THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO -- The sign in the Rogers Centre proclaiming "In Losman we Trust" signalled potentially good things for fans hoping the Buffalo Bills' backup quarterback could pull out a win over the division rival Miami Dolphins.
Unfortunately, fans lost faith early in the beleaguered Bills signal caller, who replaced injured starter Trent Edwards but made mistake after mistake that cost his team at critical points in the Dolphins' 16-3 win Sunday in the first NFL regular season game ever played in Canada.
For the second straight week, the Bills failed to score a touchdown, another dismal offensive performance for a team that has had trouble running the ball and passing for much of the year.
Losman, the strong-armed former Bills starter, was pressured all day by the Dolphin defence. He was sacked near the goal-line, ran for his life on numerous plays and overthrew open receivers.
"We were looking for rhythm on offence, and we just didn' have it," Losman said after the game.
"Whether we ran on first down we were unsuccessful, when we tried the shotgun on first down we were unsuccessful. We were not there today."
Losman finished the game with 13 completions in 27 attempts for an anemic 123 yards, one interception and a dismal passer rating of 45.8, about the lowest in the league in Sunday NFL action.
His Dolphins counterpart, Chad Pennington, managed his offence methodically, throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Anthony Fasano and leading three field-goal scoring drives with a mix of short and long passes and running plays.
The closest the Bills came to a touchdown was late in the third quarter, with a first and goal at the three-yard line after a promising drive in which Losman mixed the run and pass and hit receiver Josh Reed for 23 yards for a first down.
At the three, Losman tried to loft a fade-away pass in the corner of the end-zone to Lee Evans, the Bills' best receiver and highest-paid player. The ball was poorly thrown and Dolphins cornerback Will Allen intercepted, snuffing out a drive that could have turned the momentum in the Bills favour.
"Unfortunately for me and our team, I underthrew him," Losman said. "I should have missed out of bounds."
The Dolphins later methodically marched down the field and kicked a field goal that put the game away at 16-3.
Losman, a former first round draft pick from Tulane University in New Orleans, has failed to jazz up the Bills offence during most of his five years with the team and lost the starting job last year during Edwards' rookie season. Before Sunday's game, the 27-year-old quarterback made just two appearances in 2008, both in relief in games that were bad losses for the AFC East team..
Losman becomes eligible for free agency at the end of the season and is almost certain to move on to another team. Sunday's performance did not improve his chances of regaining starter status in the NFL.
In the game, Losman showed the mobility that has characterized his career with the Bills as he rushed for 53 yards and escaped several near sacks from the fierce Dolphin pass rush. But he also held on to the ball to long, overthrew and underthrew open receivers and appeared indecisive on several plays.
Losman fumbled, stumbled and turned in what coach Dick Jauron admitted was another disappointing performance for the Bills offence.
"We couldn't stay on the field, we couldn't convert on third down, we couldn't sore," Jauron said. "When you score three points you are not going to win football games."
