O’Donnell takes down the Bills in a heroic final drive
With 3:13 left in the 4th quarter, the Buffalo Bills kicked a field goal and took a 19-14 lead Sunday afternoon at Rich Stadium. The New York Jets and QB Neill O’Donnell took over at their own 20-yard line with the Bills’ mafia rocking the stadium and the Jets needing a TD to win the game.
O’Donnell, who has been hot all year long, began a methodical drive that took them to the Bills’ 32-yard line with just a minute to play. On 4th and 12 and the game on the line, O’Donnell stood in the pocket and delivered a strike to WR Wayne Chrebet, who was tackled at the Bills’ 4-yard line, giving the Jets new life.
After RB Adrian Murrell was stuck for no gain and O’Donnell threw incomplete, the Jets were forced into another pressure situation on 3rd and goal. This time, O’Donnell threw a pass to the corner of the end zone and hit was hauled in by WR Jeff Graham for the game-winning four-yard TD catch with 15 seconds remaining! The Jets failed on their two-point conversion and led 20-19. The Bills tried one last gasp bomb and it fell incomplete giving the Jets the victory.
O’Donnell finished the game 24 of 41 for 208 yards and 3 TDs. He worked the underneath coverage the entire game and it paid off on the final drive. O’Donnell now has the NFL record for the most consecutive passing attempts without an interception. He has thrown 359 passes this season without an interception. O’Donnell has completed 55% of his passes for 2,237 yards with 12 TDs and no interceptions.
The Jets hold one of the AFC Wildcard positions at 8-5. They will host Indianapolis next week and then Tampa Bay the week after. They will finish the season with a big-time game at Detroit. As for the Bills, they are now 4-9 and will travel to Chicago next weekend.
Outstanding read!