BUFFALO - A solid defensive effort Sunday in Buffalo was highlighted by defensive tackle Corey Williams' three sacks, the first three-sack game of the third-year pro's career.
Williams' first two sacks both came on third down, as he took down Buffalo quarterback J.P. Losman to force a punt. The second of those came in the third quarter with the Bills on their own 5-yard line. Williams just missed getting Losman in the end zone and took him down at the 3.
His final sack came in the fourth quarter with the score tied at 10. Williams took Losman down for a 7-yard loss on second-and-5, setting up a long third down the Bills didn't convert. In all, Williams' three sacks accounted for 17 lost yards, and he now has five sacks on the season, a new career high.
"I just took them as they came," said Williams, who had his other two sacks this season at Detroit. "Coach kept staying on us about second effort. If you make one move and they stop it, you have to continue to go, and that's what I focused on mainly was second effort."
The Packers defense had five sacks total and increased its sack ratio, which ranks near the top of the league, to plus-16. For the season, the defense now has 27 sacks while the offense has allowed just 11 after the Bills recorded two on Sunday.
"I feel like we were physical up front and we got a lot of push on the quarterback," Williams said. "But we had too many errors and gave up some big plays."
Streak over
Brett Favre's interception in the second quarter ended a string of 111 pass attempts without one and was his first interception in four games.
Favre hadn't thrown an interception since the second half against Philadelphia on Oct. 2. Unfortunately, the interception on Sunday came deep in Packers territory and was returned 17 yards for a touchdown by London Fletcher.
"I had the option to go left or right," Favre said. "After that play, it is really easy to say I should have gone left and by coverage, I really should have gone left. I have had success going that way and I looked left first to get the backers to hold.
"To be honest, I lost Fletcher a little behind the referee. I was trying to look him off with my eyes. If I had to do it again, I would have gone that way or gone outside."
Favre's other interception in the fourth quarter was returned out of the end zone 76 yards into Green Bay territory, setting up Buffalo's final score. Favre now has seven interceptions at the midway point of the season, which is far below last year's pace when he threw 29, but he pointed to himself for scoring just 10 points with more than 400 yards of offense.
"I am as much to blame as anyone for the lack of production," Favre said. "We moved the ball great, but that will only get you so far. Whether it is the first game, the preseason, or the last game, good teams don't make those plays. If we want to be a good team, we can't make those plays."
{sportsad300}Field position game
One reason for the offense's slow start in the first half was poor field position. Three of the Packers' six possessions in the first half began at their own 6-, 7-, and 12-yard lines. Those drives ended with two punts and an interception returned for a touchdown.
"They had great field position the first half and it was tough to come out like that on the road," running back Ahman Green said.
The first chance to shift field position late in the first half backfired as well with Buffalo punting from inside its 20. After Shaun Bodiford returned a 55-yard Brian Moorman punt 5 yards to the Green Bay 33, the Bills were called for ineligible man downfield. The Packers took the penalty, forcing Buffalo to kick again and hoping to come out in better shape.
But Moorman boomed a 65-yarder on the retry and Bodiford lost 3 yards on the return, putting the ball on the 20 and costing the Packers a net 13 yards from the previous result.
The Packers finally got things going when they were able to shift the field a bit in the second half, pinning the Bills inside their 20 three straight times. On two of the ensuing punts, the Packers capitalized with scores to tie the game at 10 early in the fourth quarter.
Injuries
Wide receiver Greg Jennings re-aggravated the ankle injury that forced him to miss last week's game when Fletcher made a shoestring tackle after a 25-yard catch-and-run on a slant pass in the second quarter. Jennings left briefly but returned to the game and finished with five catches for 69 yards.
Safety Nick Collins left the game in the third quarter with a lower back injury and did not return. He was having his kidneys looked at after the game.
