NFL Recap (Oakland-Buffalo)
Posted: Mon December 14, 1998 at 1:14 a.m EST
BUFFALO 44, OAKLAND 21
BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- The Buffalo Bills showed today
they may be the best team in the NFL's best division.
The Bills climbed into a second-place tie with the Miami Dolphins in the
AFC East after pounding the reeling Oakland Raiders, 44-21.
At 9-5, Buffalo and Miami are one game behind the New York Jets, who visit
Buffalo next Saturday.
"I truly believe if we go out, we execute, we do the things that don't
put us in bad situations, I don't think we can be beaten unless we beat
ourselves," said Bills All-Pro defensive end Bruce Smith. "That's not
bragging or boasting. I just think if we go out and excecute we can
compete and compete with anyone in the NFL."
The Bills moved a step closer to clinching their eighth postseason
berth in nine seasons. They missed the playoffs last year after going 6-10.
"Coaches are naive sometimes," said Buffalo second-year coach Wade
Phillips. "They think they are going to win all their games.
"I think we have come a long way as a team. We were a 6-10 team last
year and this new team has accomplished a lot. But I didn't go into it
with rose-colored glasses and say, 'We've got a playoff-cailber team.'
We've got a team that has to work hard and play hard and play their best to
do well."
Buffalo, which scored on six consecutive possessions in the first two
quarters, took control in the second, grabbing a 17-0 advantage as Doug Flutie hit tight ends
Jay Riemersma and Lonnie Johnson with
touchdown passes.
Flutie, who improved to 11-0 at home as an NFL starter, was 17-of-26
for 184 yards with two TDs and an interception. He completed five passes
for 70 yards to Andre
Reed, who tied guard Jim Richter's franchise record by playing in his
222nd game with the team.
The Bills put away the game with a 17-point third quarter, capped by
lineman Phil Hansen's
13-yard fumble return for a score. Linebacker Gabe Northern put the
exclamation point on Buffalo's sixth straight home win with a 40-yard
interception return for a TD.
The 44 points are the most for the Bills since December 10th, 1995,
when they defeated St. Louis, 45-27.
Oakland's fourth straight loss kept it one game behind New England and
Tennessee for the third and final AFC wild-card spot.
"We have two games we must win, there's no doubt about that," said
Raiders linebacker Greg
Biekert. "That's the way we must look at it this week. ... We just
have to believe as a team we can win those last two games, hope things can
work in our favor and we can get in."
The Raiders (7-7), who have been outscored 140-71 during their losing
streak, lost another defensive back, Marquis Walker, to injury.
Rookie Charles Woodson
is the only starter in the defensive backfield that has remained healthy
all season.
"It's tough, every week it seems like somebody else," said Woodson of
the defensive backfield, which includes former Bills wide receiver Bucky Brooks. "It always
feels like we are trying to climb out of a hole. It would be nice for once
to be at the other end."
"I'm not going to use that as an excuse, but we had a lot of guys
(out)," added Raiders coach John Gruden. "But that's life. Some guys did
step up and play well. We've just got to hang in there. We've got to keep
battling, keep scrapping. Whoever is well enough to play, we'll play.
We're not going to quit."
The league's second-rated defense entering the game stopped Buffalo on
its first possession, then yielded 30 points on the following six.
The Bills scored 10 points after a pair of long returns by Kevin Williams and added a
field goal when Hansen recovered a fumble deep in Oakland territory.
Leading 10-0 in the second quarter on Flutie's 13-yard TD pass to
Riemersma, Williams returned a punt 73 yards -- the longest non-scoring
play in franchise history -- to the Raiders 2-yard line. Two plays later,
Flutie found Johnson in the end zone.
Oakland got within 17-7 with 1:54 left in the half on Wade Wilson's 18-yard strike
to tight end Rickey
Dudley, but Williams raced 28 yards to the Buffalo 36 on the ensuing
kickoff. Flutie then hit Eric Moulds with three
straight passes before Steve
Christie booted a 49-yard field goal.
Williams, a wide receiver who did not a catch a pass, returned three
punts and three kickoffs for a total of 156 yards.
"It was a nice all-around game," said Flutie. "The kick return by
Kevin Williams was huge. It set up an easy touchdown and then two
defensive touchdowns put the game out of reach."
Hansen was at the right place at the right time on consecutive
possessions in the third quarter. With the Bills leading 27-7, he pounced
on Dudley's fumble at Oakland's 19, leading to Christie's 32-yarder.
Just 56 seconds later, the 6-5, 278-pounder capitalized on Smith's
sack, scooping up Wilson's fumble and lumbering 13 yards for a score.
"I didn't know who was behind me," said Hansen, who scored his first
career touchdown. "All I could see was the red of the end zone -- a pretty
exciting moment.
"There were a lot of big plays -- interceptions, sacks, a lot of big
plays on defense. We hope we can do that every week. This seemed to be an
extraordinary week. Those types of things really turn games around."
Buffalo held the Raiders, who again were without injured running back
Napolean Kaufman, to 178 yards of total offense. The Bills did not allow a
first down until the 6 1/2-minute mark of the second quarter.
Wilson, Oakland's third quarterback this season, completed 16-of-26
passes for 131 yards with two TDs and two interceptions in his first start
since December 21st, 1996. He capped the scoring with 3:57 left in the
fourth quarter with a 30-yard strike to Tim Brown.
Antowain Smith
carried 22 times for 77 yards and a TD while becoming the first Buffalo
running back, other than Thurman Thomas, to rush for
1,000 yards in a season since Greg Bell in 1984. Thomas did it every year
from 1989-1996.
"It feels great to finally achieve that accomplishment," Smith said.
"I'd like to thank the offensive line for doing a great job for me all year
long, the coaching staff for believing in me, Sam Gash, whose been
leading the way all year long. I'd also like to thank Thurman Thomas.
"I think everybody's clicking on all cylinders right now and when
we're doing that, I think this offense is hard to stop. Right now, we're
coming together at the right ime. Our main goal is to make the playoffs
and once we make the playoffs, we want to continue to go."
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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