Two Bills Drive

‘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.’

‘"For some reason, the ball doesn’t bounce your way as many times when you have the kind of record we have," said fullback Larry Centers.’

‘But Sunday’s loss will be harder to take than the others because it was the result of a rule no one had ever seen or heard of.’

‘"I feel very fortunate to sneak out of here with a win, especially with the call on the field going in our favor. We’ve got to have a little luck somewhere along the way."’

‘Maybe it’s the holiday spirit, but can’t there be times in a 2-11 season when you have positive feelings after a loss?’

‘There’s more variety in the pope’s closet than in the shamefully predictable "We’re Toast" attack offensive coordinator Mike Sheppard flung at the Patriots, who could have – and probably did – defend Sheppard’s game plan in their sleep.’

‘"When I was in New England, I took my shirt off and my shoulder pads off and I had a Buffalo Bills jersey on underneath," he recalled. "The guy that just happened to stand next to me said, "No matter what uniform you put on you’ll still be a Buffalo Bill underneath.’ I thought that was kind of fitting."’

‘Quote of the Day: When Brady was asked if he was woozy after getting his helmet knocked off, he shook his head: "No. Who was it, (No.) 22, who hit me? He’s a little guy."’

‘”Losses are losses, I don’t know how you qualify them, they’re all difficult,” Donahoe said. “We haven’t had many things go our way this year and sometimes that’s just the way it goes.”‘

‘"Making plays, that’s all great. Kicking someone’s butt, that’s all great," Smerlas said. "But to have the memories of all the great people I met here, that’s what made football special for me."’

‘No one has ever seen a play like that. Hopefully, we never will again.’

‘For the second time this season, they made New England quarterback Tom Brady play like Marcia Brady.’

‘A good effort by a calm-and-cool Gregg Williams against the wily Bill Belichick. Defensive coordinator Jerry Gray did a nice job juggling his unit in the face of injuries in this epic battle of field goal kickers. Another tough loss but hey, the Bills are back in the race for the No. 2 draft pick.’

‘Bless the young, injury-riddled Bills for playing hard and hitting harder, but there was little entertainment yesterday outside of the Buffalo Jills cheerleaders dolled up as elves. The first two quarters featured nine punts and three field-goal attempts (one missed). Fear sweeping through the empty seats was that a soccer game might break out.’

‘The latest chapter in the voluminous collection of Buffalo heartbreak classics was written here yesterday, giving western New Yorkers yet another story to cry over into their Genesees.’