ORCHARD PARK — OK, there’s no sugar coating this thing any longer. Free fall. That’s where the Bills are. That’s where they’ll stay as long as their defense continues to give games away in the fourth quarter, and offensively they keep attacking a 14-ounce porterhouse with plastic silverware.

It’s one thing watching the Jets and a Hall of Famer work wonders. And it’s not a disgrace to surrender a long drive to the mighty Patriots on the road.

But the Browns? Brady Quinn? At what point does the bleeding stop?

When does the opponent become weak enough?

Don’t get me wrong, having your starting quarterback hand the ball to the opposition three times in the first quarter makes it tough to get settled in.

He says it, and says it and says it so often that you’re prone to believe him, but let the record now stand corrected, no matter how many times he’s regurgitated the line — Trent Edwards is not a confident quarterback.

Not any more. Not after he surrendered three picks in his first seven passes. Not after he watched a comfortable lead in the AFC East vanish as if David Copperfield had a hand in it.

It’s one thing to turn it over early. Brett Favre’s done it. Jim Kelly did it. But what happens when smart guys keep getting picked is they get tentative. That’s clearly what happened to Edwards, who shied away from the long ball most of the night.

Marshawn Lynch’s career high in catches wasn’t a product of effective routs, they were a by-product of Edwards’ fear of throwing the ball downfield.

And the Browns knew it. Any time you can take Lee Evans out of a game, you’ve got a decent shot. Evans didn’t have a catch. Wasn’t even thrown to. After the early miscues, Buffalo’s offense became a shell, simply hoping not to make mistakes.

Like they did in New England, the Bills tried to outlast an opponent. Their decision to become passive with the ball near the 30-yard line on a night as chilly and damp as Monday was a sure-fire mistake.

Dick Jauron’s mantra of not losing again prevented the Bills from winning.

On the flip side, Quinn did keep taking shots, even though Braylon Edwards was wearing his leather-repellent gloves. Quinn hurled pass after pass to Edwards along the sidelines. He dropped some, but caught some, too.

Maybe there’s a tiny shred of silver in those clouds. Maybe the Bills will scrap the mentality that they’re a team to beat and realize they need to shake a few wins free. Deep passes. Offensive ingenuity. A little riverboat gambler.

But maybe not. Maybe they’ll continue to stay passive, meekly accepting 47-yard field goals that sail wide right (hmmm ...) instead of trying to punch it down tight at crunch time.

As long as they keep sticking with the latter, there’s no end to the free fall in sight.

Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.