Archives for October 30, 2000

‘Third-year free safety Scott Frost got his first NFL start Sunday. But what should have been an upbeat occasion was dragged down by the Jets’ 23-20 loss to the Buffalo and by Frost and Marcus Coleman getting beaten on a 52-yard completion from Doug Flutie to Eric Moulds that set up the first of the Bills’ two fourth-quarter field goals.’

‘So the Bills will hit Foxboro at .500 (4-4) Sunday to take on the Patriots (2-6) because Flutie, though he had numerous passes knocked down, did nothing to make them lose while Testaverde had plenty of negatives after his Monday night magic show rallied the Jets from a 30-7 three-quarter pit to beat Miami last week.’

‘The Buffalo Bills figured out the best way to beat the never-say-die New York Jets: Score the winning points with no time left on the clock.’

‘The Bills got no help from anyone else yesterday as Indianapolis beat Detroit and Miami rallied to overtake Green Bay. The Jets, Dolphins and Colts are all 6-2, leaving the 4-4 Bills mired in fourth place in the AFC East. Elsewhere in the AFC, record-wise the Bills still trail Tennessee, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Oakland and Kansas City. Do the math. With six teams eligible for the post-season, the Bills currently rank ninth in the AFC. Imagine where they would be had they squandered another fourth-quarter lead.’

‘As long as there is time on the clock, we don’t get down on ourselves," said Jets running back Curtis Martin. It’s a sentiment shared by Dougie and the Bills. After the Jets tied the game at 17 with 2:20 remaining, Doug Flutie took over at his 27 and guided Buffalo on a drive that culminated with a 34-yard, game-winning field goal by Steve Christie as time expired.’

‘"He just said go out, play loose and bring some of the fun back," linebacker Sam Rogers said yesterday. "It’s not fun when you lose, so he just wanted us to relax a bit, just do our jobs and have faith that everything will take care of itself in the end." When the dust settled on a very entertaining 23-20 Buffalo victory on a glorious fall day at Ralph Wilson Stadium, several Bills started barking in the locker room.’

‘Bills LB Sam Cowart: Another tremendous performance as he further enhanced his case for a Pro Bowl berth with two fumble recoveries and a game-high 11 tackles, none bigger than his stop on Anderson to thwart the Jets last possession. Two plays before that, Cowart was crossed up on a 12-yard pass to Richie Anderson, but he atoned for that mistake in a big way.’

‘The Jets could only blame themselves, committing four turnovers, three of which led to Bills scores. A fumble by Vinny Testaverde at the Bills 10 foiled a scoring bid in the second quarter. Testaverde was intercepted twice, once by Henry Jones, who ran it back 45 yards for a touchdown. “Turnovers will cause you to lose, and that was confirmed today,” Jets coach Al Groh said. “Too many hurdles to overcome.”‘