Two Bills Drive

‘Harriet Cowart wants to see her son, Sam, win a trip to Hawaii in February. She has begun the effort by doing what any good mother in this era of high-speed technology would do: Via the team e-mail at www.buffalobills.com she has asked 20,000 fellow Bills fans to help her.’

‘In his days as an Argonauts quarterback, Doug Flutie had it in his mind to get to Ron Lancaster before Damon Allen beat him to the punch. But when four-down football beckoned before the 1998 season, Flutie gave up his chase to become the CFL’s career passing yards leader.’

‘Local sports radio station WGR 55 has organized a mock election for Nov. 7 with fans voting for either Flutie or Johnson. The station ordered 20,000 election signs — 10,000 for each quarterback. Some people have taken it to heart, sticking a Flutie or Johnson sign on their lawns.’

‘Bills coach Wade Phillips was asked yesterday about the status of quarterback Rob Johnson, and he said Johnson cannot be ruled out of Sunday’s game against New England. His status will be evaluated during the week when Phillips finds out whether Johnson is able to throw without pain.’

‘Hansen suffered a sprained right knee late in the first half during a scrum following a Vinny Testaverde fumble. The 10-year veteran and team leader will miss at least four weeks, possibly as many as six. Hansen said yesterday he doesn’t want to put a time frame on the injury, but he did not seemed too encouraged by the way he felt. He will undergo an MRI today.’

‘"The quarterback controversy — and this is just my opinion — is media generated in that for me there’s no controversy because we got good quarterbacks that we can win with," Phillips said. "The controversy comes when I can’t find a quarterback to win with, and I have to go from one to the other and back, and then say, ‘Well, the third-team guy can come up and play for those two guys."’

‘"I certainly won’t be able to do anything with it for a week to 10 days, and then the frustration will start setting in to try to get back on the field," he said Monday. "I know what the (rehab) process is. I don’t like it and I don’t wish it on anybody. "But if I want to get back in there and play, which I do, this is part of it."’

Buffalo’s defenders did it differently during the Bills’ 23-20 win over the New York Jets. They didn’t hold the Jets to a miniscule yardage total (New York’s 348 yards were tied for the second-most compiled by a Buffalo opponent through eight games).

‘Yesterday, Flutie was just good enough (252 yards in the air) to keep the fragile Bills in the game and good enough to take them far enough in their last possession so Steve Christie could do his job. Flutie had done his. Once more.’

‘The Jets lost 23-20 to the Buffalo Bills as time expired. The Jets were done in by four untimely turnovers. It was too much to overcome. Just like the Bills handed the Jets a win in September with sloppy play, the Jets did the same thing on Sunday.’

‘The 3-4 Buffalo Bills and the 6-1 New York Jets battled to a 20 – 20 tie and with only a couple of ticks left on the clock, Doug Christie kicked the game winner for the Bills. There would be no 4th quarter come back for the Jets on this day.’

‘There’s a saying in the National Football League that winning cures everything. So, after Steve Christie’s 34-yard field goal on the game’s final play lifted the Buffalo Bills to a 23-20 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon at Ralph Wilson Stadium, there was a mixture of delight and relief.’

‘Close doesn’t count in the National Football League.’

‘But even as Buffalo left the field after a 23-20 victory over the New York Jets here, with a Bruce Springsteen anthem blaring in the background — perhaps a reminder to the players and fans that this is a franchise whose recent history has been primarily positive — there was a glimmer of hope the 4-4 team might yet amount to something more than just run-of-the-mill Bills this season.’

"Doug probably played his best game ever against the Jets," Phillips said. "He made plays. He showed he’s still got it. And with two minutes to play, he takes us down the field and wins the game for us. That’s the sign of a good quarterback." And a good quarterback – not to mention some semblance of a running game, plus a defense that will stiffen rather than snap down the stretch of games – is what the Bills (4-4) will need to sneak into the playoffs.’