Bills Beat Browns, 24-14, But Lose C.J. Spiller To Shoulder Injury

Bills Vs. Browns, Week 3: Buffalo Rush Defense Strong In Victory

The Buffalo Bills played well defensively in Sunday's 24-14 win over the Cleveland Browns. More specifically, their rush defense was outstanding, as the folks over at SB Nation's Buffalo Rumblings noted:

The Buffalo Bills' rushing defense is legit, as they held Trent Richardson in check for the majority of the game. His longest run on the day was a six yard touchdown run where he was bottled up at the point of attack. He managed 27 rushing yards on 12 carries and the Browns were held to just 33 yards on the ground.

Related: C.J. Spiller Out At Least A Week With Shoulder Injury

Cleveland averaged just 2.5 yards per carry and was forced to lean heavily on its passing game. The Browns finished the day having attempted 43 passes as compared to just 13 runs. That one-dimensional attack made life easier on the Bills defense, which limited Cleveland's offense to just four yards per play. The Bills also picked off a pair of passes.

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Bills Vs. Browns, Week 3: Cleveland's Early Season Struggles Continue

The Cleveland Browns could not find their way into the win column Sunday as they lost to the Buffalo Bills, 24-14.

Cleveland now joins the New Orleans Saints as the only two winless teams in the NFL after three weeks of play. The Browns showed signs of a potentially dangerous offense in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals, but were unable to duplicate those results against the Buffalo Bills. Running back Trent Richardson rushed for only 27 yards and quarterback Brandon Weeden managed a quarterback rating of only 22.6.

Chris Pokorny of SB Nation's Cleveland Browns blog, Dawgs By Nature, writes that both offensively and defensively, things are not looking good for the Browns this season.

Cleveland's defense could not hold off Buffalo. The Bills led off the fourth quarter with a Fitzpatrick-to-Stevie Johnson touchdown. That gave Buffalo a 24-14 lead. After that, Cleveland's offense could not really muster anything else...At 0-3, things are looking gloomy with Baltimore and the Giants coming up.

The Browns' next contest comes against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, followed by the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Bengals.

For more on the Bills, check out Buffalo Rumblings. Check out Dawgs by Nature for coverage of the Browns. Follow SB Nation's NFL hub for everything NFL.

Bills Vs. Browns Final Score: Buffalo Wins 24-14

Despite losing star running back C.J. Spiller in the first quarter, the Buffalo Bills beat the Cleveland Browns 24-14 on Sunday afternoon. With a strong defensive performance and the offense moving behind Ryan Fitzpatrick and back-up running back Tashard Choice, the Bills were able to win their first road game of 2012.

With Spiller in the lineup, the Bills got ahead early, leading 14-0 following a 32-yard touchdown catch by the running back. He injured his shoulder during the next series, though, forcing the team to depend on Choice as its primary ball carrier.

Choice came through, putting up 91 yards on 20 carries to keep Buffalo's rush offense alive. Fitzpatrick did his part as well, completing 22-of-35 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns, although he did lose a fumble in the second quarter.

The Browns trimmed Buffalo's lead to 17-14 late in the third quarter, but the defense held steady and Fitzpatrick led a 68-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Fantasy Studs/Duds: Fitzpatrick and Choice were the big fantasy players on Sunday, as the Browns' offense didn't play particularly well. Stevie Johnson was Buffalo's leading receiver with seven catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Weeden passed for 237 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two interceptions.

No player on the Browns had more than 45 yards receiving, and Trent Richardson was quiet all afternoon. The first round pick carried the ball 12 times for 27 yards, plus he caught six passes for 24 yards.

For more on fantasy, check out SB Nation's fantasy sports hub.

Odds: The Bills were favored by three points, so they beat the spread.

For more on gambling, check out SB Nation's NFL odds page.

Injury Info: Spiller's shoulder injury is the big news. He's scheduled to have an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of the injury, but the Bills could now be without their top two running backs for a while after losing Fred Jackson earlier in the year.

Next Up: The Bills will move on to play the New England Patriots next week as they look for a third straight win. The Browns face the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.

Stay in this storystream for all your NFL info today. For more on the Buffalo Bills, check out Buffalo Rumblings.

C.J. Spiller To Have MRI On Injured Shoulder

C.J. Spiller left Sunday's game early with a shoulder injury, and we hadn't gotten an update on the NFL's leading rusher until now.

Bills still gathering information on CJ Spiller's injured shoulder and an MRI is scheduled for Monday

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) September 23, 2012

Buffalo have now turned to third-string RB Tashard Choice in Spiller's absense, as the team lost starting RB Fred Jackson with an LCL injury in week one. Should Spiller miss significant time it will deal a huge blow to their offense, and to QB Ryan Fitzgerald, who utilized the elusive RB as an effective backfield receiver.

The Bills remain in control on Sunday's game, currently up 24-14 over the Cleveland Browns, but without Spiller their offense is clearly hurting, and they lack a much needed 'big play' ability in their offense. The Bills have turned to Choice, and he has been quite productive totaling 86 yards on 17 carries thus far.

Stay in this storystream for all your NFL info today. For more on the Buffalo Bills, check out Buffalo Rumblings

Trent Richardson Scores Despite Cleveland's Best Efforts

What is lucky for the Cleveland Browns is Trent Richardson, the third overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft, is already the team's most explosive offensive player. What is not lucky for the Cleveland Browns is Trent Richardson is already the team's most explosive offensive player.

The Browns have a hard time moving the football, lack consistency and discipline on defense, have had trouble opening running room for their new running back and essentially beg defenses to play one-on-one and zone coverage until Brandon Weeden can get comfortable in the pros.

All that doesn't matter when Richardson goes improv -- as he did in this touchdown run to get the Browns within a score of the Buffalo Bills with just a couple minutes remaning in the first half.

The Bills were looking like they were going to win this one easily, but the injury to running back C.J. Spiller has really hurt Buffalo's gameplan, and the Browns may actually have a chance to back into a win today.

C.J. Spiller Injury: Bills RB Hurts Shoulder Vs. Browns, Will Not Return

After leading the Buffalo Bills to an early lead, running back C.J. Spiller has left Sunday's game against the Cleveland Browns with an apparent shoulder injury. Spiller left the game after landing hard on his shoulder after a hit from safety Usama Young. He will not return, the team announced.

Spiller, the Bills' first round pick in 2010, has powered Buffalo's offense early in the season with Fred Jackson out, but now he may be joining him on the sidelines. It appears that the injury is to his left shoulder, as ESPN's John Clayton notes that Spiller's arm is currently immobile.

Spiller had carried the ball four times for 16 yards prior to his injury. He also caught two passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.

For more on the Bills, check out Buffalo Rumblings. Check out Dawgs by Nature for coverage of the Browns. Follow SB Nation's NFL hub for everything NFL.

C.J. Spiller Turns On The Afterburners

C.J. Spiller is getting a lion's share of the offensive workload for the Buffalo Bills with Fred Jackson out, and he's making the most of it.

The Clemson product is a threat anytime he sees the open field, utilizing quick cuts and powerful acceleration to pick up yards in bunches. All that is a nice way of saying, "The Cleveland Browns are in trouble on Sunday."

Spiller carried this screen pass 32 yards to put the Bills up a quick 14-0 over Cleveland.

The Browns' secondary is still reeling from injuries and the loss of top corner Joe Haden to a four-game suspension, and the Bills seem to have found the formula for success on offense. That's good news for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who tends to force things when his team is behind.

NFL Inactives, Bills Vs. Browns: Buffalo's Delano Howell, Cleveland's Tank Carder, Oniel Cousins and Raymond Ventrone Active

Four players who were inactive last week for the Bills and Browns are active for Sunday's game.

Bills Vs. Browns: Game Time, TV Schedule, Odds And More

The Bills hit the road for a Week 3 matchup against the Browns, who are looking to avoid an 0-3 hole.

NFL Picks Week 3: Bills Vs. Browns

The Browns have a good shot of getting their first victory of the season on Sunday against the Bills, although a good chunk of national pundits do not agree.

Week 3 NFL Odds And Lines: Bills Vs. Browns

The Cleveland Browns have hit or tied the spread in each of their last six outings despite six losses - will that trend continue as they open as 3-point underdogs to the Buffalo Bills?