Two Bills Drive

Cincinnati jumped out to a 14-0 1st quarter lead, after cashing in on a long punt return and an INT, and defeated Buffalo 28-21, to secure the 1st postseason victory in the history of the Bengals’ franchise.

In dramatic fashion, San Diego rallied from a 14-3 deficit as QB Dan Fouts connected with WR Ron Smith on a 50-yard scoring pass with just 2:08 remaining in the game. The reception was only the 5th of the season for Smith.

Joe Cribbs had a very successful rookie campaign. A consensus choice as AFC Rookie-of-the-Year, Cribbs finished second in the conference with 1,185 rushing yards and was the only rookie to start in the Pro Bowl. The key to his early success?

Bledsoe finished the season with a strong game, completing 23 of 31 passes (74.2%) for 231 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT. His quarterback rating in the season finale was 105.7. It was one of six times in 2002 that the first-year Bills quarterback had a rating of over 100 and the 28th time in his career.

‘According to figures released from Nielsen Media Research and WIVB-TV, the Bills had the highest market-by-market ratings of all CBS affiliates across the country and third overall behind Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.’

In the course of one year, Travis Henry has completed a marathon run in sprinter's time.

If you compare the rookie of 2001 to the veteran of 2002, you'll find a man who has traveled the greatest of distances in the quickest of times.

"My recommendations would just to be… our objective would be to improve our pass rush. We haven't done a great job of that this year. We would certainly like to put more pressure on the quarterback. I think we've done a decent job of playing the run most of the time. I would probably try to get some guys bigger and stronger before next season."

The Bengals' choice will be followed by the Detroit Lions picking second and Houston Texans third. Buffalo – 14th.

The NFL has a regular-season scheduling rotation under the current realignment plan. The schedules will take the Bills through a cycle of games – home and away – against every other team in the league. In these seven seasons, the Bills will play every other team at least twice – once home and once away.

‘He did a better job of anticipating plays and getting on the proper side of the lead blockers the second half of the year than the first.’

‘The Bills of 1988 entered the domain of the NFL’s elite teams. The Bills of 2003 are on the doorstep. We can hardly wait for training camp to start.’

‘”Anytime you can get a coach like Dick LeBeau, you try to fit him in anywhere you can,” Donahoe told bengals.com. “I would obviously be interested in something like that because of what I think of him.” The two were together in Pittsburgh from 1992-96, when Donahoe was the Steelers’ director of football operations and LeBeau served as secondary coach and later defensive coordinator.’

‘LeBeau ended his run as Bengals head coach in Buffalo this past Sunday, but the Bills are interested in extending his career in the NFL to a 45th season. Bills president Tom Donahoe said Wednesday morning that he wants to explore adding LeBeau to his staff in some form even though he doesn’t anticipate major changes on Buffalo’s defensive side of the ball.’

Up front are a trio of first-round picks, a second-rounder and a free agent. Minnesota’s Bryant McKinnie joins fellow top 10 pick Mike Williams of Buffalo at tackle despite [Bryant McKinnie] missing half the season because of a holdout.

‘"It will feel even better next year when we are a playoff team."’