"I suppose it's difficult, particularly in these trying economic times, for Bills fans to feel sorry for the highest-paid athlete in Buffalo sports history.

Still, you have to feel a twinge of sympathy for poor Lee Evans. Good guy. Good teammate. Good in the community. Good hands. Great speed. But in his sixth NFL season, the Bills' wide receiver is struggling through the most discouraging season of his career.

Evans has become a forgotten man, an afterthought in the offense. For much of his career, he was a big-play threat, capable of breaking free for an 80-yard bomb at any moment. Remarkably, Evans doesn't have a single game with more than 75 receiving yards this season.

Terrell Owens was supposed to be a godsend for Evans. With teams concentrating on T.O., Evans would get more single coverage, more room to operate down the field and use his speed and hands to the fullest.

The opposite occurred. Evans has 32 catches for 485 yards. That's 37 yards a game. It goes back before Owens. Evans has averaged less than 40 yards in his last 22 games. He has one 100-yard game in his last 22; one 40-plus catch in his last 18.

That's not what the Bills had in mind when they handed him a four-year, $37.2 million extension 14 months ago. They paid Evans like one of the elite receivers in the NFL. But since signing the deal, he has performed like a marginal wideout.

On Sunday, Evans had one catch for 11 yards against the Chiefs, who have one of the worst pass defenses the league. For much of the day, Ryan Fitzpatrick barely looked his way. The Bills won, and Evans was pleased with the performance of the running game. But these modest receiving totals do get discouraging.

"Absolutely," Evans said. "Absolutely. But some things you can't control. It's tough at times. But the bottom line is trying to win football games. [Sunday] wasn't a big stat game at all, but coming up with a win makes you feel a whole lot better.""