Archives for September 4, 2000

‘The Bills opened their season with a pulsating 16-13 triumph over the Titans, their playoff nemesis eight months ago, but the price was an injury to quarterback Rob Johnson. He limped off the field with an injured left leg in the fourth quarter and didn’t return. Alex Van Pelt relieved and quarterbacked the comeback.’

‘With 11 minutes left in the game, the Titans were faced with a 4th-and-1 at the Buffalo 9 while trailing 13-6. Going for a field goal would have left them still in need of a touchdown later in the game, so coach Jeff Fisher decided to go for the first down. His gamble backfired when Sam Rogers got great penetration and threw off Steve McNair’s timing and his pass to rookie tight end Erron Kinney was broken up by Henry Jones in the end zone, preserving Buffalo’s lead.’

‘Rob Johnson’s worst nightmare was realized behind a horrid performance by his offensive line. He withstood numerous hits, while throwing for one TD and setting up two field goals, giving the Bills a 13-6 lead before suffering a leg injury. The goal was to shed his injury-prone label, but it didn’t happen. Backup Alex Van Pelt, however, had some magic in his bag.’

‘With any luck, the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans will meet again this season, maybe for the AFC Championship and the right to go to the Super Bowl. These two teams know how to entertain.’

‘The key play was a Van Pelt pass of 36 yards to wide receiver Eric Moulds, one of the premier pass catchers in the game, which put Buffalo on the Tennessee 20-yard line, setting up Christie’s kick. This time, there was no miracle kickoff-return runback by the Titans, but it was a pretty good one nonetheless — a a 52-yard return by Derrick Mason to the Buffalo 49 yard line. After a 9-yard pass play, the Titans decided to try a 60-yard field goal. But the kick by Craig Hentrich was wide left.’

‘"If I were 100 years old, I would remember what happened on that play," he said in a telephone interview last month from San Francisco.’

‘The tally shows another 11-5 season and another playoff berth through the wild card.’

‘The miracle script, first written nine months ago, was looking all too familiar last night. This time, the Bills satisfied their sweet tooth with long- awaited revenge, the last men standing in a 16-13 bash of the Tennessee Titans that was more of a defensive prize fight than offensive artistry. Urged on by a blood-thirsty sellout crowd, the Bills gave their fans what they wanted — redemption for a bitter, controversial 22-16 loss to Tennessee in an AFC wild-card playoff in January.’

‘When asked if he was concerned about how the game was unfolding in eerily similar fashion to last season’s playoff loss, Phillips responded: “This is a different team, a different year. Last year’s gone. I don’t live in the past. “We won the game. I’m pleased but we’ve got a long road to go and there are things we need to shore up, but any time you have a great defence you have the makings of a great football team.”‘

‘It was the day the Music City miracle died. Any possible reprise at the Ralph ended with a wide and short 60-yard field goal attempt by strong-legged punter Craig Hentrich which helicoptered left as drained Bills defenders held heads in hands and spun to the ground in relief. The demons were finally exorcised, winging skyward in the exact opposite direction from where four pre-game parachutes had descended.’

‘Tennessee had no game-ending miracle this time, as a last-ditch, 60-yard field goal attempt by Craig Hentrich sailed wide left and appeared short. The Bills won, 16-13, exacting at least a small measure of revenge for the Music City Miracle as Steve Christie nailed a 32-yard field goal with :35 on the clock.’

‘The Titans wanted to pay tribute to their special teams coach, Alan Lowry, who didn’t make the trip here after chest pains prompted a heart procedure midweek. So Tennessee didn’t introduce its offense or its defense, but its special teams last night before kicking off the regular season with a rematch of last season’s Wild Card Game matchup, won with the Music City Miracle. Those who recognized it at sold out Ralph Wilson Stadium surely saw it as the Titans taking advantage of one last opportunity before kickoff to rub Home Run Throw Back into Western New York’s collective face.’

‘Steve Christie’s 33-yard field goal with 31 seconds left was the difference, but in the end dropped balls, mental errors and overall lackluster play on the offensive end prevented the Titans with a chance to start the season on a positive note. "It was very frustrating," Titans quarterback Steve McNair said. "They did a lot of things to stop us and we just could never get started. But Buffalo has a good defense and you have to give them credit — they did what we had to do and we didn’t."’

‘But for all of Johnson’s talent — a powerful arm to go with good mobility — he will stand in the pocket until he is virtually out of time. In his previous 16 games before last night, he had been sacked 37 times — that’s 2.3 sacks per Johnson game. That isn’t counting all of the hits he has taken on throws that actually made it out of his right hand. "You see what [Johnson] went through," Van Pelt said. "He’s as tough as they come." "I think Rob has shown us he’s our quarterback," said Bills linebacker Sam Cowart. "Just with the way he has approached things. We know he’s going to be there and try to make some things happen."’

‘Home Run Throw Back now has been replaced by Buffalo Bills’ payback. Next, we’ll see how the Titans come back.’