Two Bills Drive

‘This was the irony of the afternoon for Johnson. As strongly as he played in what became a 27-24 San Diego triumph, he is aware that what he did is not apt to silence those in Buffalo, and they are many, who contend that the team acted unwisely when it determined to retain him rather than Flutie. “But I don’t care,” Johnson said. You don’t care? “It’s been three years,” he said.’

‘Both kickers in yesterday’s Chargers-Bills game made tackles on kickoffs. San Diego’s Wade Richey got a cheer. Buffalo’s Brian Moorman got a penalty flag.’

‘”This was no grudge match,” Wilson said after the Chargers’ 27-24 escape in Qualcomm Stadium. “It was a tremendous game.”‘

‘The game that started as a rout–the Chargers led, 10-0, after one quarter–settled down to a snooze–Chargers 13, Bills 10 after three quarters. But the fourth quarter proved a heart-stopper as the Bills took the lead for the first time, 24-20, with 1:45 remaining on a 12-play, 68-yard drive capped by a three-yard touchdown plunge by Travis Henry. But Charger Ronney Jenkins returned the kickoff 72 yards and, after the Bills were assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, the stage was set for Flutie’s fateful scramble and head-long dive with 1:30 remaining.’

‘Johnson, the former USC standout, once again seemed to be dwarfed by his 5-foot-9 counterpart on the field when it mattered most, though by no fault of his own.’

‘Doug Flutie ran into the end zone. Rob Johnson ran out of time.’

‘The league has informed the team it has moved up its kickoff against the Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium from 4:15 p.m. to 1 p.m.’

‘Once all the bad blood between the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers spilled onto the field Sunday, the game turned into 3 1/2 -hour classic.’

‘Yet there’s no doubt that when he added Flutie, Butler hit the jackpot – and Buffalo lost its charger.’

‘"This is so great," he said. "After the game, my buddies, who have been Bills fans for 15 years, wouldn’t talk to me."’

‘When he finally was hauled down, it was at the Bills’ 28-yard-line. Buffalo kicker Brian Moorman followed the brilliance of tackling Jenkins with a boneheaded unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. And almost all 63,698 in the house plus thousands of Bills fans had to know what was coming next.’

‘Though crushed at the defeat — he was close to tears in the Bills locker room — Johnson refused to say the winning score was the result of charmed Flutie fortune. "He didn’t luck into it, he played well," Johnson said. "He’s a competitor and we had a chance to sack him. He spun out of it and made a play."’

‘Even the diehard Doug Flutie fans need to cut Rob Johnson at least a little slack now. If he could play special teams – if anybody could – maybe the heartbreaking 27-24 defeat the Bills suffered yesterday to the Chargers and their old pal, Doug Flutie, could have had a happier ending for fans on the Niagara Frontier.’

‘But in a scene that was eerily reminiscent of a deciding kickoff return in a playoff loss at Tennessee two years ago, the Chargers’ Ronney Jenkins returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards to set up Flutie’s clinching heroics, something Bills fans got used to seeing him do the past three seasons in Buffalo. "Another day at the office, I guess," Flutie said.’

‘But fate doesn’t like Johnson. Neither do the football gods…’.