It’s halftime at Ralph Wilson Stadium on a warm Summer’s night in August as the Lions lead the bills 35-3.
On his first two series under center as the Bills starting quarterback, Matt Leinart went 1 for 3, with a one yard completion and an ugly interception made by Bill Bentley on the Bills nine yard line. Following the interception, Detroit’s Shaun Hill recognized single coverage on his wideout Patrick Edwards and made a quick completion. Edwards caught the ball and made T.J. Heath, one of the corners fighting for the extra roster spot created by injured corner Stephon Gilmore, miss the tackle as Edwards waltzed into the end zone.
On the Lions next drive, the Bills defense didn’t put up much resistance. Rookie cornerback Crezdon Butler was beat on a number of plays, including a 38-yard deep pass to Matt Willis, and a six yard slant pattern by Kris Durham after beating Butler on the outside. Both Butler and Heath had poor showings in the first half for Buffalo .
On the Bills fourth drive, Leinart was intercepted again by Rashean Mathis. It didn’t take long for the Lions to make the Bills pay by a 23 yard touchdown rush by Joique Bell less than a minute after Leinart was intercepted. Bell ran into the endzone untouched.
Thaddeus Lewis entered the game for the Bills after Leinart failed to put any points on the board through four drives. Lewis was able to set Dustin Hopkins up with a 39-yard field goal following a fumble by Lions running back Mikel Leshoure in Detroit’s half of the field. The field goal was the only points the Bills scored in the entire first half.
The first half was a poor showing for the Bills secondary, allowing four passing touchdowns. The third passing touchdown scored by Detroit came on an 8-yard out pass to running back Theo Riddick, after Riddick beat rookie defensive back Duke Williams. The fourth passing touchdown was scored again by Riddick, this time on a 5-yard out pattern, beating rookie defensive back Jordan Dangerfield. Both of these touchdowns were thrown by Kellen Moore.
The Bills will have an uphill battle entering the final half of the preseason. Leinart and Lewis will have limited opportunities to redeem themselves from a poor first half. Leinart passed for just 11 yards, on 3 for 10 passing, with two interceptions. That earns him a passer rating of 0.0%. Lewis passed for 11 yards, on 2 for 5 passing.
