Game 14. Miami at Buffalo
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Tag Archives: Buffalo Bills
1997 Game 167 (Week 13) Buffalo at Tennessee
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 4th 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 2nd 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 165 (Week 12) Buffalo at Miami
Dolphins blank the Bills on Monday Night Football
The Miami Dolphins’ defense showed up big on Monday Night Football as they shut out the Buffalo Bills, 35-0. The Dolphins’ defense was dominant as they pummeled Bills’ QB Todd Collins for seven sacks, intercepted him twice and forced a fumble, which they recovered for a touchdown.
The Bills were limited to 244 total yards on the game and only 85 on the ground. DE’s Trace Armstrong and Jason Taylor harassed Collins all night as they both registered two sacks. CB Terrell Buckley returned a Collins’ fumble caused by LB Derrick Rodgers 28-yards for a touchdown.
As for Dolphins’ QB Dan Marino, he had a sensational night. He threw for only 162 yards on 15 of 24 passing but tossed three touchdowns with no interceptions. Marino found a new target in WR Bret Perriman, who came over from the Kansas City Chiefs. Perriman caught six passes for 78 yards and had all three TD passes.
The Dolphins (5-6) have now won five of their last six games and are in the thick of the AFC Wild Card race. Next week, they have a huge matchup as they travel to Boston to play the Patriots. As for the Bills, they are now 3-8 and will play on the road next week against the Tennessee Oilers.
Game 244. New England at Buffalo
Game 235. Buffalo at Denver
Game 217. Buffalo at N.Y. Jets
1997 Game 145 (Week 11) New England at Buffalo
Patriots hold off the Bills
The New England Patriots had a 27-13 lead midway through the 4th quarter on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills at Rich Stadium but needed a big defensive play to hold them off.
Patriot QB Drew Bledsoe laced a bullet to WR Shawn Jefferson, who raced 72 yards for a TD to give the Patriots what seemed to be a game-clinching 27-13 lead. However, the Bills fought back under QB Todd Collins. On the Bills next possession after the Patriot TD, Collins rifled a pass to Quinn Early, who eluded Patriot defenders and ran 72 yards for a TD to cut the lead to 27-20.
After the Bills forced a Patriot punt, the Bills took over at the 44 in their own territory. After a few dinks and dunks here and there, Collins threw a pass to Andre Reed, who was roughed up by the Patriot defense and was flagged 15 yards. RB Thurman Thomas skated through the Patriot defense on a draw play and got the ball down inside the Patriot ten-yard line to the 9.
After an incompletion and a couple of short passes, the Bills had a 4th down on the final play of the game. Collins dropped back and hit Eric Moulds at the 4-yard line. He tried to juke and jive to get into the end zone, but CB Ty Law tripped Moulds up and he hit the Rich Stadium turf 4 yards short of the end zone allowing the Patriots to escape with a 27-20 victory.
Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe threw for 269 yards in the game with 2 TDs and an INT. Bledsoe’s new favorite target has been WR Shawn Jefferson, who has really broken out this year as a potent threat on the outside. In this game, Jefferson caught four passes for 147 yards and 2 TDs. One of them was a 50-yard catch, while the other was the 72-yarder. On the season, Jefferson has 38 catches for 856 yards and 9 TDs. The yards and TDs are both career-highs for Jefferson.
With the win, the Patriots snapped a two-game losing streak. They are still atop the AFC East standings at 7-3 but have a formidable opponent next Sunday in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As for the Bills, they are now 3-7 and will travel to Pro Player Stadium next Sunday to face the Dolphins.
