--Placing star rookie FS Jairus Byrd on injured reserve was a difficult decision for all involved. The second-round pick out of Oregon finishes his season just one interception shy of the team record of 10 held by Billy Atkins (1961) and Tom Janik (1967). His nine picks is a team record for a rookie, a mark set by Archie Matsos 50 seasons ago.

Byrd has been playing with a painful groin strain related to pre-season surgery for a sports hernia. He is scheduled for further surgery to fix the problem.

"He's a tough kid and he was struggling to make plays," interim coach and defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said. "He was just getting worse, so we had to make a decision to get him fixed. He wants to be on the field, he's a competitor, he's a young guy that thinks he can contribute to wins. But he felt he couldn't anymore the way he was struggling. He didn't take it well but he understands his body."

Donte Whitner will slide back into the starting FS spot.

"It is what it is," Byrd said. "I've been dealing with this for a while and right now I'm just kind of thankful for the year I had and I'm going to try to get better and come back next year better."

--The Bills (5-9) are eyeing a top-10 draft pick heading into their final games against Atlanta (7-7) and Indianapolis (14-0). They are tied with Chicago, Seattle and Oakland with five wins each; the tiebreaker is easiest strength of schedule. The Colts game won't help Buffalo's chances of moving up the draft order. Six teams currently have fewer than five wins: St. Louis (1-13), Tampa Bay and Detroit (2-12), Kansas City and Cleveland (3-11) and Washington (4-10). A high first-round draft pick is a carrot to dangle before prospective coaches and GMs the Bills soon will be interviewing.

--RG Richie Incognito, who signed with the Bills last week as a free agent after being cut by the St. Louis Rams for conduct detrimental to the team, said he is all for speaking with Buffalo about a long-term contract.

Incognito has quickly endeared himself with fans and media by taking full accountability for his problems in St. Louis, where he was fined more than $100,000 for various transgressions during his five seasons, including this season when he twice incurred two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in games. The NFL fined him $50,000 last week for two head-butts.

"With the fine, 50 grand, I would gladly pay more to get out of that situation in St. Louis," Incognito said. "The way I approach the game, my intensity level, (the fine) isn't going to change that one bit. The foolish penalties and the selfishness, that has changed and it's going to continue to change. ... I would love to be part of the solution here."

--The Bills committed a season-high 11 penalties in last week's 17-10 loss to the Patriots, including eight for 104 yards in the first half.

"You can't help a team like the Patriots," RB Fred Jackson said. "We made some mistakes and put ourselves into some bad situations. It's something we definitely need work on."

Under former coach Dick Jauron, the Bills established team records for fewest penalties in 2006 and '07, but this current group has made that achievement a distant memory.

--WR Terrell Owens enters Sunday's game against Atlanta needing just four catches to hit 1,000 for his career. The Falcons' 30th-ranked pass defense is inviting, but Buffalo's 30th-ranked pass offense hasn't exactly tapped into Owens' immense skills. He's clearly a man counting the days until the season is finished.

"I've had this statement all year, 'I'm just going with the plays that are called,'" Owens said. "If I can't get the ball in my hands to do anything, what can I say? ... I think it's going to take some changes (here). Something has to be done, and again, those are not my decisions. I'm just trying to live up to my end of the bargain."

Owens is a free agent in 2010.

BY THE NUMBERS
18 -- Bills players on injured reserve, a new club record.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"Even though we're out of the playoff hunt, there is still so much to play for -- for our team, for our town, our families, our teammates. So getting fired up to play an NFL football game, you know it's never difficult." -- LB Paul Posluszny on the team's mindset even though the Bills (5-9) have been eliminated from the playoffs with two games left.

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