Two Bills Drive

November 20, 1988 -"FANDAMONIUM" – BILLS WIN AFC EAST TITLE

Bills' kicker Scott Norwood kicked the game-winning field goal, 3:47 into overtime to give Buffalo a 9-6 victory over the NY Jets at Rich Stadium. NT Fred Smerlas blocked a Pat Leahy 40-yard field goal attempt with 19 seconds left in regulation. It was Buffalo's first AFC East title since 1980.

‘Of the remaining seven games, five are against teams at or above .500 and all have legitimate postseason hopes, save the 1-7 Cincinnati Bengals, whom the Bills play in the regular-season finale.’

‘Dubenion thinks Fowler might have become one of the best Bills ever if not for the Achilles’ injury. "He had as much talent as anyone," Dubenion said.’

‘But the reality is, the Patriots exploited flaws in every area of the Bills … offense, defense, special teams and coaching. And Buffalo won’t be playing in January unless they’re corrected.’

‘Battle of Bledsoe, Brady and Belichick – Buffalo vs Beantown – bluntly being broken down to a blatant boor.’

‘The school already had been planning for such a building before Wilson came through with a donation, said President Katherine Keough. But, she added, ”without his help, we could not have built this.”’

‘One ex-Bill watching the Bills and Patriots in the tunnel before the game told me “the Bills are in trouble. Look how they’re jumping up and down and pumping each other. They aren’t ready.” The Patriots were much more calm and focused, and while you can’t always tell a lot by watching a team before a game, that ex-Bills player was right on target.’

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Sometimes reality smacks you in the face like a heavyweight boxer in a back room brawl. Just ask the Buffalo Bills.

For a team that is climbing back to the apex of the National Football League, Sunday's game was the most anticipated contest in years.

‘With the 5-4 record in mind, here are the five most positive and four most negative developments of the first nine games…’.

‘"I don’t expect them to win the Bowl. But you know what? If the season ended today, they’d be in the playoffs. So I’m happy. I remember what 3-13 felt like. I remember pulling for them to lose so they’d get a high pick."’

‘The Bills’ great running back will be honored during pregame ceremonies on the field at the Bills-Dolphins home game Dec. 1 and at the Monday Quarterback Club’s luncheon in HSBC Arena the next day.’

‘”The big thing is, it’s the first drive of the third quarter, we’re only down 10 at the time, and New England had been on a short field all day long. It was one opportunity to try to put them on a long field. We would’ve liked for it (the punt) to have been deeper but it didn’t work out that way. But it was still an 83-yard field, and we didn’t get off the field on defense … the big thing is, you’ve got to get off the field.”‘

‘”They had our number,” said fullback Larry Centers of the Patriots (4-4), who snapped a four-game losing streak by dominating Buffalo on both sides of the ball. “In this business, if you fight long enough, you’re gonna lose a game like that. We just have to react in the proper way, diagnose the problems and be honest about what we have to get done. I think the bye week comes at an excellent time. It gives us a chance to do a little bit more soul searching.”‘

‘That’s difficult to answer, but I do know this: It will take a playoff appearance to save some of their jobs.’