Buffalo's spectacular special teams opened the Bills' third straight win with the longest kickoff return in franchise history.
The defense closed it out with a touchdown of its own.
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In between Terrence McGee's 104-yard sprint and Pat Williams' 20-yard waddle, though, the Bills' 42-32 slugfest with the Miami Dolphins belonged to Drew Bledsoe.
Three weeks after the worst performance of his career -- as pitiful a display as you'll see from any established quarterback -- Bledsoe shredded what little football dignity Miami had remaining. Bledsoe compensated for an uncharacteristically generous day by Buffalo's defense by throwing a season-high four touchdown passes, each as unique -- and as welcomed by the hosts -- as a snowflake on a balmy South Florida Sunday.
There was the 15-yard heater down the middle to tight end Tim Euhus that gave Buffalo a 14-7 lead midway through the first quarter.
Then a 21-yard strike to wide-open rookie wideout Lee Evans cut the Dolphins' lead to three points in the second.
Bledsoe's master stroke of the day, a perfectly placed 69-yard bomb to Evans on the last play of the third quarter, put Buffalo ahead for good.
And a 30-yard catch-and-run hookup with the recently invisible Eric Moulds gave the Bills a fourth-quarter cushion they happily utilized.
Yes, the defense set up two touchdowns with interceptions. Willis McGahee's determined running on a bum ankle kept Miami from unloading the blitz section of its defensive playbook. And the Dolphins, well, they stink.
Forget all that for a moment, though. Bledsoe still capitalized on all those circumstances, demonstrating that he can still make every throw required of a starting quarterback in the National Football League. And that, despite more than half a season's worth of evidence to the contrary, he might just be able to continue doing so for the foreseeable future.
In a telling demonstration of just how impressively Bledsoe performed on Sunday, the names "J.P. Losman" and "Shane Matthews" weren't mentioned once at the well-attended party that provided the BillStuff coverage team with its vantage point for the afternoon.
(OK, someone yelled "We want Matthews" after Miami went ahead 24-14. But I was just kidding.)
Nearly as impressive was the display of enthusiasm by the gathering at this edition of Brofest, so named for the tendency of our generous-to-a-fault host, Mark, to address nearly everone, male or female, as "Bro."
A similar gathering in Week 2, when Buffalo bumbled its way to a 13-10 loss in Oakland and 0-2 record on the young season, fairly overflowed with cynicism and foul language.
This time, each Buffalo score and swing of momentum in the Bills' favor elicited a low roar, with Williams' clinching score bringing the throng of more than 50 -- many of them daring to wear the colors of the home team without fear or shame -- to its feet.
Scoring 42 points and winning will do that for you, especially compared with posting but 10 in a futile effort.
More than the game's high-scoring nature, though, the Bills' steady climb back into playoff contention generated the buzz.
"They've got no chance," doubted one non-believer when, at 14-7 in the first quarter, it looked like Buffalo might put this one away early. "They need too much help."
Well, they got quite a bit of it on Sunday. Buffalo entered the day trailing Denver, Baltimore and Jacksonville for the American Football Conference's final wild-card berth.
And all three lost.
Suddenly, at 6-6, if the Bills aren't in the thick of the playoff race, they're closing fast. Baltimore (7-5) and Jacksonville (6-6) each hold the main tiebreaker advantage on Buffalo by virtue of victories over Buffalo.
The Jaguars are in free-fall, having lost three straight, four of five and six of nine since starting 3-0.
The Broncos have dropped two straight and four of six, with road games at Kansas City and Tennessee -- two tough places to play, regardless of the home team's record -- and a finale at AFC South-leading Indianapolis.
The Ravens lost their second in a row on Sunday, with road games against Indianapolis and Pittsburgh yet to come.
Buffalo, meanwhile, welcomes 3-9 Cleveland next. Then comes a showdown at 6-6 Cincinnati, followed by a trip out west for a turn at pitiful 1-10 San Francisco, and the Jan. 2 finale at Ralph Wilson Stadium against Pittsburgh.
Given Pittsburgh's stranglehold on the AFC North, that one may not carry much, if any, importance for the Steelers.
After that 0-4 start and some pretty pitiful performances, particularly by their quarterback, in Baltimore and New England, the fact that it might mean anything to the Bills rates as an accomplishment in itself.
BILLS' MVP: Bledsoe hasn't been the choice here since Sept. 30, 2003. Even that honor was by default in Buffalo's otherwise pathetic performance in a 23-13 loss to Philadelphia.
He earned the laurels Sunday with the throws mentioned above, as well as a sense of balance that spread his 19 completions amongst seven receivers.
Offensive coordinator Tom Clements deserves an assist for sticking with a balanced game plan, even after Buffalo fell behind by 10 early in the second quarter.
THE OTHER GUYS' MVP: Yes, Feeley threw those five interceptions. But with little help from Miami's running game and none from the Dolphins' defense, he kept the aqua and orange in the game until the final moments.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Buffalo's defense gave up a season-high 25 first downs and 403 total yards, while sacking Feeley only once. Amazing what seven turnovers will do for you, though.
WING REPORT: The traditional-style wings from Just Pizza (which obviously makes a lie of its name) were a touch undercooked. The barbecued variety arrived properly done, but their best quality had nothing to do with their point of origin.
In his travels, Mark (aka Bro, aka our generous-to-a-fault host) procured Big Soul's Barbecue Sauce. And, slathered on wings, the concoction originating in Terre Haut, Ind., was fantastic. Both flavorful and hot (but not scorchingly so, for the oversensitive types), it was the best new wing variation the BS coverage team has sampled in recent memory.
To find out how to try for yourself, other than visiting Terre Haute, email Mark at info@posterartusa.com.
BS FAN OF THE WEEK: This one goes to the whole room. Even the dozen-plus spectators engaged in a game of LCR (a dice game that provides a perfect party distraction, since it requires absolutely no skill or strategy whatsoever, other than the ability to count to three) broke out in spontaneous applause after Williams' one-man stampede made it 42-32.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Dec. 7 2004 |