Two Bills Drive

‘It was like old times for wide receivers Curtis Conway and Jeff Graham yesterday against the Buffalo Bills. As they did five years ago as teammate with the Chicago Bears, the two ran circles around the opposing secondary. They caught passes: 16 combined. They gained yards: 256 combined. They scored touchdowns: one each. They lost.’

‘"I was called because I was the last one on the line," said Ostroski, who was reluctant to take credit for saving the Bills. "It should have been called on them because they jacked with our center."’

‘The Bills appeared to have scored on their second possession when they lined up for a field goal only to have holder Chris Mohr stand up and pass 37 yards to an uncovered Eric Moulds for what should have been a touchdown. But the officials ruled the ball was "not whistled ready for play" and nullified the play. Buffalo wound up punting.’

‘Lazio began the day at the Buffalo Bills game in Ralph Wilson Stadium. Accompanied by his wife and two young daughters, he greeted fans in the parking lot amid tailgate parties complete with barbecues and beer. An airplane flew overhead with a banner reading "Lazio for Senate, www.lazio.com," while campaign aides handed out toy footballs bearing the message "Go Buffalo! Lazio for Senate." "I grew up a Giants fan," Lazio said, "but that doesn’t mean I’m against the Bills. Today, I’m really hoping the Bills win and shut out the Chargers." His wish came true, in part: The Bills beat the San Diego Chargers, 27-24.’

‘The Bills ended a three-game losing streak and leveled their record at 3-3 with a 27-24 overtime win over the winless San Diego Chargers before a sellout crowd in Ralph Wilson Stadium. The victory came despite an injury to Rob Johnson, who separated his shoulder in overtime. Johnson is expected to miss two to four weeks.’

‘Everything that looked easy was made hard by the Bills on this day. The winless San Diego Chargers made so many mistakes that Bills fans could have been lighting victory cigars by halftime. But the Bills sunk to the Chargers’ level – and actually went below it for the first three quarters. It wasn’t until 8:26 of overtime was played that the crowd of 72,351 at Ralph Wilson Stadium was able to breathe a final sigh of relief.’

‘"He’s really come through, especially in the clutch," Bills coach Wade Phillips said of Moulds who, with 560 yards this year, is on pace for his second 1,000-yard season in two years. "We look for him a lot, but he’s our big gun. He’s our big guy. He’s always there to make plays. I’m constantly amazed by him."’

‘Thinking of the Bills as a playoff team is fantasy. They’re not getting better and now they may be worse. The offensive line, a danger to quarterback Rob Johnson’s health all season long, finally proved too much of a handicap to overcome. The sacks the line allows are bad enough, but it’s double the misery when it allows a pass rusher to get close enough to its quarterback to knock him down after he gets rid of the ball.’

‘"I think I learned my lesson early on," Flutie said Sunday after the Bills’ 27-24 overtime win over those same Chargers. "Since Day One, when I got the opportunity to go in, it’s made it more imperative to me to always be ready. The opportunity could be there at any given moment."’

‘Center Jerry Ostroski ripped the fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium for booing the players, quarterback Rob Johnson in particular, and coach Wade Phillips during the Bills’ 27-24 overtime win over the San Diego Chargers. "Personally, I think it’s damn ridiculous," Ostroski said. "It’s sad when a football team is excited to go on the road because they don’t want to play at home and get booed by their own fans and have their head coach called out and have their quarterback called out like that. I think it’s a damn shame."’

‘"Jim went in there and did a great job of taking over our offense and moving it," Chargers linebacker Junior Seau said. "He’s always going to be a stud. He’s a gutsy player and always will be. He’ll go down in history as "Captain Comeback’ for a good reason." Harbaugh, though, wasn’t interested in talking about his standing on the team or how the depth chart might read today. "Right now I’m just replaying the game in my mind," he said. "We had opportunities to win it."’

‘The Buffalo Bills beat the lowly San Diego Chargers, 27-24, in an ugly overtime affair Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. A win is a win, but the Bills looked shoddy against one of the worst teams in the NFL.’

‘Johnson sustained a separated right shoulder while being driven into the artificial turf. The early prognosis is that he will be out two to four weeks. Doug Flutie came to the rescue and drove the Bills to the winning Steve Christie field goal, and now the popular backup will regain control of the offense in Johnson’s absence. Thus, the Flutie Fanatics can rejoice.’

‘The Bills’ offense — at least through three quarters — was woefully inept, continuing a season-long trend; Johnson, despite the fact that he rallied the team back into the game in the fourth quarter, suffered through a very tough day, and it ended with a separated shoulder that will sideline him 2-4 weeks; The normally solid defense was burned for a couple of long touchdowns and 24 points overall; Guard Ruben Brown engaged line coach Carl Mauch in a visible shouting match on the sidelines; Chargers head coach Mike Riley made a second-guesser’s dream come true by playing backup quarterback Moses Moreno for two series in the second quarter. In four plays, Moreno lost two fumbles deep in Chargers territory that set up a pair of Buffalo touchdowns. Imagine where the Bills would be today if San Diego starter Jim Harbaugh hadn’t been relegated to the sidelines during that stretch.’

‘It’s been a tense year for the line and its curmudgeonly coach. The criticism has been considerable. Much of it has been justified. "We are growing kind of sick of it," Ostroski said. "We’ve been taking a lot of crap from media and the fans."’