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Four more starters injured, three of them on defense
by By Allen Wilson - NEWS SPORTS REPORTER , Buffalo News
The defense, which was already missing three starters, lost defensive end Aaron Schobel, outside linebacker Keith Ellison and free safety Jairus Byrd.
Schobel left the field after hurting his groin late in first half. He returned to the sideline before halftime, but stayed inside for the second half. Ellison joined Schobel on the sideline in the first half with a quad injury. Byrd went out late in the fourth quarter with a groin problem.
Schobel's absence was especially felt in the pass rush. Texans quarterback Matt Schaub didn't face the same pressure from the Bills' pass rush once it lost Schobel, who had a sack and three pressures before leaving.
Ellison is the third member of the Bills' trio of opening-day starters at linebacker to get hurt this season. Paul Posluszny is three games back from a broken arm, while Kawika Mitchell is out for the year with a knee injury.
Head coach Dick Jauron didn't say how serious the injuries are. He may provide an update today.
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Byrd's injury put a damper on another monumental day for the rookie.
He had two more interceptions Sunday, becoming the first rookie and second NFL player to post three consecutive multi-interception games. Dave Baker did it for San Francisco in 1960. Byrd is the sixth NFL rookie since 1960 and the first since Anthony Henry in 2001 (Cleveland) to have at least three games with at least two interceptions in one season. Henry finished his first season with 10 interceptions.
Byrd also extended his interception streak to four games, which ties a team record shared by seven others. Butch Byrd (in 1964) is the only other Bills rookie with a pick in four straight games. Byrd is the first rookie in the NFL to do it since Orlando Thomas in 1995 for the Minnesota Vikings.
Jairus Byrd leads the NFL with seven interceptions, one more than New Orleans safety Darren Sharper, who plays tonight. Byrd's season total tied Butch Byrd and Carl Charon (1962) for the second-highest ever for a Bills rookie. Archie Matsos set the franchise record with eight in 1960.
"I'm going to start hating on him and bat the ball down when I see him," cornerback Terrence McGee joked. "He's doing an amazing job. I've never seen anything like that before. We definitely need it and I hope he averages two or three a game for the rest of the season. He deserves it because he works hard each week preparing himself to be in the right position each week."
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Terrell Owens' 29-yard touchdown run allowed him to move into fourth place on the NFL's all-time career touchdowns list, but only for a few hours. San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson reclaimed the spot when he scored twice later in the afternoon. So Owens remains in fifth place with 143 TDs, one behind Tomlinson.
It was Owens' third career rushing TD and first since 2002 when he played for San Francisco against Washington. He also moved into the top 20 on the NFL's career scrimmage yards list with 14,658 (14,403 receiving, 255 rushing), moving past Marvin Harrison (14,608). Owens needs 154 yards to surpass Jim Brown for 19th place.
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Wide receiver Josh Reed became the sixth Bills player with 300 career receptions. He needs two more to pass Pete Metzelaars (302) for the fifth spot on the team's all-time list.
Brian Moorman set a team record with his 191st punt inside the 20-yard line. He had shared the mark with Chris Mohr. Moorman's 660 career punts are second only to Mohr's 769 in team history.
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Quarterback Trent Edwards, safeties Donte Whitner and Bryan Scott, fullback Corey McIntyre, right tackle Scott, tight end Shawn Nelson and defensive tackle Kyle Williams were the injured inactives. Wide receiver Roscoe Parrish was designated as the third quarterback again.
e-mail: awilson@buffnews.com
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