Losman and McGahee Deliver

Willis McGahee had an answer for those who thought Buffalo Bill quarterback J.P. Losman would struggle in his NFL debut.

“He came out and proved you wrong,” McGahee said. “And I told you he was going to do it.”

Showing poise and confidence, Losman engineered scoring drives on each of Buffalo’s first five possessions, leading the Bills to a 22-7 victory over the Houston Texans Sunday.

“To come out here on the first day and it worked, it was awesome,” said Losman, a former Venice High and Tulane quarterback, who had been given the starting job over Drew Bledsoe in February. “Fans were going crazy and I got pumped up.

“It couldn’t have been any better.”

The second of Buffalo’s two 2004 first-round draft picks, Losman threw for 170 yards, completing 17 of 28 passes, including a one-yard scoring throw. He finished with a 89.9 quarterback rating. That’s a better rating than Bledsoe had in 11 of his 16 games last season with Buffalo.

“I’m here, I’m the starter now. It’s my second year. We’re going to get it rolling,” Losman said.

Rian Lindell made a career-high five field goals, one short of the franchise record set by Steve Christie in 1996, and Jason Peters made the one-yard scoring catch for the Bills.

McGahee had 117 yards rushing on 22 carries.

The defense did the rest, generating five turnovers, five sacks and limiting Houston to 120 yards. The Bills led, 12-0, four minutes into the second quarter before the Texans gained their initial first down.

“I’m embarrassed,” Houston receiver Andre Johnson said. “We didn’t do anything.”

Johnson finished with two catches for seven yards. Quarterback David Carr’s numbers were bleak too: nine for 21 for 70 yards and three interceptions.

Losman acknowledged he wasn’t too poised the night before, taking a sleeping pill to calm himself. The pill didn’t work, Losman said, noting he was among the first to arrive at the stadium Sunday morning.

Once the game began, he looked comfortable, completing eight of his first 10 passes, including a 42-yard play to Lee Evans on the opening drive.

Losman’s second-quarter scoring pass went to tackle-eligible Peters, who was wide open in the end zone.