Five Reasons Bills Had No Prayer Of Packers Upset

Any Buffalo Bills fan with half a brain knew that the team had very little chance of upsetting the Green Bay Packers in Week 2. They failed miserably in their attempt, falling 34-7 at Lambeau Field. In the process, they accomplished exactly zero of the five major tasks necessary for playing a competitive football game today.

Contain tight ends Jermichael Finley and Donald Lee. If you're desperate, hang your hat on the fact that Lee, the second tight end, had one catch for a one-yard loss. Finley, however, torched Buffalo's secondary, hauling in four passes for a whopping 103 yards. He was the only Packers receiver with more than 38 receiving yards.

Contain linebacker Clay Matthews. Easier said than done, obviously, but it'd have been nice to see it on occasion, at least. Matthews sacked Trent Edwards three times, upping his season total to six.

Exploit Green Bay's weak offensive tackles. Even after one of those weak tackles, Chad Clifton, left the game, the Bills did not record a sack. Aaron Rodgers had all day to operate, throwing for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and adding 20 rushing yards and another score.

Make plays behind their blitz packages. Green Bay did blitz, believe it or not, even though they probably didn't need to. Edwards netted 62 passing yards. His longest pass completion was a 21-yarder in garbage time.

Produce on third down. Buffalo converted just 4 of 12 third downs offensively, while allowing the Packers to convert 7 of 12. They went three-and-out three times, including their first two possessions.

Maybe it's just me, but a professional football team should be able to accomplish at least one of its major objectives. It's probably not just me, though.