind the defender. Basenez throws the pass away, and the Bears punt. They do at least pin the Bills at the 2 with their punt coverage.

Matt Baker now driving the Buffalo herd. Omon gets their backs off the goal line with a 4-yard run, but nothing on 2nd down. Baker hits Nelson for just 5 to force another punt. D.J. Moore makes a sneaky return of the 52-yard Chris Moorman punt across midfield.

Still 10:25 left, as Heartbreak Hill has arrived a little late in this game. Peterson goes off the right side for 7. They're at the Bills 38. Couple more plowing Peterson runs get them a first down at the 34. Basanez trips over one of his lineman but still rolls right and hits Knox on the sideline for 12. Cary Harris breaks up a 2nd-down sideline pass for Knox. 3rd-6. Screen to Peterson into a Bills blitz, but Buffalo still stops him for 5. 4th-1 at the 13. Peterson cuts back and plunges down to the 10. The Bears score from there on a pretty play. Play-action rollout by Basanez, who hits Iglesias running the back line, beating Ko Simpson for the TD.

Buffalo 27, Chicago 20.

Bears kick off with 6:23 left. Hall starts from halfway into his end zone and gets all the way out to the 40, but the great Bobby April's special teams committed a hold. Bills start at their 18 as a result. Hall, the lone tailback behind Baker, works his way up the middle for 5. Sweep to Hall gets absolutely nowhere as the Bears push his line 4 yards backwards. Big loss, 3rd-and-9. Baker pump-fakes and scrambles out to the 31. Huge play there for the Bills. They pound their way out to midfield behind Hall and big fullback Corey McIntyre, get two first downs, force the Bears to expend two timeouts and grind the clock all the way down to 2:00. Seems like they can just kneel the rest of the game out from here.

Maybe not. The Bears use their last timeout at 1:54. 2nd-11. McKenzie bangs into the line a couple more times and the Bills punt with :24 left. Eric (J.) Peterman returns it to the 22 with :14 left.

Do you believe in miracles? No. Lydell Sargent picks off a sideline pass for Buffalo's 4th INT tonight, Basanez's 3rd. I think it's safe to say I have a higher passer rating than Basanez tonight.

Final score: Buffalo 27, Bears 20.

MVP: It's not like he had to make any Pro Bowl-quality plays or anything, but I can't give the game ball to anybody other than Ellis (Rhymes With Wankster) Lankster, who picked off two passes and returned both to the 4 to set up Bills 2nd-half TDs.

What did we learn: The game was much more a case of Chicago's unimpressiveness than Buffalo's impressiveness, I thought. Jay Cutler didn't wow me at all. He spent the whole night looking for one guy, Hester, and threw a poor interception trying to force him the ball. The Bears showed almost nothing in the way of a receiving threat to take focus off Hester. Their other young WRs are all very green and still pretty lost. That's ok, Buffalo didn't impress me that much, either. Chicago handed them two of their TDs. How hard can two four-yard TD drives be? Guess I would have appreciated Edwards' 10-10-79 better if I had gotten to SEE most of it. Fitzpatrick also had a very good game, 13-16-143. He's stepping up as one of the league's better backups. The Bills are going to have to run better than they did tonight, though. The young offensive line is still very much an issue.

Up next: Directly to my first chance to see a NFC West division rival this preseason, as Seattle takes on the team with the world's finest cheerleaders, the San Diego Chargers.