Bills Show Some Offensive Punch In Win Over Buccaneers
It wasn’t a game for the ages by the Buffalo Bills, as they blew much of a 17 point lead to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Still, they did what they had to do and put some offense on the board en route to a 33-20 National Football League victory.
NFL sports betting enthusiasts who took the Bills as -4 home favorites cashed their tickets with the pointspread cover. Despite a 1-1 straight up record, Buffalo improved to 2-0 against the spread. Tampa Bay has lost both of their 2009 NFL games straight up and against the number for a 0-2 mark in both categories. The combined 53 points put on the scoreboard went OVER the posted total of 41.
Quarterback Trent Edwards expressed his excitement and seeing T.O show some of his ability to be a deep threat for the team:
I was excited and he was excited. I don’t really recall what was said, but I’m honestly hoping that that continues to happen. I think that’s why we have him.”
“We learned our lesson from last week and it’s a valuable lesson we’re going to need throughout the season. We have to finish games and that’s what we did today.”
Lee Evans also caught a touchdown pass from Edwards, and after the game praised his quarterback:
“It comes down to opportunities. I think Trent wasn’t afraid to take any chances. You always have to have that threat of the deep play. I think we put it on the table today that we would.”
A team long known for its suffocating defenses, Tampa Bay has struggled to stop opposing offenses in the first two NFL regular season games under new head coach Raheem Morris. The Bucs allowed over 900 yards of offense this season, a fact that defensive stalwart Ronde Barber stressed was unacceptable:
“They dialed up some things on us that we should have stopped but we didn’t. Ask the coaches that. I’m not willing to make a statement on that. It’s really unacceptable. Good defenses are good tackling defenses.”
Morris, meanwhile, tried to project an aura of calm:
“I’m not worried about their confidence but these guys got to play better.”
The Bills now host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, with Buffalo installed as +6 home underdogs. The total for the game has been set at 52. Tampa Bay faces three tough NFC East opponents in the coming weeks, beginning with a Sunday home game against the New York Giants. The Bucs are +6 home underdogs in that game with the total set at 44.
Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and highly respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
Edmonton Wins CFL Shootout Over Calgary
The Edmonton Eskimos survived a wild back and forth CFL shootout against the Calgary Stampeders before prevailing 38-35 to take over sole possession of first place in the CFL West. Ricky Ray hit Fred Stamps with a 23 yard touchdown pass with just nine seconds to play to earn the victory, erasing the lead that Calgary had earned with their own TD pass less than a half minute earlier.
Winning QB Ricky Ray said that he enjoyed playing in the shootout:
“That was a ton of fun. In the CFL you get to play in a lot of games like this, especially against a guy like (Calgary quarterback Henry) Burris, who has done this to us. It’s great to come out on the winning end of a shoot-out like that. It’s a great uplift for the team. It’s a huge win for us.”
With a bye week on deck, Eskimos head coach Richie Hall said that the win couldn’t have come at a better time:
“Regardless of what happens, we are coming back in first place. Now we have one up on Calgary. It’s going to be a dogfight for all the teams in the West and any chance you get to win, especially a win like this, it’s a real bonus. It’s great for our confidence.”
Calgarys Burris remembered a very similar game last year:
“They got us last year in this situation and of course you didn’t think it was going to happen again or even could happen again. It felt so great to get that late touchdown and with 38 seconds on the clock nobody was even thinking about last year. We had to stop Jackson and we didn’t. And we had to stop Ray and we didn’t. Kudos to Edmonton.”
Calgary returns to action on Aug. 28 in Toronto while the Eskimos will next play on Aug. 29 when they host Hamilton. The two CFL provincial rivals from Alberta will face each other twice more this season.
Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.