The wheels come off in Arizona

Trent Edwards and the Bills didn't know what hit them. A team called the Arizona Cardinals knocked some sense into them. After being so giddy with their 4-0 start, the Bills were brought down to reality by the angry Cardinals.

The Bills game couldn't have started off any worse. On the 3rd play of the game, Trent Edwards was knocked unconscious by a brutal helmet-to-helmet hit by Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson. Edwards was on the field motionless for several minutes. He was helped off the field and then rode a cart out of the stadium. He suffered a concussion and it is fortunate that the Bills have a bye next weekend.

The Bills were horrendous in a 41-17 loss to the Cardinals. J.P. Losman, who replaced Edwards, had a couple good drives, but then wilted under the intense pressure the Cards defense put on him. He fumbled twice and threw a pick.

Bills run into hornets nest

Was this the same Cardinal team that were beaten up by the New York Jets last week before? Was quarterback Kurt Warner the same one who coughed the ball up 6 times against the Jets? An Emphatic NO to both questions. The Cards were a pumped up team out for revenge, as was Warner. Warner, given all day to throw the ball, ripped the Bills secondary to shreds. The Bills didn't even come close to sacking him once. What's more, the tackling by the Bills defense was shoddy at best and downright disgusting at worst.

Most of the blame for the Bills embarrassing 41-17 loss has to be put directly on the defense, which couldn't stop the Cards from ramming the ball down their throats each and every drive start. The Cardinals scored every time but once when they had the ball in the first half. They scored 3 touchdowns and one field goal to take a 24-14 lead into the locker room. The only saving grace was that Losman, who replaced the injured Edwards, actually looked good in the first half. He threw a 87-yard bomb to Lee Evans to get the Bills on the scoreboard when they were down14-0. Losman also scored on a quarterback sneak late in the second quarter. However, in the second half, Losman started making the mistakes that got him benched last season. He hung onto the ball too long, allowing the Cardinal rushers to sack him. Losman fumbled the ball twice and also his poor handoff to Marshawn Lynch right after he replaced Edwards was muffed and recovered by Arizona.

Even if Edwards hadn't gotten injured, it would have been difficult for him to keep pace with the Cards high powered offense. Warner looked like the Warner who won the Super Bowl as he never felt any heat from the Bills pass rush. In fact, the entire defense seemed to have missed the plane to Arizona over the weekend as it seemed non-existent most of the game.

Apocalyptic vision

It must have been an omen. When the game was just beginning and the Bills offense was ready to take the field, Trent Edwards appeared to be hobbling on the sidelines. However, he wasn't limping, he just seemed to be a little out of step after talking to Bills coach Dick Jauron. The Bills defense was a little out of synch the entire game and Edwards did indeed get injured, only 3 plays in. He was knocked out with a ferocious helmet-to-helmet hit by Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson and that was it for the Bills chances of going 5-0 to start the season. The Bills defense also appeared to get knocked out by the hit of Wilson, and played like they were in a state of shock the entire game. They forgot how to tackle, and the defense certainly forgot how to rush the quarterback. Warner could have eaten a full course dinner in the pocket every time he went back to throw, as he had all the time in the world to complete pass after pass.

The Bills now have suffered their first defeat and it was fitting that were manhandled. Maybe they will stop believing all the media hype in Buffalo that they were Super Bowl bound and start playing an aggressive, hungry style of defense again.

Lets look at how much the Arizona offense dominated this game. Warner completed 33 of 42 for 250 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn't sacked once!

The Cardinals dominated the clock, having the ball for 36 minutes compared to the Bills under 24 minutes. The Bills had 4 turnovers compared to none for Arizona. The Cards had to punt only twice, but then again, so did the Bills. Buffalo turned the ball over the 4 other times. In all, Losman has to shoulder some of the blame for the loss, but he certainly wasn't the main reason. The defense has to come up with a much better performance against an even superior San Diego offense in two weeks, or the outcome will be even more embarrassing.

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