Archives for September 2002

‘Since the Bills acquired kick-returner Charlie Rogers from the Houston Texans for linebacker Jay Foreman, you had to wonder what the fuss was about. Rogers’ performance of kickoffs and punts had been decidedly underwhelming early this season. But when the Bills needed it most, Rogers made what may be remembered as a season-saving play.’

Let's cut straight to the point: How much does this win mean for the Buffalo Bills? London Fletcher thinks he knows.

Mike Hollis' 54-yard field goal forced overtime and Peerless Price's 48-yard touchdown catch in the extended period won it.

‘It has been a long time since the Bills’ locker room was so wildly jubilant.’

‘Yet when the game was on the line in overtime, the Bills’ defenders found enough reserves in the tank to stop the Vikings’ dynamic duos.’

‘"He comes back to the huddle with a staple in his neck," Centers said after the Bills’ 45-39 triumph in the Metrodome. "A staple! A piece of metal holding a cut together. His lip is bleeding. I think he got hit and it bent his helmet somehow. But he comes back to the huddle, and he’s standing in front of 10 guys, bleeding, with a staple in his neck, and he’s calling the plays, saying, "Let’s go,’ and trying to get everybody else going."’

‘"That was hard to accept," Hollis said. "I think I got a little lazy on the kick. I tried to take a little off. I didn’t want to hit it real hard, I just wanted to make sure I made it and I ended up hooking it."’

Fourth-year wide receiver Peerless Price hauled in a 48-yard touchdown from quarterback Drew Bledsoe with 4:48 left in overtime as the Bills rallied for a 45-39 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

‘Player of the Game: Bledsoe. Now you know why you were so pumped when they signed the guy. He completed 35 of 49 passes for 463 yards, breaking the franchise record.’

‘"The game was there for the taking," Tice said. "But we made too many mistakes. When you miss one PAT, you don’t usually recover. When you miss two PATs, I don’t think anyone recovers."’

‘Williams ran for 102 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries, a 6.0 yards-per-carry average.’

‘"I’m not going to quit," Brien said. "I never have in my whole life and I’m not going to start today."’

‘Still, Brien’s ineptitude was just the most glaring Vikings weakness on display Sunday. Besides the five points he cost the team, the Vikings gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown, allowed the Bills to score on a recovered fumble in the end zone (one of four fumbles for suddenly turnover-prone quarterback Daunte Culpepper) and had a touchdown pass to Randy Moss nullified by a holding penalty on running back Michael Bennett.’

‘”You can’t miss PATs in this league and we missed two PATs,” Tice said.’

‘”I was just telling my offensive line, ‘I’ll go to war with you guys anytime,’ if you can pass that many times and do the job as well as they did,” Bledsoe said. “I am proud to play with those guys. It was a team victory and it took everything we had – defense, offense and special teams. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction and we can start winning some games.”‘