Strategy And Personnel

PLAYER NOTES

--K Rian Lindell was the only kicker in the NFL who hadn't attempted a field goal in the first two weeks, and he had one chance against Cleveland he made it.

--RB Tashard Choice nearly matched his career-high in rushing with a 91-yard effort in relief of injured C.J. Spiller.

--QB Ryan Fitzpatrick had his second straight no interception game, and he accentuated it with three TD passes, giving him a league-high eight.

--WR Donald Jones caught five passes for 42 yards and was a force as a blocker in the run game.

--TE Scott Chandler had a quiet 2 catches for 22 yards but he threw a key block on a third-down conversion reception by T.J. Graham.

--RB Johnny White, the fourth-stringer, came in and carried twice for 15 yards.

REPORT CARD VS. BROWNS

PASSING OFFENSE
B-plus -- Ryan Fitzptrick had an efficient day in throwing for 208 yards and three touchdowns. It was a typical Fitzpatrick day in that he made just as many bad throws as he did good ones; the difference was there were three TDs and no interceptions, the second week in a row he's avoided the killer pick. T.J. Graham got into the mix with two key receptions including the rookie's first TD, and Stevie Johnson also had a TD for the third week in a row among his seven catches for 61 yards. As for the line, it was another great day as they allowed only one sack, that a tainted one that came about via a scoring decision when Fitzpatrick dropped the ball on an attempted pass.

RUSHING OFFENSE
B-plus -- The Bills lost their best player, C.J. Spiller, in the first quarter, yet they somehow managed to overcome that injury. When the NFL's leading rusher after two weeks went down with a sprained shoulder, third-stringer Tashard Choice came in and rushed for 91 yards on 20 carries behind a line that continues to pave the way for whoever is carrying the ball. The Bills averaged 4.1 yards a carry, and they may get injured Fred Jackson back this week.

PASS DEFENSE
B -- The defensive line was dominant against the Brows as each of the four starters recorded at least a portion of a sack, Mario Williams leading the way with 1.5 of the four total. Cleveland is handicapped by a rookie QB and a weak group of receivers, but thanks to some coverage breakdowns by the Bills, Brandon Weeden threw for 237 yards and two TDs. Aaron Williams had a penalty that nullified a Jairus Byrd interception, but Bryan Scott and Leodis McKelvin came up with fourth-quarter picks that salted the game away.

RUSH DEFENSE
A-plus -- The Bills knew they had to shut down Cleveland rookie Trent Richardson and make Weeden beat them, and they succeeded. Richardson carried 12 times for just 27 yards with a long run of six yards, that on his TD when he was initially stuffed at the line but somehow got away. The Browns fell behind 14-0 early and that forced them away from the run, but when they made the game close in the third quarter, they still couldn't get anything established.

SPECIAL TEAMS
C -- Leodis McKelvin returned two punts for 52 yards, but the punt coverage team allowed Josh Cribbs to average 14.3 yards on three returns. Punter Brian Moorman, in trying to kick away from Cribbs, had a mediocre 34.8 net average. McKelvin also had a 34-yard kickoff return, but the kickoff team allowed Cribbs to average 28.3 yards on three returns. Rian Lindell finally attempted his first field goal of the season, and he made it.

COACHING
A -- Chan Gailey and the offensive staff did a nice job being able to adjust to the loss of C.J. Spiller, who was obviously a major focus of the game plan. The Bills plugged Tashard Choice into the offense, and for the most part, the Bills moved the ball. On defense, Dave Wannstedt dialed up the pressure with some blitzes, and really focused on shutting down Trent Richardson, and it worked very well.

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