Two Bills Drive

‘The Buffalo Bills scored a little Throwback Payback Sunday night against the Tennessee Titans. The new-look Bills opened the 2000 season with a dramatic 16-13 victory over the defending AFC champions. But it wasn’t easy.’

‘For those who thought the Buffalo Bills defense was going to take a fall this season, the guys on that side of the football had a rejoinder Sunday night. We’re still standing.’

‘"We looked like the best defense in the league again tonight," said coach Wade Phillips.’

‘Bills linebacker Keith Newman had two sacks in his first NFL start. The second one pinned the Titans deep in their own territory and allowed the Bills good field position in the third quarter. FYI: Gabe Northern, Newman’s predecessor, was waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers after training camp.’

‘"Our defense played well the entire game except that one pass to Moulds at the end," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "We couldn’t run the ball. We didn’t convert on third down. And we dropped too many passes. "Now we’ve got to dig ourselves out of this hole."’

‘It was a night of dropped balls and missed opportunities for both teams, but the Titans’ miscues were more crucial and would have had a huge impact on the outcome.’

‘The Bills opened their season with a pulsating 16-13 triumph over the Titans, their playoff nemesis eight months ago, but the price was an injury to quarterback Rob Johnson. He limped off the field with an injured left leg in the fourth quarter and didn’t return. Alex Van Pelt relieved and quarterbacked the comeback.’

‘With 11 minutes left in the game, the Titans were faced with a 4th-and-1 at the Buffalo 9 while trailing 13-6. Going for a field goal would have left them still in need of a touchdown later in the game, so coach Jeff Fisher decided to go for the first down. His gamble backfired when Sam Rogers got great penetration and threw off Steve McNair’s timing and his pass to rookie tight end Erron Kinney was broken up by Henry Jones in the end zone, preserving Buffalo’s lead.’

‘Rob Johnson’s worst nightmare was realized behind a horrid performance by his offensive line. He withstood numerous hits, while throwing for one TD and setting up two field goals, giving the Bills a 13-6 lead before suffering a leg injury. The goal was to shed his injury-prone label, but it didn’t happen. Backup Alex Van Pelt, however, had some magic in his bag.’

‘With any luck, the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans will meet again this season, maybe for the AFC Championship and the right to go to the Super Bowl. These two teams know how to entertain.’

‘The key play was a Van Pelt pass of 36 yards to wide receiver Eric Moulds, one of the premier pass catchers in the game, which put Buffalo on the Tennessee 20-yard line, setting up Christie’s kick. This time, there was no miracle kickoff-return runback by the Titans, but it was a pretty good one nonetheless — a a 52-yard return by Derrick Mason to the Buffalo 49 yard line. After a 9-yard pass play, the Titans decided to try a 60-yard field goal. But the kick by Craig Hentrich was wide left.’

‘"If I were 100 years old, I would remember what happened on that play," he said in a telephone interview last month from San Francisco.’

‘The tally shows another 11-5 season and another playoff berth through the wild card.’

‘The miracle script, first written nine months ago, was looking all too familiar last night. This time, the Bills satisfied their sweet tooth with long- awaited revenge, the last men standing in a 16-13 bash of the Tennessee Titans that was more of a defensive prize fight than offensive artistry. Urged on by a blood-thirsty sellout crowd, the Bills gave their fans what they wanted — redemption for a bitter, controversial 22-16 loss to Tennessee in an AFC wild-card playoff in January.’

‘When asked if he was concerned about how the game was unfolding in eerily similar fashion to last season’s playoff loss, Phillips responded: “This is a different team, a different year. Last year’s gone. I don’t live in the past. “We won the game. I’m pleased but we’ve got a long road to go and there are things we need to shore up, but any time you have a great defence you have the makings of a great football team.”‘