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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- Another comeback bid by the New York
Jets fell short when Steve Christie delivered in the clutch again
for Buffalo.
|  | | Buffalo rookie running back Sammy Morris dove into the end zone for a first-quarter TD in the Bills' win over the Jets. |
Set up by the Bills' 57-yard drive engineered by Doug Flutie in
the final 2:20, Christie kicked a 34-yard field goal as time ran
out, lifting the Bills to a 23-20 victory Sunday. It was the third
time this season and 15th time in his career that Christie has
kicked a game-winner in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Christie kicked two other field goals -- from 20 and 29 yards.
"There wasn't much to think about, just keeping it down the
middle," Christie said. "I have to hit them from wherever we end
up."
And he seemed unconcerned after having a 44-yard attempt blocked
by Shane Burton earlier in the fourth quarter, ending Christie's
streak of 10 straight.
"I still thought I hit it well, so just keeping that in the
back of my mind, thinking to make good contact with the ball and
hopefully getting a couple or more chances," Christie said.
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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The Jets have made a habit this year of late comebacks to win in the fourth
quarter.
The way the Bills neuralized this today is that they kicked a field goal
with three seconds left and didn't give the Jets an opportunity to get the
football back.
In this game, Buffalo jumped out to a lead -- but as the Jets have been
doing all season, they came back to tie the game in the second half.
The Bills, as they've shown all year, continue to be a difficult team to run
the football against. Jets running back Curtis Martin had only 46 yards
rushing on 18 carries; the Jets had just 51 yards rushing overall.
This was Doug Flutie's first
win as a starter this season. As is usually the custom with Flutie, he
depended on wide receiver Eric
Moulds (six catches, 137 yards).
But the Bills says there's no quarterback controversy, so Flutie is
basically keeping the seat warm until Rob Johnson is ready to come
back.
The biggest difference in this game was the turnover factor -- the Jets had
four (including two Vinny
Testaverde interceptions) while the Bills had none.
The Jets may have had a letdown from their huge comeback win Monday night
over Miami. Also, coming off the Monday night game hurts your preparation
some.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
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The Bills, meanwhile, were running out of chances after losing
four of their last five, including three straight to AFC East
Division rivals.
With the win, Buffalo improved to 4-4 and climbed back into the
playoff chase.
"I told our team that this was the game as far as the rest of
our season was concerned," coach Wade Phillips said. "I just
don't think we could've lost this one and had a realistic chance of
being where we want to be."
Linebacker Sam Cowart, who leads the Bills in tackles, had a
solid outing. Cowart recovered two fumbles and made a key tackle,
stuffing Richie Anderson for a 5-yard loss that forced the Jets to
settle for John Hall's 36-yard field goal with 2:20 left, tying the
score at 20.
"This was a very big win or us," said Cowart, who was in on 11
tackles. "If we dropped to 0-4 in the AFC East, we might have been
home for Christmas."
The Jets finally ran out of comeback magic after pulling out
four games with fourth-quarter rallies this season, including last
week's 40-37 overtime win over Miami in which New York trailed 30-7
entering the final period.
Although they came back twice to tie the game on Sunday, the
Jets never recovered after spotting Buffalo a 17-7 first-half lead.
"It's going to catch up with you," Aaron Glenn added. "It's
going to come back and haunt you, and today was one of those
times."
The Jets could only blame themselves, committing four turnovers,
three of which led to Bills scores. A fumble by Vinny Testaverde at
the Bills 10 foiled a scoring bid in the second quarter.
Testaverde was intercepted twice, once by Henry Jones, who ran
it back 45 yards for a touchdown.
"Turnovers will cause you to lose, and that was confirmed
today," Jets coach Al Groh said. "Too many hurdles to overcome."
Testaverde finished 28-for-38 for 293 yards, while Laveranues
Coles led Jets receivers with five catches for 131 yards. Wayne
Chrebet and Fred Baxter scored for the Jets, who fell to 6-2.
The win redeemed the Bills defense in numerous ways.
Buffalo was still smarting after making too many mistakes in a
27-14 loss to the Jets in Week 3 of the season.
"This was huge, it's a big win," Jones said. "We're a few
games behind the leaders. We've not got an eight-game season and
we'll see how we react."
Buffalo's defense lost veteran defensive end Phil Hansen for 4-6
weeks with a sprained right knee.
Flutie, in his second straight start and first at home in place
of injured Rob Johnson (separated shoulder), had an average game,
going 18-for-35 for 253 yards, but had nine passes deflected.
He still came up big when necessary.
Facing third-and-10 on the game-winning drive, Flutie drew the
Jets offside and hit Peerless Price at the sideline for a 17-yard
gain, giving Buffalo the ball at the Jets 40. Flutie then capped
the drive with two completions to rookie fullback Sam Morris.
Morris scored a touchdown in his fourth straight game, giving
the Bills a 7-0 lead.
Game notes
Eric Moulds had his third straight 100-yard-plus receiving
game, catching six passes for 137 yards, tying a Buffalo record
shared by Andre Reed and Elbert Dubenion. ... With the loss, the
Jets blew a chance to go to 7-1 for the first time since opening
the 1986 season 10-1. ... The Bills, who limited Testaverde to 293
yards passing, have gone 36 straight regular-season games -- dating
back to Oct. 4, 1998 -- since giving up 300 yards passing.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
NY Jets Clubhouse
Buffalo Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Doug Flutie is happy to get a victory over the Jets.
avi: 920 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Vinny Teastaverde says there's more football to be played this season.
avi: 912 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Coach Wade Phillips was more than pleased with QB Doug Flutie's play.
wav: 216 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Coach Al Groh felt the Jets gave away a victory to the Bills.
wav: 136 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Sam Cowart felt the Bills really needed to get the win over a red-hot Jets' team.
wav: 111 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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