[A la Antoine Dodson] Weeellll, ob-vi-ous-ly, the Bills have a problem with winning games. They climbin' in yo heart, snatchin' yo sanity up, don't mean to hurt you but y'all need to hide ya kids, hide ya wife... and hide ya husband too cuz they breakin' the hearts of errybody out here.
You don't have to run and say sorry, we still loveee you, we still love you. So you can run and tell that, run and tell that, run and tell that, Bills boys, Bills Bills Bills boys.
The "bed intruder song" turned "heart intruder song" sums up Sunday's game at Baltimore borderline perfectly. For those that aren't Bills fans, or for those Bills fans who lost hope halfway through, here's what went down.
I told myself I wouldn't get excited. At 0-5, going into Sunday's game against a playoff-worthy team was daunting, even to the near-unwavering optimist like me. Ray Lewis' threats in the week leading up to Sunday's game, while annoying as hell, stood a good chance of ringing true, and even I couldn't ignore the fact that the Ravens are a strong team right now.
Then, shortly into the first quarter, Fitzpatrick drove the offense (yes, I'm comfortable enough in their evolution to consider them a legit offense) down the field in six plays and 72 yards to set up a 33-yard touchdown pass to my Lee Evans. I was happy, but at this point, I knew better than to let my guard down completely.
But then, we recovered a lost ball from Baltimore and drove down the field, settling for a 21-yard Lindell field goal. Not great, but at least we got some points out of the recovery, which is something we haven't always done in the past. I was excited to be up 10-3, but still firmly planted in reality.
Until, Fitz found Stevie Johnson on a 33-yard touchdown pass on an 11-play, 91-yard drive early in the second quarter. I'm becoming quite fond of Stevie. I can't get over how he's blossomed since finally being healthy enough to hit the turf. It's not just talent, either -- his passion for the game itself is refreshing. And, we go way back, because I have a photo with him from before he cut his hair... and we had a lovely Twitter exchange over the ridiculous adorableness of his children. You're jealous, it's fine.
My expectations were still fairly intact, even though we were leading B-more 17-3, something nobody saw coming. When Flacco threw a TD to Heap, I felt that familiar feeling of "ohh, here we go, I knew it was too good to be true" wash over me. Luckily, my conscious attempt at not getting excited prevented this from being the disheartening and disastrous spectacle it usually is. I barely even flinched.
But then, Fitz went all fearless on us and hit my Lee with a 20-yard touchdown pass, his second of the game. Because of my strong affection for #83 who is largely underrated, my wall holding out excitement began to crumble. I can't help myself when it comes to his success, I'm just so proud of him! The score was 24-10.
However, shortly thereafter, the second quarter began to fall apart before my very eyes. A Baltimore field goal and another touchdown off a CJ Spiller kick off return fumble (I'm not mad. Nobody's perfect, everyone makes mistakes), and we were suddenly leading by only four points going into halftime. Not great.
When the third quarter started, I had composed myself and was not excited (ok, not TOO excited), just interested to see what would happen next. Well, good thing I wasn't TOO excited or anything, because I wasn't thrilled with the Fitzpatrick interception turned Ravens touchdown that suddenly had us losing 27-24 only nine seconds into the second half. What... a cruel twist of fate.
After an ungrateful former Bill... I mean... a Willis McGahee 2-yard touchdown that hiked the score to 34-24, I'll admit, I had almost convinced myself that I was okay with another loss and shouldn't waste time being sad, angry or stressed.
But then, the Bills did the unthinkable and made a comeback with only five minutes left in the fourth quarter. (Yes, I said a comeback, and yes, it's still 2010 and we have not gone back in time) Fitz found my Lee for yet ANOTHER touchdown (his third) and Lindell saved our behinds with a 50-yard FG to tie the game and shove it into overtime.
By now, I forgot I wasn't supposed to get excited, or I just didn't care. I was having difficulty breathing, I was sweating even though my house was freezing, I was rambling and yelling incoherent exclamations, and I developed hives on my left arm. I guess you could say, my pact with myself evaporated faster than the Ravens' 10 point lead just had. I could barely contain myself.
Alas, overtime ended in disappointment when the Ravens hit a field goal, eeking out a 37-34 win, and dropping us to 0-6.
Nothing to be too disturbed by, I mean we weren't supposed to win that game by statistical or realistic standards. Fitz exceeded 300 yards passing and ran around four times for 20 yards to convert various third downs, my Lee had three touchdowns, Freddy had 73 yards on 23 carries, and we ALMOST beat the Ravens, who have a top-notch defense and dominant run game. Most people kindly remind me that ALMOST doesn't count and we're still winless. I not-so-kindly remind them that 1) they're a d-bag 2) to Bills fans, any positive and impressive gameplay is reason to celebrate.
GO BILLS!!!