Buffalo beats Cincinnati by the numbers
by MATT KRUEGER Reporter

Buffalo Bills receiver Lee Evans dives for a first down during Sunday's 33-21 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Bengals. It was Buffalo's third win in a row and evened up the team's record at 4-4. Photo by John Normile

Perhaps no sport revolves around numbers like professional football.

It's not just enough to count the yards. Stats come flying at you from the jumbo screen at the stadium, call-in talk radio shows, sports television programs, newspapers, Web sites, magazines, and, lest we forget, the mouths of co-workers at the water cooler. If you want to find a third-down passing completion percentage for no-name second-string Pop Warner quarterback, someone has it.

But the numbers coming out of Buffalo's 33-21 win over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday are so much more than total yards and completion percentages. They show players and a team that are on the move.

Let's start with 33, as in, the number of points the Bills' offense put on the board. That's the highest total of the season for an offense that has been held to single digits three times this year and ranks last in the AFC East.

Maybe the most impressive is 237, as in the number of consecutive PATs Rian Lindell has converted to open his career. He's never missed one. That's an NFLrecord, ladies and gentleman.

"I think it's a credit to all the coaches I've had and all the O-lines in front of me really," Lindell said. "It's almost more credit to those guys and the snap and hold. I've always had good snappers and holders. They make my job easier."

How about 295, as in the total passing yards for J.P. Losman? That's the best output the quarterback has had since last season and a welcome surprise for a team that has struggled badly on offense.

"When you do get a chance to go in there, it's a constant proving to your teammates that you deserve to be in there," Losman said. "And they feel the same way about themselves. In that case, as a player, you want to help your teammates. These are my friends, these are comrades. I've been out there with these guys for a couple of years, so I wanted to come through for them, and they wanted to come through for me. That's kind of how it goes. In preparation, whether I was playing or not, I kept reminding myself that there's a lot of guys counting on me."

That brings up another number for Losman, seven, as in his rank among all-time Bills quarterbacks for passing yards. Losman surpassed the 5,000-yard mark to overtake Rob Johnson (4,798) on the list.

Lee Evans moved up a team list of his own with his nine-reception, 165-yard performance. He now ranks 10th in team receptions with 209. How are those numbers?

Then there's nine, as in, the number of consecutive wins the Bills hold over the Bengals. That's more than twice as many as Buffalo's next highest, Washington (four).

Or, how about .500, as in the Bills' winning percentage? That's something that seemed impossible a month ago.

"It's nothing new for you to hear, but I really like these guys and the way they respond, how they kind of pulled together," coach Dick Jauron said. "They are just a really good team and where it goes, we don't know. We just keep playing. We have to play it out. They deserve a lot of credit, because they really have been through a good deal, but the good news is they have all gone through it kind of together and have stayed together. They just kept believing that they had a chance and could win. So we will see what happens."

Take a look at 12, as in the number of interceptions the Buffalo defense has made this year following Kiwaukee Thomas's game-ending pick in the fourth quarter. Buffalo is tied for third in the NFLwith Dallas and New England. Detroit (14) has the most.

Three, as in the number of consecutive wins for the Bills, is notable following a horrendous start to the season.

"It's real big," receiver Lee Evans said. "It's big for everybody in this locker room. Right now we're getting our timing down. The mistakes we made early in the season we're not making now. We just have to keep it rolling."

Rookie running back Marshawn Lynch has all kinds of number floating around him. How about five, the number of rushing touchdown he has this season, which ties him for fourth on the Bills' rookie rushing TD list with Sammy Morris. Then there's seven, the number of yards he needs to tie O.J. Simpson's rookie total. There's also four, his placement on the NFLleading rusher list with 690 yards.

And, just for the heck of it, 139.58. That's Lynch's career passer rating thanks to his 8-yard touchdown pass to Robert Royal in the fourth quarter. It was the first non-quarterback touchdown pass for the Bills since 1981.

e-mail: mkrueger@beenews.com