Unfinished Business: Buffalo Bills Story (Madden 11 Franchise)

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Buffalo Bills

21

13

Indianapolis Colts

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- It was nearly one year ago when the Buffalo Bills found themselves in this exact position. Fresh off of a momentous win in the wild card round, they faced the improbable task of defeating Peyton Manning and the Colts in Indianapolis.

Evans dives into the end zone to punctuate a 23-yard score to take the lead before the half

They were able to pull off the upset back then, yet went into Saturday undisputedly as the underdogs yet again. Wouldn't you know it -- sometimes history has a strange way of repeating itself.

The outcome of the game largely came down to the poor play of the man favored to win yet another MVP award. The Colts superstar quarterback threw a whopping 5 interceptions, including one to Jairus Byrd with 1-minute remaining in the game to solidify the loss.

Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell credited the Buffalo defense with his team's demise. "Their gameplan was air-tight," he told the reporters during his post-game press conference. "They've pinpointed how to stop Peyton, they did it the last time too. I can't praise that enough but we've got to regroup from this; it's going to be a long offseason."

The Colts were favored by many to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl and a main reason for that was the stellar play of Manning this season. At the end of the day, Buffalo rookie Erik Patterson outperformed the reigning MVP. "He played within himself and made great decisions out there," said Dick LeBeau. "That's no easy task for a rookie quarterback, to go out there and remain composed during the heat of a playoff game. His numbers may not be flashy but he did what was asked of him.

McKelvin had to be helped off the field after a partial groin tear in the 4th quarter

The real reason for Buffalo's success, aside from the 6 turnovers forced by their defense, was the running of Darren McFadden. McFadden has had a dominant post-season thus far, averaging 172 yards through the first two games. "There was no stopping him," stated Gary Brackett, a victim of a vicious McFadden stiff-arm during the game. "He was on a mission and his line did a great job creating holes. It was a frustrating game to be on defense."

The win did not come without some bad news for the Bills. Pro bowl cornerback Leodis McKelvin left the game early in the 4th quarter with what has been diagnosed as a partial groin tear. McKelvin, who had a remarkable 9 interceptions this season and added one in the third quarter, will miss the remainder of the playoffs. He will be a free agent at the end of the season but it's hard to imagine the Bills not resigning him after his terrific production this year.

Buffalo advances to the AFC Championship game for the second consecutive year and will face the winner of the New England vs Pittsburgh game taking place Sunday afternoon. The Bills lost both of their games against the Patriots this season, although by only a combined 7 points. A matchup against New England likely gives the Bills their best chance to win, but they are the underdogs in Pittsburgh.

Photo Gallery

Williams drops a would-be touchdown after losing it in the lights

McFadden put on a stellar performance, rushing for 210 yards and a score

A pass intended for Clark gets picked off by Wilson in the end zone

Box Score

Buffalo Bills at Indianapolis Colts
Jan 12, 2013 1 2 3 4 F Buffalo Bills (10-6) 0 14 7 0 21 Indianapolis Colts (12-4) 0 7 0 6 13 Top Performers Erik Patterson - QB 10/20 (50%) 136 Yds 2 TD Darren McFadden - RB 24 car 210 Yds (8.7 avg) 1 TD Reggie Wayne - WR 10 rec 105 Yds(10.5 avg)	Team Stats Comparison First Downs 15 16 3rd Down Efficiency 5-13 8-17 4th Down Efficiency 0-0 0-0 Total Yards 360 336 Passing Yards 131 303 Rushing Yards 229 33 Penalties-Penalty Yards 4-41 1-5 Turnovers 2 6 Time of Possession 40:25 19:35
Scoring Summary SECOND QUARTER SCORING BUF IND 14:03 P. Garçon 29 Yd pass from P. Manning (Vinatieri) Spoiler 0 7 5:24 D. McFadden, 51 Yd run (Crosby) Spoiler 7 7 0:57 L. Evans 23 Yd pass from E. Patterson (Crosby) 14 7 THIRD QUARTER SCORING BUF IND 9:38 K. Sawatzky 7 Yd pass from E. Patterson (Crosby) Spoiler 21 7 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING BUF IND 8:49 A. Vinatieri, 18 Yd FG 21 10 2:47 A. Vinatieri, 38 Yd FG 21 13
Buffalo Bills PASSING C/A YDS TD INT E. Patterson 10/20 136 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD D. McFadden 24 210 8.7 1 F. Jackson 11 23 2.0 0 T. Allen 2 7 3.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD L. Evans 2 27 13.5 1 J. Williams 2 26 13.0 0 K. Sawatzky 2 16 8.0 1 T. Allen 1 23 23.0 0 T. Bonner 1 17 17.0 0 A. Bryant 1 16 16.0 0 D. McFadden 1 11 11.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK J. Hartwig 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Belcher 8 1 0 0 A. Maybin 5 0 0 0 D. Knight 4 0 0 0 T. Howard 4 0 0 0 G. Guyton 3 0 0 0 L. Ellis 3 0 0 0 T. McGee 3 0 1 0 L. McKelvin 2 0 1 0 J. Byrd 2 0 1 0 L. Wilson 2 0 1 0 B. Johnson 0 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LG M. Crosby 0/2 3/3 3 N/A PUNTING TOT YDS AVG -20 B. Moorman 5 224 44.8 3 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD R. Parrish 3 71 23.6 0 J. Williams 1 20 20.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Williams 3 40 13.3 0 Indianapolis Colts PASSING C/A YDS TD INT P. Manning 23/53 310 1 5 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD J. Addai 13 33 2.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD R. Wayne 10 105 10.5 0 P. Garçon 4 80 20.0 1 S. Stroughter 4 65 16.2 0 D. Clark 3 28 9.3 0 S. Nelson 1 24 24.0 0 D. Dowling 1 8 8.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK J. Saturday 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD A. Bethea 7 0 0 0 M. Bullitt 5 0 0 0 B. Sanders 5 0 0 0 S. Nicholas 5 0 0 0 D. Muir 5 0 0 0 R. Mathis 5 0 0 0 G. Brackett 4 0 1 0 S. Hoskins 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LG A. Vinatieri 2/2 1/1 7 38 PUNTING TOT YDS AVG -20 P. McAfee 4 187 46.7 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD P. Garçon 3 61 20.3 0 F. Green 1 20 20.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD P. Garçon 2 18 9.0 0

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NFC Divisional Playoffs || MIN @ ARI - Sat, Jan 12, 2013 - 8:00PM

	13	QB - K. Livingston - 11/23, 153 yds, 1 TD RB - A. Peterson - 14 car, 40 yds WR - P. Harvin - 8 rec, 121 yds
	16	QB - M. Moore - 20/46, 244 yds, 1 TD RB - B. Wells - 18 car, 54 yds WR - L. Fitzgerald - 7 rec, 134 yds, 1 TD

AFC Divisional Playoffs || NE @ PIT - Sun, Jan 13, 2013 - 4:30PM

	0	QB - C. Daniel - 5/11, 69 yds RB - C. Benson - 12 car, 28 yds Note - T. Brady, injured in 1st qtr
	22	QB - B. Roethlisberger - 27/44, 377 yds, 1 TD WR - M. Wallace - 6 rec, 96 yds, 1 TD K - R. Longwell - 5 FGs

NFC Divisional Playoffs || CHI @ ATL - Sun, Jan 13, 2013 - 8:00PM

	43	QB - S. Wallace - 19/32, 298 yds, 2 TD WR - E. Doucet - 8 rec, 79 yds, 1 TD K - R. Gould - 25-yard GW FG in OT
	40	QB - M. Ryan - 23/36, 300 yds, 2 TD, 4 INT RB - M. Turner - 17 car, 194 yds, 2 TD WR - R. White - 5 rec, 94 yds, 1 TD

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NFL Expert Picks - Conference Championships


Each week on ESPN.com, the brain trust of Bristol University convenes and our experts offer their predictions for the upcoming slate of NFL games.

NFL Expert Picks - Conference Championships

	Allen	Golic	Hoge	Jaworski	Mortensen	Schefter	Schlereth	Wickersham	Accuscore	SportsNation
BUF @ PIT Sun 1:00PM
CHI @ ARI Sun 4:15PM

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AFC Championship Preview || @ Pittsburgh Steelers

	Bills (10-6, 5-3 away)	Sunday January 20, 2013 1:00 PM Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA
	Steelers (12-4, 7-1 home)
FORECAST: 20°		COVERAGE:

Buffalo

Pittsburgh

TEAM RANKINGS
21st	183.6	PASS	249.4	4th
11th	119.2	RUSH	101.7	21st
32nd	255.2	PASS D	201.3	19th
27th	128.3	RUSH D	103.3	7th

Key Players

D. McFadden - RB Car: 241 Yds: 1,289 Avg: 5.3 TD: 11

H. Ward - WR Rec: 93 Yds: 1,229 Avg: 13.2 TD: 8

The main key to the game will be the way Erik Patterson is able to handle the menacing Pittsburgh defense, but some of each team's offensive weapons could have a chance to make the real difference. McFadden has been having a fantastic postseason and is coming off a 210-yard performance in Indianapolis. The Steelers will undoubtedly be focusing mainly on containing him. On the other side, Ward has seemingly re-discovered his youth and has once again emerged as a big time receiving threat. He will be looking to capitalize on the fact that star cornerback Leodis McKelvin will miss the game due to injury.

Injury Report

NAME	POS	INJURY	STATUS	NAME	POS	INJURY	STATUS
Paul Posluszny	LB	Broken Forearm	[OUT]
Jan 7: Team doctors confirmed what was already expected, Posluszny will miss the remainder of the playoffs with a broken forearm.
Leodis McKelvin	CB	Torn Quadricep	[OUT]
Jan 16: The Bills have confirmed that McKelvin, as expected, will miss the remainder of the postseason after partially tearing his groin in the win against Indianapolis. Bruce Johnson and Terrence McGee will start at cornerback.

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Buffalo Bills

26

49

Pittsburgh Steelers

PITTSBURGH, PA -- The Buffalo Bills entered their AFC Championship appearance riding a 5-game winning streak, including consecutive playoff upsets. Many believed, however, that they would be facing their toughest opponent yet on Sunday.

Normally known more for blitzing than coverage, Harrison came away with two of Pittsburgh's four interceptions

As it turns out, those people were right, as the Bills fell 49-26 against an experienced Steeler team. The Cinderella story came to an end just a game shy of the Super Bowl for the second straight season.

Rookie quarterback Erik Patterson, playing in the biggest game of his young career, got off to a rough start by throwing an interception on Buffalo's first drive that Ike Taylor would return for a touchdown. After a 3-and-out, the Bills got a nice break of their own when Jairus Byrd intercepted a Ben Roethlisberger pass that led to Patterson finding Lee Evans open in the end zone. Pittsburgh took back the lead near the end of the quarter after backup running back Jonathan Dwyer narrowly avoided being pushed out of bounds by Thomas Howard just shy of the goaline to go up 14-7.

The Bills looked to be driving right back up the field to start the second quarter, but the drive stalled out at the 26-yard-line and Mason Crosby would boot a 43-yard field goal attempt wide left. Buffalo's defense made another big play with Zackary Bowman grabbing his second pick, but the Bills were only able to get a field goal. Pittsburgh answered right back with Rashard Mendenhall taking one 59 yards to the house. It was the first of many things that would begin to go Pittsburgh's way. On the next drive, Patterson scrambled right and would have been close a first down but Lamarr Woodley was able to strip the ball. Dwyer carried on the first play of the ensuing drive and went 37 yards to give the Steelers a 28-10 lead. Luckily, the Bills were able to convert a 4th-and-1 two drives later to eventually find Jordunn Williams open on a fade route to bring the score within 11, but after another Bowman interception, the Bills had a chance to narrow the deficit to 4. Unfortunately, Williams was open in the end zone but Patterson overthrew him and instead found James Harrison for an interception.

Patterson ran well throughout the game but had two costly fumbles, this one forced by Woodley

The second half was pretty much all downhill for the Bills, starting with a developing first drive ending abruptly as Harrison plucked his second interception on a pass to the flats intended for Fred Jackson. Later, Patterson fumbled on a sack and the ball was recovered by lineman Casey Hampton and returned for a touchdown. Things looked bleak heading into the fourth quarter down 35-20, but a comeback certainly was not out of reach.

Luck was clearly not on Buffalo's side, however, as Pittsburgh forced a fumble on a Williams punt return at the Buffalo 27-yard-line. The replays clearly showed that the ground forced the fumble, but Buffalo had already used both of their challenges. The Bills were fortunate enough to get the ball back as Bruce Johnson picked off Roethlisberger, his fourth interception thrown in the contest, but the Buffalo offense was unable to capitalize after three incompletions. The Steelers drove downfield and Dwyer punched it in for his third rushing touchdown of the game. After a few changes of possession and a second Mendenhall touchdown, Patterson found C.J. Spiller for a 94-yard touchdown play to at least end the game with some excitement.

"It's never easy to lose in the playoffs, but it stings so much worse to do so in this fashion," said Buffalo head coach and former Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. "Those [Steelers] came ready to play, they prepared perfectly and executed. We did not have a sound performance but I think it brought to light some things that we can work on improving this offseason. You get used to the euphoria of winning some playoff games, pulling off upsets, and you lose sight of the fact that we're still a young team; we're a work in progress."

The Steelers will look to win their 7th Super Bowl title in New Orleans in two weeks.

Photo Gallery

Dwyer manages to reach the end zone for his first of 3 TDs

Patterson tosses it up to an open Jordunn Williams for a score

Bowman jumps Wallace's route for his second interception

Box Score

Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers
Jan 20, 2013 1 2 3 4 F Buffalo Bills (10-6) 7 10 3 6 26 Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) 14 14 7 14 49 Top Performers Erik Patterson - QB 22/58 (37%) 323 Yds 3 TD, 4 INT Rashard Mendenhall - RB 20 car 165 Yds (8.2 avg) 2 TD Lee Evans - WR 8 rec 61 Yds (7.6 avg) 1 TD	Team Stats Comparison First Downs 18 12 3rd Down Efficiency 6-18 4-12 4th Down Efficiency 2-4 0-0 Total Yards 413 389 Passing Yards 292 144 Rushing Yards 121 245 Penalties-Penalty Yards 2-25 5-40 Turnovers 7 4 Time of Possession 38:37 21:23
Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING BUF PIT 9:14 I. Taylor, returned interception 54 Yds (Longwell) 0 7 5:36 L. Evans 5 Yd pass from E. Patterson (Crosby) Spoiler 7 7 1:27 J. Dwyer, 22 Yd run (Longwell) 7 14 SECOND QUARTER SCORING BUF PIT 10:25 M. Crosby, 35 Yd FG 10 14 9:29 R. Mendenhall, 59 Yd run (Longwell) Spoiler 10 21 9:12 J. Dwyer, 37 Yd run (Longwell) 10 28 1:54 J. Williams 4 Yd pass from E. Patterson (Crosby) 17 28 THIRD QUARTER SCORING BUF PIT 7:36 C. Hampton, returned fumble 11 Yds (Longwell) Spoiler 17 35 0:21 M. Crosby, 26 Yd FG 20 35 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING BUF PIT 10:36 J. Dwyer, 4 Yd run (Longwell) Spoiler 20 42 5:17 R. Mendenhall, 12 Yd run (Longwell) 20 49 1:12 C. Spiller 94 Yd pass from E. Patterson (2-pt failed) 26 49
Buffalo Bills PASSING C/A YDS TD INT E. Patterson 22/58 323 3 4 D. McFadden 1/1 -2 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD D. McFadden 12 60 5.0 0 E. Patterson 9 61 6.7 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD L. Evans 8 61 7.6 1 T. Bonner 5 89 17.8 0 J. Williams 4 44 11.0 1 D. McFadden 3 25 8.3 0 C. Spiller 1 94 94.0 1 A. Bryant 1 10 10.0 0 E. Patterson 1 -2 -2.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK A. Levitre 2 B. Curl 1 J. Hartwig 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Belcher 7 0 0 0 G. Guyton 5 0 0 0 B. Johnson 5 0 1 0 T. McGee 4 0 0 0 L. Wilson 4 0 0 0 Z. Bowman 3 0 2 0 J. Byrd 1 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LG M. Crosby 2/3 2/2 8 35 PUNTING TOT YDS AVG -20 B. Moorman 3 130 43.3 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD R. Parrish 7 136 19.4 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Williams 2 1 0.5 0 Pittsburgh Steelers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT B. Roethlisberger 12/27 144 0 4 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD R. Mendenhall 20 165 8.2 2 B. Roethlisberger 5 18 3.6 0 J. Dwyer 4 62 15.5 3 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD E. Sanders 3 33 11.0 0 M. Wallace 2 39 19.5 0 H. Miller 2 27 13.5 0 H. Ward 2 22 11.0 0 K. Hall 1 12 12.0 0 O. Lewis 1 8 8.0 0 R. Mendenhall 1 3 3.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Harrison 8 0 2 0 L. Timmons 7 1 0 0 I. Taylor 7 0 1 1 R. Clark 7 0 1 0 L. Woodley 6 1 0 0 B. McFadden 5 0 0 0 E. Barkins 4 0 0 0 T. Gibson 3 1 0 0 C. Easley 3 1 0 0 B. Keisel 2 1 0 0 C. Hampton 2 0 0 1 KICKING FG XP PTS LG R. Longwell 0/0 7/7 7 N/A PUNTING TOT YDS AVG -20 H. Smith 6 189 31.5 3 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD R. Mendenhall 1 20 20.0 0 A. Brown 1 18 18.0 0 J. Dwyer 1 1 1.0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD A. Brown 3 23 7.6 0

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NFC Championship Game || CHI @ ARI - Sun, Jan 20, 2013 - 4:15PM

	22	QB - S. Wallace - 20/33, 241 yds, 1 TD TE - G. Olsen - 9 rec, 124 yds FS - L. Grissom - 28-yd INT return TD
	31	QB - M. Moore - 17/35, 174 yds, 3 TD, 1 int RB - B. Wells - 20 car, 117 yds, 1 TD WR - L. Fitzgerald - 6 rec, 100 yds, 1 TD

[Patriots#12]

Another tough loss in the Championship game and Matt Moore leads the Cardinals back to the superbowl for a rematch against the Steelers.

To be honest though I think Leinhart should have started during the playoff run since he already had experience from last season. Also I wonder about your sliders as quarterbacks always seem to throw a lot of interceptions.

Hopefully next year the team will be able to get over the hump and compete for the superbowl.

What do you think you'll look for in the draft?

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Quote: Originally Posted by Patriots#12

Another tough loss in the Championship game and Matt Moore leads the Cardinals back to the superbowl for a rematch against the Steelers. To be honest though I think Leinhart should have started during the playoff run since he already had experience from last season.

You make a good point, but I guess hindsight is 20/20. I think I mostly was fond of the fact Patterson was better at making plays with his feet if need be. Hopefully he'll improve next season and I won't have to worry about having a situation like that to reflect on.

Quote: Originally Posted by Patriots#12

Also I wonder about your sliders as quarterbacks always seem to throw a lot of interceptions.

That's something I've considered as well, but I had two thoughts on that. 1) Rating-wise, my secondary is pretty ridiculous - 4 CB's over 80, FS over 90, SS I believe over 80, so it's not out of the question for them to be making a lot of plays, and 2) I didn't want to start tweaking sliders midway through the season, especially when I was still losing games. I made a few adjustments in the middle of the previous season, and it just so happened to be around when my winning streak started, so I decided to leave it at one set for this year and then re-evaluate my sliders the next preseason, so I think that's what I'm going to end up doing.

Quote: Originally Posted by Patriots#12

Hopefully next year the team will be able to get over the hump and compete for the superbowl. What do you think you'll look for in the draft?

Yeah, I think this will be a crucial offseason for the development of the team. I'm definitely looking to focus on the defensive side of the ball, as statistically we were terrible other than all the turnovers and big plays. Got a lot of weapons on offense so I'm not too worried about that. The biggest thing will be trying to lock up guys like McKelvin and Byrd who are able to test free agency now. Definitely looking forward to the offseason though