| January 01, 2004 | « Previous Story | HOME | Next Story » | Posted at 06:01 PM |
Stunned Bills fans barely had time to recover from the shocking finish of "The Music City Miracle" before the debates began. Buffalo had 2 starting quarterbacks and the camp lines were clearly drawn- with "Flutie Fanatics" in one corner and "Johnsonites" in the other. Not since the mid 1960's when the Bills had Jack Kemp and Darryl Lamonica did the Bills have 2 rival QBs, with 2 rival styles, and both were successful. But in the 1960's the Bills had an iron-fisted coach in Lou Saban, and the Bills were winning championships. Kemp and Lamonica's contrasts were actually beneficial- as Saban called on the quarterback he would need depending on the situation- much like a baseball manager would call in for the left-handed reliever from the bullpen. But with the current sports media circus atmosphere that is fuelled by the controversial, this QB situation was made to order. As one fan put it, it became the "Buffalo Bills' fans Vietnam".
The Bills had paid a steep price in Draft Picks and a big contract to Rob Johnson, so they were reluctant to deal him due to a cap-unfriendly contract. While Flutie was given a hansom raise in his second season, his age (37) frightened teams away.
Two days after the Titans came 1 yard short in the Super Bowl against the Rams, Bills fans were stunned with the inevitable. The Troika of Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, and Thurman Thomas were all released by the Bills in a salary cap move. The threesome had a combined 42 years with the Bills and all are certain Hall of Fame candidates. Thomas latched on for 1 season with the Miami Dolphins, while Andre Reed and Bruce Smith eventually found their way to the Redskins.
Other salary cap casualties were 2-time Pro-Bowl FB Sam Gash, WR Kevin Williams, LB Gabe Northern, CB Thomas Smith, and S Kurt Schultz. Due to considerable cap restrictions, the Bills did not acquire any free agents. The Bills relied on the NFL draft to restock their club, but came up with a very disappointing crop. DE Eric Flowers of Arizona Stare was the Bills first pick, followed by FS Travares Tillman (2) LB Corey Moore (3), WR Avion Black (4), RB Sammy Morris (5), DE Leif Larsen (6), and WR Drew Haddad and LB DaShon Polk (7).
The Bills went 3-1 in the preseason, despite losing QB Doug Flutie to a torn Groin muscle a week into camp in July. The 37 year old QB would miss 6 weeks of action, including the home opener. Buffalo squeaked out a 21-20 win at home over the Bengals to open preseason. The Bills would finish with 3 straight road games. Buffalo dropped a 15-13 decision in Detroit, then bounced back with a 31-27 win over the Super Bowl champion Rams, and a 16-12 win over the Eagles.
Steve Christie hit a 33-yard field goal with 35 seconds left and the Buffalo Bills hung on for a 16-13 victory over Tennessee. This time, however, there was no Tennessee throwback, and the Bills managed to tackle kick returner Derrick Mason at midfield. The game ended when punter Craig Hentrich's 60-yard field-goal attempt fell short.
Peerless Price had a 15-yard touchdown reception to open the game's scoring. Tennessee responded with 2 Al Del Greco FGs to draw the Titans within 1 at the half, 7-6.Johnson also ran for 60 yards on six carries, directly helping set up two of Christie's second half field goals. The Bills led the entire way until George tied it wit a 2 yard TD run on a drive set up by a 41-yard pass-interference call against Ken Irvin. He got his hands on Carl Pickens to break up what appeared to be a sure touchdown.
Backup Alex Van Pelt took over with the game tied at 13 with just over 6 minutes remaining, replacing the injured Johnson. Bills QB Doug Flutie was the designated 3rd QB on the night, available for emergency duty only.. He was nursing a torn groin. On the Bills' final possession, Van Pelt sparked the winning drive when he hit Eric Moulds for a 36-yard gain with 50 seconds left, to set up Christie's field goal.
Despite being sacked five times and hit on numerous other occasions, Johnson showed his resilience, completing 18 of 26 passes for 259 yards, leading the Buffalo Bills to a 27- 18 win. Tight end Jay Riemersma enjoyed his second career two-touchdown game, and Jeremy McDaniel scored his first career touchdown. The Bills scored on three straight possessions, going ahead 17-0 on Riemersma's first touchdown -- a 6-yard reception -- three minutes into the third quarter. Key to the Bills' early success was establishing wide receiver Eric Moulds. Johnson went to Moulds early and often, as the two hooked up for seven completions and 103 yards.
Riemersma's 14-yard touchdown reception three minutes into the fourth quarter sealed the victory, giving the Bills a 27-10 lead. Johnson hit Riemersma at the 1, and he got the ball across the goal line before scampering out of bounds. Antonio Freeman grabbed his second TD pass of the game, an 18 yarder with 35 seconds left in the game to close out the scoring.
The Bills drove 80 yards in 12 plays on their first possession. Johnson passed to Eric Moulds for the final 3 yards after hitting tight end Jay Riemersma three times for 48 yards on the drive. On the ensuing kick, the Jet's Kevin Williams raced 75 yards to tie the score. Williams' kickoff return and Curtin Martin's 5-yard TD run made it 14-7, and Buffalo's offense fizzled after its quick start, making just one first down on four possessions. But late in the half, McDaniel got behind the Jets defense for the 74 yard TD pass from Johnson, tying the score 14-14. The Jets, using short passes and their two remaining timeouts, reached the Buffalo 45, where Testaverde spiked the ball with four seconds left. Marcus Coleman, a starter on defense, caught his first NFL pass, out-leaping four Bills defenders surrounding him in the back of the end zone, giving the Jets a 21-14 halftime lead.
New York scored twice after halftime on field goals by John Hall, and the Bills were hurt in the second half by a blocked field goal, two failed referees' challenges and three lost fumbles, two by punt returner Chris Watson.
On five of their first six possessions, the Bills marched inside the Colts' 24, but came away with only nine points. The Colts sacked Rob Johnson once to push the Bills out of field-goal range in the first half. And a holding penalty against Ruben Brown and a delay of game call foiled a threat in the third quarter. Manning threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison in the second quarter to cut the Bills lead to 9-7, and a 10-yard scoring pass to Terrence Wilkens that gave the Colts a 15-9 lead in the first minute of the fourth quarter. The Bills looked like they had it won on Eric Moulds' 40-yard reception with 1:08 left. Manning drove Indianapolis 42 yards to set up Mike Vanderjagt's 45-yard field goal as time ran out. On the winning drive, Manning chipped away after the Colts started on their own 31. His 10-yard pass to Edgerrin James, coupled with a 5-yard facemask penalty against Keion Carpenter, was the biggest gain of the drive.
Miami got a break off the opening kickoff, as Steve Christie's kick went out of bounds, giving the Dolphins their opening possession at their own 40. The Dolphins used a running drive to move the ball inside the Buffalo 20, but the drive stalled out there, and Miami settled for an Olindo Mare 30-yard field goal, and Miami took a 3-0 lead with 8:43 remaining in the first quarter. The Bills were the benefactors of Matt Turk's 25-yard punt giving the Bills the ball at the Dolphin 29. The Bills converted on the good field position with a Steve Christie 45-yard field goal to tie the score with 1:56 left in the opening quarter. The Dolphins took the lead on a drive that moved on a pass interference penalty on Ken Irvin, setting up a 33-yard field goal with 6:26 remaining.Jay Fiedler spotted Shepherd in the end zone, and beat Antoine Winfield with a lofting pass to give the Dolphins a 13-3 lead going into the half.
Atoning for his poor kick earlier, Matt Turk's punt went out of bounds inside the 1-yard line, pinning the Bills deep. RB Jonathan Linton was stopped inside the end zone for a safety by Jermaine Haley to give Miami a 15-3 lead with 4:15 into the 3rd. The Bills finally got a sustained long drive into Miami territory early in the fourth quarter, thanks to a nice 32-yard screen pass reception by Shawn Bryson to the Miami 28. On the next play, Johnson hit Bobby Collins at the Dolphin 4-yard line. The Bills stalled, and Steve Christie's 23-yard field goal cut the Dolphins lead to 15-6 with 12:06 remaining in the game. On the bills next drive, Peerless Price hauled in a 41-yard reception to the Dolphin 27-yard line. The next play saw Patrick Surtain interfere on a pass attempt to Eric Moulds, moving the ball to the Miami 3 on the penalty. Sammy Morris ran in his first NFL touchdown with 8:34 remaining with a 3-yard dash, and the Dolphin lead was cut to 15-13.With under 5 minutes remaining, Sammy Morris coughed up the football into the hands of Sam Madison, returning a fumble 20 yards for the insurance score with 4:45 left.
San Diego opened the scoring with a Keith Carney FG. giving San Diego a 3-0 lead with just :13 remaining in the first quarter. San Diego put in Moses Moreno at quarterback to replace Harbaugh, but on Moreno's first play he fumbled the snap and it was recovered by Pat Williams. On the next play, Sammy Morris ran the ball down the sideline for a 32-yard touchdown, giving the Bills a 7-3 lead. Sam Cowart, forced a Moreno fumble at the San Diego 17, and Sam Rogers recovered. Five plays later, Jonathan Linton fumbled on the goal line, but guard Jerry Ostroski recovered for the TD, giving Buffalo a 14-3 lead with 10:53 left in the second quarter. Harbaugh then gave the Chargers new life on the drive's third play by throwing a 60-yard pass to a wide-open Curtis Conway, and San Diego cut the Buffalo lead to 14-10 just 1:38 after Ostroski's touchdown.
On Buffalo's first drive after the half, Rob Johnson fumbled at the Buffalo 46 and Darryll Lewis returned the ball it to Bills' 17. Jermaine Fazande scored the fifth play of the drive on a 2-yard dive to give the Chargers a 17-14 lead 4:30 into the second half. After holding the Bills to a three-and-out, San Diego scored on the second play of their second drive with a 52-yard pass from Jim Harbaugh to Jeff Graham with 8:09 remaining in the third quarter, giving the Chargers a 24-14 lead.
Johnson then engineered a 99 yard scoring drive. Sammy Morris ran the ball out of danger to the Bills' 13, and then Johnson hit Eric Moulds at the Bills' 45. Peerless Price caught a 10-yard pass to the San Diego 22, and a facemask penalty brought the ball to the Charger 11-yard line. Two plays later, Johnson hit Shawn Bryson for an 11-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Charger lead to 24-21 with 13:48 remaining in the game. The Bills managed to send the game into OT when Steve Christie hit a 29 yard FG with :07 left.
Rob Johnson was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury on the Bill's first drive of OT. The winning FG was set up when Henry Jones picked off a Harbaugh pass. Doug Flutie came in and marched the Bills 31 yards downfield, setting up Christie's 46-yard game-winner.
The Bills fought the undefeated Vikings, but fell short in a 31-27 loss at the Metrodome to fall to 3-4 on the season. Doug Flutie made his first start for the Bills since last December, one day short of his 38th birthday. Flutie threw for 294 yards and was 28 for 43 in passing, but it was not enough to prevent the Vikings from moving to 7-0 on the season.
After a fairly strong first quarter by the defense, the Vikings took a 3-0 lead as Gary Anderson notched a field with 2:38 left in the opening quarter. Shawn Bryson broke to the Minnesota 29 with a 24-yard run on the final play of the first quarter, and Buffalo cashed in. Three plays later, Flutie hit Eric Moulds on a 25-yard touchdown pass. Christie and Anderson exchanged FGs just before the half for a 10-6 Bills lead.
Minnesota then broke back on top early in the second half, with Chris Carter's touchdown catch, 6-yard throw from Dante Culpepper 5:39 into the 3rd quarter. Buffalo responded, as Sammy Morris scored with a 2-yard leap, finishing off a 13-play, 80-yard drive that chewed up over 8 minutes. Sam Rogers intercepted a Culpepper pass attempt to give the Bills another scoring opportunity inside Minnesota territory. Morris then scored a receiving touchdown on a third down play from the 18 yard line, and Buffalo took a 24-13 lead with 14:25 remaining.
Carter responded for the Vikings with his second touchdown of the afternoon, as Minnesota drove 69 yards on the Bills, and capped it off with a 11-yard TD pass. Minnesota converted a two-point conversion pull themselves within a field goal of the Bills, 24-21, with 9:38 left. Buffalo cashed in a great drive start at midfield for a 48-yard field goal by Steve Christie that gave them a 27-21 lead. The Vikings got a good punt return to the Bills' 34 with just over 4 minutes left. Culpepper then launched a 39-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss that Moss held onto in the end of the end zone, and Minnesota retook the lead with 3:50 remaining. Buffalo got the ball back, but Peerless Price fumbled in the Bills' territory to kill their chances.
Buffalo took advantage of a punt that ran into a stiff breeze to take over at their own 45. On third and 16 from their own 39, Flutie fired a 28-yard pass to Jeremy McDaniel. Flutie connected for another large gain with a pass to Eric Moulds, who gained 23 yards to the New York 12-yard line. Morris scored his fifth touchdown in four games with a leaping 1 yard TD, giving Buffalo a 7-0 lead. The Jets replied with a strong drive of their own, Vinny Testaverde hit Fred Baxter for a 12-yard touchdown to tie the game with :59 remaining in the quarter. Testaverde threw his second interception,as Henry Jones returned the errant pass 45 yards down the sidelines for a touchdown. Jones' touchdown gave the Bills a 17-7 lead just 27 seconds after Christie added a FG.
In the second half, New York used a sustained drive to drive to the Buffalo 22, and the Jets converted for a 40- yard John Hall field goal to cut the Bills' lead to 17-10.Testaverde threw a 10-yard pass to a wide open Chrebet in the end zone to tie the score at 17 with 1:04 left in the third quarter to cap off a 8-play, 93-yard drive. In the 4th, Flutie launched a 52-yard bomb to Eric Moulds, who hauled it in at the Jets one yard line, and gave Moulds his third straight 100-yard day. An offensive pass interference washed out an apparent Moulds touchdown and the Bills had to settle for a Steve Christie 29-yard field goal with 6:14 remaining in regulation. New York threatened to take the lead with a long drive from their own 26, but Cowart came up huge on a third and one from the Buffalo 13, tackling Richie Anderson on a screen pass for a five yard loss, and keeping the Jets just to a tying field goal.
With 2:20 left on the clock, Doug Flutie moved the ball downfield with a combination of runs and short passes. Flutie hit Peerless Price at the Jet 40, not only keeping the drive alive, but getting the Bills close to field goal range. The Bills drove to the Jet 14 before kneeling down to make Christie's field goal attempt the last play of regulation, and Christie kicked his 15th game-winner, and his second straight at home, to give the Bills the win.
The clock ticks down, Steve Christie trots on and the Buffalo Bills celebrate. The remarkable has become routine for a kicker whose 32-yard field goal at 4:32 of overtime beat the New England Patriots 16-13 Sunday. He also was sure-footed on the rain-soaked field with a 48-yarder that tied the game with four seconds left in regulation.
The Bills took a 3-0 lead on their second possession and made it 10-0 on Flutie's 9-yard pass to a wide-open Jay Riemersma. Vinatieri's 48-yard field goal late in the first half made it 10-3. The Patriots lost quarterback Drew Bledsoe to a hand injury in the second quarter, and was replaced by John Friez . Friesz was booed when he took the field with 13:57 left in the fourth quarter, but the Patriots came through as J.R. Redmond scored on a 1-yard run and Vinatieri kicked the tying extra point. New England had a chance to win it with the ball at the Buffalo 43 and 3:53 remaining. The Patriots moved it to the Bills 25, where Adam Vinatieri's 43-yard field goal gave New England a 13-10 lead with 2:03 left in regulation. Flutie was up to the task again, as he moved Buffalo downfield quickly into field goal range. Steve Christie's 48 yard FG sent the game to overtime. New England won the toss, but a strong defensive stand by the Bills forced the Patriots to punt. Buffalo again moved the ball downfield quickly, and Christie was given a shot to win the contest with a 32-yarder with 4:32 gone in overtime, and he didn't miss. The game-winner was Christie's 16th of his career, his seventh overtime winner, and also the fourth in the Bills' five wins this season.
The Flutie Johnson debate continued amidst a 3-1 Bills winning streak, all Flutie starts. The Bills offensive output excelled under Johnson, but his inability to remain healthy and his 3-4 record as a starter polarized the fans and media into whom should the starting QB role lie. 38 year old Doug Flutie got the nod against the Bears and got the Bills on the board first. A pair of 24-yard passes to Sammy Morris and Jeremy McDaniel put the Bills on the Chicago 14. Christie gave the Bills a 3-0 with a 27 yard FG. Jim Miller led the Bears on a 10 play 37 yard drive capped off by a Paul Edinger FG. Miller would be knocked out for the season in the second quarter, forcing the Bears to use 3rd string rookie QB Shane Matthews. Making his season debut, Matthews went 11-for-24 for 106 yards, threw three interceptions and fumbled once.
Wade Phillips then put Rob Johnson in the game for a series to test the QB's injured shoulder. The Bills replaced Flutie and put in Rob Johnson on their next drive, and Johnson's second play from scrimmage was a 19-yard scramble. Johnson, who suffered a shoulder injury on Oct. 15 against San Diego, hit Eric Moulds with his first NFL pass in almost a month, a 24-yard gain to the Bear 30. The Bills could not gain another first down, and Christie added his second field goal of the afternoon, this one a 42-yarder, to give the Bills a 6-3 lead with 1:01 remaining.
Flutie came back in for the Bills to start the second half, and Flutie was a big part of Buffalo scoring the first touchdown of the afternoon. Starting from their own 30, Flutie hit a wide open Peerless Price for a 21-yard pass to move Buffalo into Chicago territory. Flutie then hit Antowain Smith to move the Bills to the Bears 35. Smith came into the game in relief of Morris, who left the game with an injury. Smith made a pair of nice runs to get another first down for the Bills, and Flutie hit Moulds to move the ball to the Chicago 5. With three carries, Smith pushed the Bills to the one-yard line, and on fourth-and-goal, Flutie ran a bootleg for a 13-3 Buffalo lead with 6:57 left in the third quarter. Flutie's first rushing touchdown of the season capped a 12-play, 70-yard drive.
The Bills then used a third Chicago turnover to score their second touchdown of the afternoon, as Keith Newman recovered a Matthews fumble, and ran down the sideline, but fumbled the ball himself. The ball stayed in bounds, and Daryl Porter picked it up and ran down the sidelines the remaining 23 yards for a 20-3 lead with 2:40 remaining. Buffalo generated a fourth turnover on Chicago's final drive, as Porter picked off a Matthews pass to allow the Bills to run the clock out, and give the Bills an important victory.
The Bills started off strong from the game's opening kickoff. With Rob Johnson behind center for his first start in over a month, Buffalo started from their own 29 and used a ground attack on Kansas City to move down the field for the game's first touchdown. Johnson hit Eric Moulds for a 9-yard touchdown, giving Buffalo a 7-0 lead with just 5:01 elapsed in the game. In the 2nd. The Chiefs managed to drive to the Bills 2 yard line, but the goal-line defense that came up huge in Buffalo's last road game in New England came up big again, keeping the Chiefs out of the end zone. The Bills forced the Chiefs to settle for a Todd Peterson 19-yard field goal with 5:12 remaining in the half, keeping the Bills in the lead, 7-3.
In the third, QB Elvis Grbac hit TE Tony Gonzalez for a 13-yard touchdown, and the Chiefs took their first lead of the afternoon, 10-7 with 9:07 left, capping a 7-play, 71-yard drive. Pat Williams, who blocked a short field-goal attempt at the end of the first half, recovered Grbac's fumble on the 37 early in the frantic fourth period as the Bills took a 14-10 lead. After the Bills drove to a first-and-10 from the 24, there were penalties on four consecutive plays, three on Buffalo. Then, on first-and-goal from the 18, Johnson's pass went through the hands of linebacker Donnie Edwards straight to tight end Riemersma in the end zone with 13:35 left.
A few minutes after Buffalo went ahead 14-10 early in the fourth quarter, Grbac engineered a 13-play, 63-yard drive and put the Chiefs on top 17-14 with a 9-yard TD pass to Gonzalez. With the Bills trailing 17-14 with about three minutes to play, Johnson was sacked for a 5-yard loss on second down back to the Kansas City 12. Then, again under pressure, he scrambled out of the pocket and jumped to the end-zone pylon. Officials first ruled that Marvcus Patton and William Bartee shoved him out of bounds on the 1. But the Bills got the call reversed, making it 21-17 with 2:58 left. The Bills defense held, giving Buffalo it's 7th win.
On Buffalo's drive that started at their 43, Jonathan Linton leapt in the back of the end zone for a touchdown and a 7-3 Buffalo lead and cap off a 10-play, 57-yard drive with 9:42 remaining in the half. The Buccaneers moved the ball into Bills territory late in the half, , and a questionable penalty on Keion Carpenter moved the ball to the Buffalo 25. Dunn made a catch to move Tampa Bay to the Bills 2, and King ran in the football on a bootleg to give the Buccaneers a 10-7 lead .
The Bucs and Bills played to a defensive stalemate in the 3rd.Tampa Bay put together their first sustained drive of the second half, with Warrick Dunn scoring on a 5-yard rushing TD to cap off a 12-play drive. The Bucs held a 17-7 lead with 11:40 remaining in regulation. Buffalo was quick to respond to the Buccaneer touchdown. Johnson then threw his second TD pass of the afternoon as Moulds hauled in a 19-yard pass along the sideline to cut the lead to 17-14. After an exchange of punts, Karl Williams returned the touchdown 73 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, and put Buffalo back in a 10-point hole with 5:34 remaining.
The Bills put together a last-ditch effort to extend their win streak, but on a shovel pass to Bryson, Johnson was injured and Doug Flutie came into the contest. Flutie took over for two plays, and then Johnson took over for third-and-nine from the Buccaneer 10, and Christie brought the Bills to within a touchdown with 24-17 lead with 2:23 remaining in regulation. However, the Buccaneers recovered the onside kick attempt at the Bills 39, and Dunn ran through a big hole in the middle to put Tampa Bay up 31-17 with 2:08 remaining and seal the victory for the Buccaneers.
Despite winning by two touchdowns, Tampa Bay finished with just 180 yards in total offense to Buffalo's 433. The Bills had seven sacks, but played much of the day without linebacker Sam Cowart, who had 2½ sacks before leaving the game with a high ankle sprain that could sideline him for a month.
The loss dealt the Bills playoff hopes a serious blow. No longer able to catch the Dolphins in the division race, Buffalo (7-6) is barely on the fringes of the wild-card race. It didn't help that the Bills were missing four defensive starters, including linebacker Sam Cowart, the NFL's leading tackler. Starter Rob Johnson endured the worst outing of his career (in games he's thrown three or more passes), going 6-for-18 for 44 yards and threw two interceptions, the most he's thrown in a game.
Johnson was eventually pulled in the third quarter, a move that drew the loudest cheer from the sold-out house, and replaced by Doug Flutie.
The final numbers don't lie in what became Buffalo's worst home loss since dropping a 37-10 decision to Miami on Oct. 4, 1992. The loss dealt the Bills playoff hopes a serious blow. No longer able to catch the Dolphins in the division race, Buffalo (7-6) was barely on the fringes of the wild-card race.
Paul Shields blocked a punt to set up one third-quarter score and Burris sacked Rob Johnson to force a fumble that Holsey returned 48 yards for another touchdown as the Colts got just 237 yards of offense but beat the Buffalo Bills 44-20 on Monday night. The win kept Indianapolis (8-6) alive for an AFC playoff berth and eliminated the Bills
The Colts led 9-6 at halftime after an exchange of field goals by Mike Vanderjagt and Buffalo's Steve Christie. But Indianapolis came out energized in the second half, especially on defense. It stopped the Bills on three plays on the opening series, then Shields, who started four games at fullback last year but had been cut and re-signed twice this season, broke up the middle and blocked Chris Mohr's punt. That gave Indianapolis the ball at the 25. James carried the ball four straight times, the last time taking it in from the 1.
The play that broke it open came late in the third quarter. With Buffalo facing a third-and-2 at the Colts' 45, Burris blitzed from the right corner and hit Johnson from the blind side. The ball came loose and was picked up by Holsey, who took it untouched to the end zone to make it 23-6. Buffalo cut it to 23-12 on a 1-yard run by Sammy Morris late in the third quarter. But the Colts came right back and went 62 yards on 12 plays, scoring on the second 1-yard TD run by James, who finished with 111 yards on 27 carries. DB Mustafah Muhammad added a 40-yard interception return for a score in the fourth quarter as the Colts scored 35 points in the second half. After Muhammad's interception return, the Bills added a late touchdown on a 29-yard pass from Flutie to Peerless Price. James closed out the scoring with a 13-yard TD.
Nearly blinded by driving snow, heavy winds and hampered by a slick field, Vinatieri found enough solid footing to kick a 24-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in overtime, lifting New England to a 13-10. It was a sloppy game played in miserable conditions featuring 40 mph winds and wind-chill temperatures approaching zero. Conditions were so poor that by overtime, most of the field was blanketed in snow, covering most of the yard lines.
Christie kicked a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter, tying the score 3-3 after Vinatieri hit a 22-yarder in the first period. Flutie took over for Rob Johnson, who was knocked out with a concussion in the second quarter. Flutie finished 15-for-25 for 193 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown pass to Sheldon Jackson 3:29 into the 3rd quarter. The Drive was set up with a 19 yard catch by TE Jay Riemersma, and a 32 yard Flutie scramble to the Patriot goal line.
NE's Kevin Faulk tied the game at 10 when he rumbled in for a 13-yard score 4:45 left in regulation.
In overtime, Buffalo opted to kick off, and New England gave up the ball after just five plays. The Bills drove all the way down to the Patriot 12, where they faced fourth-and-two. The Bills elected to send Steve Christie out to try for his eighth overtime field goal, but the conditions were just awful for kickers, and Chad Eaton got a hand on the ball, keeping the Patriots alive.
The Patriots took advantage of their new life, taking over the football at their 20, and driving down the field. New England was able to take advantage of icy field conditions by running the football. However, Buffalo apparently stopped the Patriots on a fourth-and-five from the Buffalo 30, but the Patriots got a pass intereference call on Chris Watson, giving the Patriots an important first down, and one they would cash in on. New England drove down to the Buffalo 8, and then Vinatieri tried a field goal on third down with just :23 remaining. His 24-yard field goal was good, and ended the Bills home schedule with an overtime loss.
Two days after the game, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson fired his GM of the past 8 seasons, Jerry Butler.
Buffalo capped off their 41st season with an offensive explosion, racking up 332 yards in the first half of a 42-23 rout of Seattle. Matched against the NFL's worst defense, the Bills punted only once and rolled up 579 yards. The Seahawks committed four turnovers, losing three fumbles and throwing an interception.
Flutie guided Buffalo to a 28-14 halftime lead, going 14-for-17 for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Aided by 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalties on Willie Williams and Chad Brown, the Bills scored the first time they had the ball. Flutie passed 11 yards to Shawn Bryson for the touchdown. They made it 14-0 on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Flutie to Price before Seattle's Charlie Rogers ran back the ensuing kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown. Buffalo quickly scored again after Flutie completed a 48-yard pass to Eric Moulds to the Seattle 15. With Bryson out with a back and hip injury that he suffered when he scored his touchdown, Antowain Smith made it 21-7 on a 9-yard run, his first of three TD runs.
Seattle QB John Kitna spiked the ball after scoring on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter, but it was a short-lived celebration. After recovering Darrell Jackson's fumble at the 50, the Bills got their final touchdown of the opening half on a 6-yard pass from Flutie to tight end Jay Riemersa with 1:09 left. In the second half, Smith scored on runs of 2 and 4 yards, while Ricky Watters had a 6-yard touchdown run for the Seahawks.
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