QUARTERBACKSChad Pennington (15-of-29, 155 yards, 1 INT, 53.1 rating) hardly had a chance as he was sacked five times. He also had at least three passes blatantly dropped. Still, he wasn’t at his best.
RUNNING BACKS Curtis Martin (25-for-84 rushing, 3-for-20 receiving) ran hard, but couldn’t sustain it throughout the game.
WIDE RECEIVERSSantana Moss (5-61) had one bad drop. Curtis Conway (3-51) had some excellent catches but also had a ball bounce off his chest on a key play.
TIGHT ENDSAnthony Becht (1-14) had a killer drop to squelch a key drive. Not a great day blocking for either Becht or Chris Baker.
OFFENSIVE LINEPennington was sacked five times and harassed more often. Bills DT Sam Adams tore apart LG Brent Smith. In general, the line had a hard time picking up the Bills’ blitzing.
DEFENSIVE LINENT Jason Ferguson had a sack, but said he played his “worst” game. DT Chester McGlockton had two penalties on one play. Tackling was atrocious across the board.
LINEBACKERSAgain, tackling was an embarrassment. Sam Cowart, before he came out with a sore knee, again missed tackles, as did the entire group. Jason Glenn led the way with eight tackles.
SECONDARYCB Ray Mickens, with an INT, and FS Tyrone Carter (seven tackles) were the only two players who could be counted on to make a sound tackle.
SPECIAL TEAMSAnother poor outing. Four penalties were killers. Moss averaged only four yards on two returns. Kevin Swayne did a good job replacing the injured Jonathan Carter on KO returns, averaging 22.5 yards.
KICKING GAMEDoug Brien was good on FGs of 38 and 40 yards, but missed a 50-yarder he had to try after a J.P. Machado penalty. P Dan Stryzinski continued his poor season, averaging 29 yards on five punts.
COACHINGSomewhere between the Tennessee win and Sunday, Herman Edwards’ team lost its passion and intensity. Defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell had to be sick about the tackling problems rearing again.