Losman, Bills D slam Texans

JP Losman takes off in the Bills 22-7 win over Houston.

[Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images]

JP Losman proved a lot of critics wrong when he came out throwing strong in the Bills 22-7 win over the Texans. The Tulane product, shook off nerves and predictions that he would fall flat on his face and came up with a great opening day performance. Losman came out of the gates like a whirlwind, completing the majority of his first half passes and ended the game by completing 17-of-28 for 170 yards and one touchdown.Willis McGahee, who also had a brilliant performance, 117 yards on 22 carries, was in JP's corner all the way.

"He came out and proved you wrong," proclaimed McGahee. "And I told you he was going to do it."

Losman, who has had quite a stress-filled week getting ready for the game and also thinking about his old college Tulane, which has cancelled the season because of the New Orleans disaster, was upbeat from the start.

"To come out here on the first day and it worked, it was awesome," admitted Losman. "This was amazing man. Fans were going crazy and I got pumped up. It couldn't have been any better than I designed."

Most experts felt the Bills would come out and run McGahee left, right and up the middle. Instead, it was Losman who was throwing on practically every down.

"It just felt like that was our best chance to get things rolling, getting me comfortable, getting me in a little rhythm," described Losman about the game plan. "I think it worked."

While Losman and McGahee were on the mark, it was the Bills defense that stole the show this day. The Bills took away the ball 5 times, sacked Texans quarterback David Carr 5 times and shut down the Texans offense to a mere 120 yards. Carr wasn't able to generate a Houston first down until four minutes hand gone by in the second quarter.

"That's as helpless as I've felt playing quarterback since I've been in the third grade," admitted Carr after the game. "We just couldn't get anything going. It was embarrassing for our team, the fans and our family."

In fact, the Texans offense looked much like the University of Buffalo Bulls' offense against the Syracuse Orange the day before. Some fans who made both game could have sworn that Bulls players had swapped uniforms with the Texans. The UB offense gained only 123 yards against Syracuse, 3 more than the Texans did against the Bills. However, while the Bulls were shutout for the third straight game, Houston was able to get a touchdown, thanks to a 1-yard run by Carr.

The Bills D completely dominated in this one, from start to finish and it appears as if they are picking right up where they left off last season. 

"They were the best defense I've played against," Carr praised the Bills D. "We just couldn't get anything going."

Willis McGahee leaps over Texans' Dunta Robinson, but is tackled by Houston's Robaire Smith during first half action.

[AP Photo|Don Heupel]

While Losman was great in the early going, he just couldn't get the Bills into the endzone when they got down close. As a result, the Bills had to go to kicker Rian Lindell.4 straight times. Liindel ended the day with a personal high 5 field goals, as he was the last recourse for the Bills. He kicked field goals of 35, 21, 42, 39 and 31 yards.

Losman finally got the Bills 7 when he scrambled to his right and found Jason Peters alone in the right corner. The offensive lineman checked in as an eligible receiver and he leaped high to haul down the pass. It was his first NFL touchdown reception and Losman's first TD pass.

Peters, who goes at 6-4, 328 pounds, was tried out as a tight end during preseason last year. Last year he saw duty on the defense and finally settled in as an offensive lineman.

"I just go out there, and if they call on me, I do what I do," Peters said. "I don't go to coach and ask them to run this play or that play, I just do what they ask of me."

It wasn't Peters' first NFL touchdown. He scored one late last season when he blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone against the Bengals last December.

"We got to the red zone a lot and could have scored some more touchdowns, which would have been fun," said Losman. "But you can't complain. We got the 'W' and this is an awesome feeling right now."

Bills head coach Mike Mularkey said that the Bills weren't going to do the expected and keep Losman under the wraps.

"We weren't going to sit back (and wait) to try to get him more involved in the game," Mularkey said. "I think they were expecting us to run the ball, and we were not going to hold back. We were going to bring out the offense, try to keep them off balance. A lot of that was getting him out of the pocket. A lot of that is trusting that he could do it, and he did it."

Bills quarterback coach Sam Wyche sat in the press box and watched his prodigy perform in the first half almost perfectly. JP Losman was able to get the Bills downfield in a hurry, but he just couldn't finish off the job. That meant 4 straight field goals by Lindell. When Losman finally found Peters in the endzone and connected with him for his first NFL touchdown pass, it was the icing on the cake for Wyche.

"I'm really happy for him," Wyche said. "And I think the better word (is) I'm really proud of him. That's a clutch football player. Some guys have to do it a few times before they get that kind of play."

"I went in and gave him the first three plays," Wyche described how he prepared Losman before the game. "I said, "You just think about these first three. Forget everything else. There's nothing else in the universe, just these three. And then when the other ones come along you'll remember them and we'll run 'em. But you just concentrate on (the three).' He executed them perfectly and fell into the flow. It wasn't any brilliant coaching move. It was one of many ways to approach a game, and it worked."

Throwback Sunday

This was a perfect way to start the season. Not only was the weather picture perfect, but the Bills came out wearing their throwback uniforms from the mid 60s. They sported the white helmets with the standing red buffalo. Their jerseys were duplicates of the 1965 team that won the AFL championship against San Diego. Some fans want to see more of the old time uniforms, but the Bills are scheduled to wear them only one more time this season, during a road game. 

Bills head coach Mike Mularkey said that the Bills weren't going to do the expected and keep Losman under the wraps.

"We weren't going to sit back (and wait) to try to get him more involved in the game," Mularkey said. "I think they were expecting us to run the ball, and we were not going to hold back. We were going to bring out the offense, try to keep them off balance. A lot of that was getting him out of the pocket. A lot of that is trusting that he could do it, and he did it."

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