Two Bills Drive

On the day where the Bills honored their former coach who taught a never-say-die attitude to his players, the current Bills pulled off a rally from an 18-point deficit to grab their second win of the season. Buffalo, who trailed 24-6 late in the second quarter, pulled out a 25-24 win over the Carolina Panthers in front of 44,549 fans and chilly conditions at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

‘Finally. After six straight defeats . . . after 393 days without a win at home . . . the Bills had reason to smile in their locker room in Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘"I got a chance to run the ball and catch it out of the backfield. Those are the things I want to get more of a chance to do."’

‘"I’m really tired of answering the same questions every week after games," Steussie said.’

‘In this season of transition, the Bills changed from a team that makes you want to shout to a team that makes you want to scream.’

‘”We rose up to the occasion, unlike the Miami game where we had some failure in the fourth quarter when the game was in our hands. This time, we sealed the deal.”‘

‘As for the state of the team he led to more wins than any coach in franchise history, Levy said he feels the fans’ pain.’

‘Player of the Game: Van Pelt and Spoon played big, but rookie running back Travis Henry rushed for over 100 yards for the second time.’

‘It was the sort of play the Buffalo Bills made far too infrequently through their first 11 games. And it launched them to their second win of the season. With Carolina ahead by 11 points with 5:50 left in the third quarter and facing a second-and-2 at their own 38-yard line, Bills cornerback Nate Clements deflected Panther quarterback Chris Weinke’s pass away from intended receiver Donald Hayes and into the arms of rookie middle linebacker Brandon Spoon. “It was just a normal zone coverage,” Spoon said. “Nate (Clements) did a great job and tipped the ball. I just caught it and took off. My teammates did a great job of clearing it out for me.” Spoon finished his 44-yard jaunt to the end zone by cartwheeling past the final Carolina tackler. Travis Henry dove in from a yard out midway through the fourth quarter to complete Buffalo’s rally from an 18-point first-half deficit. When Alex Van Pelt’s third-down completion to Jay Riemersma with two minutes left sealed Buffalo’s 25-24 win, the Bills were able to leave the field at Ralph Wilson Stadium to cheers, rather than boos or indifference.’

‘”It was a good win,” Williams said. “Any win is a good win.”‘

‘”Those same mistakes that we’ve been trying to correct for weeks, we’ll see some of those again when we watch the film, but everything seems a lot smoother when you win one,” tight end Jay Riemersma said as a smile crept across his face.’

‘Still, a team works hard at being as lousy as the Bills and to throw away five months of mistake-making just to be 2-10 seems like such a waste.’

‘Buffalo shut out the Panthers in the second half and held them to 231 total yards. Without that effort — accomplished by the way without the help of Pat Williams. who was hurt on the third play of the day — the Bills would not have won.’

‘”Two things happen when you get older,” said Levy, setting up one of his trademark jokes. “You forget things, and I can’t remember what the other thing was.”‘

‘Rob Johnson even braved it by watching from the sideline.’