ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. " A day later, Perry Fewell shuddered when recalling how difficult it was seeing Bills rookie guard Eric Wood writhing in pain on the field after breaking two bones in his left leg.
Forget the 18-15 loss to Jacksonville on Sunday, Wood's devastating injury was not how Fewell wanted to remember his debut as the Bills interim head coach.
"He was in severe pain, and it was not a pretty sight to see," Fewell said Monday, referring to an injury that was so gruesome CBS elected against broadcasting more than one replay of the hit. "You never want to see that as a football coach. That's part of the game, but as a human being, you never want to see something like that happen to another person."
Wood had successful surgery immediately following the game, and remained in a Jacksonville hospital overnight. Fewell said he didn't know when the player would be discharged and allowed to travel home to Buffalo.
A first-round draft pick out of Louisville, Wood's injury is the latest blow to an injury-riddled offensive line that also lost reserve Seth McKinney, who sustained what Fewell called a season-ending knee injury against the Jaguars.
Buffalo (3-7) finished the game without any reserves on the offensive line, and will have to bolster its roster this week in preparing to host Miami (5-5) on Sunday.
Running back Marshawn Lynch's status is also uncertain after he hurt his left shoulder, leaving the Bills with two running backs, Fred Jackson and fullback Corey McIntyre.
Wood, who had started all 10 games at right guard this season, was hurt while blocking on a pass play in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Jaguars defensive tackle Montavious Stanley broke in on the left side and made a diving attempt to tackle quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick near the line of scrimmage. Stanley got only a piece of the quarterback, and then landed directly on Wood's lower leg, bending it sideways.
CBS showed a replay once before a commercial break. Upon returning from commercials, the broadcast crew announced no further replays would be shown because of what happened.
The injury put a pall on what was an otherwise gutty performance by a Bills team coming off a tumultuous week in which head coach Dick Jauron was fired and replaced by Fewell, the defensive coordinator.
With Fewell in charge, the Bills offense finally showed a spark, with Terrell Owens enjoying a season-best 197 yards receiving and a touchdown on a 98-yard reception that became the longest pass-play in franchise history. In the meantime, their banged-up and porous defense " which entered the game allowing an NFL-worst 173 rushing per game " limited Maurice Jones-Drew to 66 yards, 30 below his season-average.
The Bills still lost because they faded down the stretch as they've done numerous times this season. Jacksonville overcame a 15-10 deficit when Mike Sims-Walker caught a 3-yard touchdown pass with 56 seconds remaining.
Buffalo has been outscored 109-40 in the final quarter this season, including 54-0 in its past three games.
It also didn't help that the Bills had two touchdowns nullified by penalties.
"It's the same old story," Jackson said. "We don't feel like guys are stopping us, we're stopping ourselves."
At least Jackson was encouraged in seeing the offense show signs of life.
"Yeah, it was disappointing to lose, but we feel like it was a step in the right direction," he said.
Owens' breakout game came after he managed just 366 yards receiving in his first nine outings. He helped a sputtering offense generate 343 yards, the most since Buffalo managed 438 in a 33-20 win against Tampa Bay in Week 2.
Fitzpatrick finished with 297 yards passing, the most by a Bills quarterback since J.P. Losman had 340 yards in a 24-21 win at Houston on Nov. 19, 2006.
NOTES: Fewell declined to say whether Fitzpatrick would remain his starter a week after benching Trent Edwards. ... Reserve DT John McCargo was listed as day to day after hurting his calf. ... Starting DT Marcus Stroud said he's ready to return after missing Sunday's game with a sore right knee. ©
Sports
New Bills coach shaken by Wood's gruesome injury
- Sports
-
-
Defense helps Crusaders snap skid
The going hasn't been easy for the Susquehanna University women's basketball team this season. So much so, that it hasn't won a game in more than a month.
-
SU rides Harley to win
With the chants of "ride the Harley" coming from the student body, sophomore Harley Sellinger certainly took visiting Goucher for a spin Friday night.
-
HS Roundup: Braves close in on playoff bid
Counted for dead not too long ago, the Shikellamy Braves are still alive and kicking and they are now one win away from making the District 4 playoffs.
-
Danville stays in HAC-I title race
When their 13-point lead had been whittled to seven midway through the fourth quarter Friday, the Danville girls were at a tipping point.
-
Harold Raker's column on high school wrestling: Playing the name game
Going into last weekend, with four Valley teams competing in the District 4 Class AA and AAA Duals Tournament, I had already made tentative plans to be in Hershey this week. Had things gone really well, I would have still been in Chocolatetown, covering at least one of them in the state tournament.
-
NCAA denies UConn APR waiver request
The NCAA on Friday turned down the University of Connecticut's request for a waiver that would allow its men's basketball team to play in the 2013 national championship tournament.
-
College Lacrosse: Bucknell men prepare to improve upon great season
LEWISBURG -- It started a handful of years ago, when the Bucknell men's lacrosse team put a big 'X' on the national map in Central Pennsylvania with an upset of No. 1 Maryland. From that point on Bison coach Frank Fedorjaka has had a difficult time getting big-time opponents on the schedule, even with Bucknell opting to travel under the worst of circumstances.
-
High school football: Pratt says Kutztown the right fit
SUNBURY -- When Shikellamy's Tyler Pratt joins the Kutztown University football team as a free safety next fall, he will already have a good feeling for what his position coach will expect from him. Pratt, who signed a national letter of intent this week to accept a scholarship offer to play for the Golden Bears, will be under the tutelage of his father's high school football coach.
-
Todd Stanford On high school boys basketball: Increasing the refs' workload
If two heads are better than one, does that mean six eyes are better than four? Not necessarily, according to some Heartland Athletic Conference officials. There is a move afoot in the HAC to cut the number of basketball referees from three to two for part of the season beginning next year.
-
High School Roundup: Greenwood boys complete perfect TVL season
Greenwood capped off an unbeaten 2011-12 Tri-Valley League season by crushing Halifax 61-38 on Thursday Night.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Defense helps Crusaders snap skid
