Bills make a comeback; Bruce Smith saves the day!

                Long gone are the days of the Bills’ four-time Super Bowl appearance and dominance in the AFC. They came into Sunday’s matchup in the Liberty Bowl against the Tennessee Oilers with a 3-8 record and out of the AFC playoff race. Gone is Jim Kelly and the K-Gun offense, Cornelius Bennett and Daryl Talley. However, the Bills still have three future Hall of Famers on their team and the three of them showed out Sunday in the Bills’ come-from-behind victory over the Oilers, 17-13.

With 6:15 left in the 4^th quarter, the Oilers took the lead, 13-10, on an Al Del Greco 50-yard field goal. The Oilers’ fans were hyped up, but the Bills still have Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed. The two future Hall of Famers were instrumental on a long Bills’ drive. Thomas caught a 13-yard pass on third down to keep the drive alive, and then Andre Reed caught a 29-yard strike from Todd Collins to set the Bills up inside the Oiler 5-yard line. A play later and RB Antwane Smith plunged into the end zone from 3-yards out and the Bills took a 17-13 lead.

The Oilers got the ball back with 1:45 on the clock and Steve McNair immediately moved the ball. He hit WR Willie Davis for 27 yards and the Oilers were driving until…Bruce Smith shut the door. On a 2^nd and 10 from the Bills’ 42-yard line, Smith went around tackle Brad Hopkins and drilled QB Collins, who fumbled the football. Ted Washington hopped on the ball and Bruce Smith, the third future Hall of Famer, shut the door on the Oilers.

Next week the Bills (4-8) will host the New York Jets, while the Oilers (5-7) take on the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving day.

1997 Game 167 Stats