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ORCHARD PARK -- One minute, it looked as if the Buffalo Bills were on their way to a rare highlight in a dismal season -- a win over a legitimate playoff contender.
But one loooong replay review and one broken tackle later, the Bills left the field shaking their heads for the 11th time in 13 games.
Nate Clements' apparent recovery of New England wide receiver David Patten's fumble seemed to give Buffalo the ball at its own 42-yard line with 9:50 remaining in overtime. After consulting the replay monitor and huddling with his crew, though, referee Mike Carey ruled that because Patten's head was out of bounds and the ball touched his leg before Clements grabbed the ball, the Patriots kept possession.
On the next play, former Buffalo running back Antowain Smith broke out of Bills linebacker Jay Foreman's arms in the backfield, cut to the right and sprinted down the sideline. Antoine Winfield's tackle saved a touchdown, but one play later, Adam Vinatieri's 23-yard field goal, his fourth of the game, gave New England a 12-9 win.
Rule 3, Section C, Article 2, Paragraph C of the National Football League rule book reads: "The ball is out of bounds when ... a loose ball touches a boundary line or anything on or outside such line."
No one aside from the officials knew of that clause after Carey made the call. Bills president and general manager Tom Donahoe stormed into the press box and demanded an explanation from NFL observer Gil Mace.
"If that's a rule, that's ridiculous," Donahoe said. "What difference does it make where his head is?"
Carey said after the game that it didn't matter that Patten, who caught a 13-yard pass from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady before a thunderous hit by Buffalo free safety Keion Carpenter knocked the ball loose, didn't have control of the ball while out of bounds.
"He had possession through the catch, so then that team had possession and when the ball's out of bounds, it goes back to the last team with possession," Carey said.
The bizarre ending capped a game that, while far from entertaining in any traditional sense, featured a series of thunderous hits. One by Clements sent Brady's helmet flying at the end of a scramble and another by Winfield flipped Patriots running back Patrick Pass into a cartwheel.
"We made some plays and everybody was hitting," said Winfield, who finished with a game-high eight solo tackles.
After Smith pounded the Bills for 46 first-half yards and Vinatieri's first two field goals gave New England a 6-0 lead, the Bills clamped down. New England managed just six net yards on their first four possessions of the second half.
Buffalo strong safety Raion Hill's strip of Smith and recovery of the fumble at New England's 30-yard line early in the third quarter set up Shayne Graham's 41-yard field goal for the Bills' first points.
While Buffalo's defense tightened, the Bills started moving the ball. After a Lawyer Milloy interception killed one drive, Alex Van Pelt guided Buffalo on a 15-play, 76-yard drive that ended with Graham's 25-yarder to tie it 6-6 with 10:58 left in the fourth quarter.
Van Pelt, who went 5-of-18 for 67 yards during a miserable first half, hit seven straight passes to move the Bills to New England's 14-yard line, but then missed four in a row to force the field-goal try.
The Patriots then went three-and-out for the third time in four second-half series. Peerless Price nearly gave the ball right back on the ensuing punt, but Buffalo's Phillip Crosby pounced on the fumble at Buffalo's 44.
Operating without rookie running back Travis Henry, who left with a sprained knee in the second quarter, Van Pelt hit three-of-four, including gains of 8 and 13 yards to Eric Moulds, to set up a 41-yard Graham field goal that gave Buffalo its first lead.
Starting at their own 37-yard line with 5:57 remaining, New England went into no-huddle mode. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady connected with Terry Glenn for 13 yards, Troy Brown for 8 and backup tight end Jermaine Wiggins for 25 to get down to Buffalo's 11. The drive stalled there, but Vinatieri's 25-yarder tied it with 2:45 left.
Neither team threatened before the end of regulation and Buffalo's first overtime possession ended when Van Pelt's third-down pass for Moulds fell incomplete. The Bills finished just 3-of-17 on third down conversions.
"They always do a great job on third down," said Van Pelt, who finished 22-of-44 for 219 yards with one interception. "On third downs, you'd better have it all together ... there were a lot of chances to make conversions."
Henry, who ran for 54 yards on 12 carries before limping off with 3:52 left in the first quarter, figures to miss at least one week. Shawn Bryson replaced Buffalo's leading rusher and managed 38 yards on 14 attempts.
"He has been a big part of our team throughout the year," said Bills fullback Larry Centers, who caught two passes to give him 133 straight games with a reception and 72 grabs for the season. "For us to lose him was a big blow, but we have some very capable backups who we feel will do a wonderful job back there."
Buffalo finished 1-7 at home, the franchise's worst home record ever. The Bills close their schedule with road games at the Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.
"It is definitely frustrating," Winfield said. "We are 2-11. It has been a long season."