Bills Steal One Against Cardinals, Tie for AFC East Lead

Namesakes: William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody, (1846-1917) after whom the Buffalo Bills were named, must have turned over in his grave to have his namesake be an abysmal and perennial loser. Well, it could have been worse: Consider the fate of Thomas Crapper who invented the flush toilet. Maybe this year the team will do him proud.

I can’t believe I’m writing this story after what happened against New England and the 49ers, but despite getting totally mauled by those two teams the previous two weeks, the Bills tipped their way (as in tipped field goal try) to a 19-16 overtime win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, earning a share of first place in the AFC East with Buffalo, New England, Miami and the Jets at 3 and 3.

It certainly makes you wonder about the strength of the division and may give hope to Bills’ loyalists that despite the inconsistent play on both sides of the ball and questionable play calling, there may be an outside shot at breaking the 12-year playoff drought that seemed unthinkable after New England and San Francisco took them apart. However the playoffs are still a longshot although the soft back-end schedule could help in a league without an early-season standout.

But back to the Arizona game. A win is a win, even if it is ugly, and this one was pretty ugly with neither team very impressive offensively although Fred Jackson and C. J. Spiller ran pretty well for the Bills with Spiller picking up 88 yards on 12 carries including a 10-yard touchdown run, and Jackson netting 53 yards in 16 carries, including a one-yard scoring run. Spiller, an extremely quick back, was most impressive and is no doubt the Bills top offensive threat.

Buffalo will need to continue to have a strong ground game as quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick turned in another dud, brandishing that now familiar weak arm and posing little threat to go deep.

The Bills made this one tough when with four minutes to go and up by three, the brain trust on the sidelines brought in Brad Smith to run the wildcat and he uncorked a long pass to the end zone that was intercepted by the Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson, giving Arizona new life.

A few minutes later, Jay Feely made an incredible 61-yard field goal to tie the game and send it into overtime where his game-winning field goal attempt from a mere 38 yards was tipped by the Bills’ Alex Carrington and hit the left upright, bouncing harmlessly away from the crossbar and giving the Bills a chance to steal a win, and they did just that.

An interception by Jarius Byrd, his second of the game, set up Rian Lindell’s winning kick from 25 yards and the Bills came away a surprising victor against an Arizona team that entered the game 4-1, a record that now looks a little deceiving.

The Bills are back in Orchard Park next week to take on the 2-4 Tennessee Titans who are coming off an upset 26-23 win over the Steelers in a Thursday night game.

Buffalo’s defense showed signs of life against the Cardinals and Mario Williams even had two sacks against a hard-to-figure Arizona team. It may have been ugly, and a little bit lucky, but at least they won and I’m sure the local fans will give them a rousing welcome on Sunday in Orchard Park. Hope does spring eternal in these parts when it comes to the Bills.