Bills D covers for Henry's fumble

By Rick Anderson

Play of the game! London Fletcher (59) stuffs Lions running back James Stewart in a late 4th quarter 4th and inches attempt. Eddie Robinson helps out and Cory Wire (not pictured) comes in to force Stewart back, giving the Bills the ball and the game, which they won 24-17.

[AP Photo/Don Heupel]

Travis Henry was on the sidelines, hoping that his latest fumble didn't cost the Buffalo Bills the game. With the Bills leading the Lions 24-17, Henry was given the ball and was about to be tackled on the Bills 29 when Bracy Walker came flying in and rammed his helmet smack into Henry's jaw, jarring his head 90 degrees and the ball out of Henry's grasp. The Lions recovered and the fourth overtime of the season looked imminent for the Bills.

"I don't know what happened," said Henry. "All I know is that the play was called to go to the right. I already knew, 'two hands on the ball, two hands on the ball.' Next thing you know I got hit on the mouth and the ball came out."

Now it was up to the defense. Lions quarterback Joey Harrington got a 8-yard pass completion to Germane Crowell after the Bills stuffed James Stewart on first down. Harrington went to Stewart on with a sideline pass and it appeared as if Stewart got beyond the first down marker. However, the refs ruled he got an elbow down before the marker and the Lions were faced with a 4th and half a foot. Once again, the Lions went to Stewart to keep the drive alive, and once again the Bills D stuffed the run. London Fletcher was the first to greet Stewart, slowing down his progress right at the line of scrimmage. Eddie Robinson was also hanging onto Stewart, but the 6 foot 1, 224 pound running back was winning the law of momentum and was starting to fall towards the yardage he needed to make first down. In came Cory Wire and he slammed into Stewart with as much force as Walker had hit Henry. That pushed Stewart behind the line of scrimmage and the Bills took over on downs. From there, the Bills ran out the clock and won their third game in a row, 24-17.

"It was a huge play," declared Fletcher. "Who knows what happens if they are able to convert that down."

For the second game in a row, the Bills defense came up huge and saved the day. For the second game in a row, the offense, while doing what they needed to do to win, but it had to rely on the defense to make the lead stick.

The Bills D gets stingy

What was the most porous defense in the league is suddenly coming together at the best time of the season. Stewart, who had 172 yards the week before, had his total cut in half by the Bills run-stuffing D. Overall, the Lions only got 282 yards. Harrington completed 20 out of 42 for 199 yards and one touchdown.

Harrington's one strike was a fluke at best. It was more like a volleyball play as his toss to Bill Schroeder was hit by not one, but two Bills defenders and finally came down in the awaiting hands of Az-Zahir Hakim for a touchdown in the second quarter to tie it up at 7.

The Bills gave it right back to the Lions when Charlie Rogers couldn't hang onto the ball during the kickoff and the Lions recovered at the Bills 22. The Lions drove down into the red zone and Stewart made it over from two yards out. From that point until Jason Hanson kicked a 35 yard 4th quarter field goal, the Bills D shut down the Lions offense.

Fletcher, who has finally started to play a more dominate role in the defense, says it has been a growing process with the defense.

"We knew we would have some growing pains early in the season because we have such a young defense," said Fletcher. "Since that Houston game, we felt like we have gained some confidence collectively. Today's game, we wanted to be out there from a defensive standpoint. We didn't care what the offense did. It was an opportunity to play football. 'Let's go out here and make a play."

Henry on the hotseat

Ever since Henry's last crucial fumble resulted in a touchdown, there has been a great debate on whether Henry should even be playing. While fumbling 6 times in 8 games, Henry is a definite risk. Like hot stocks traded on the open market, Henry's worth has to be examined closely. Last week against the Dolphins, he had 132 yards and he had a 159 yard game and two touchdowns the week before in Houston. Two of Henry's fumbles were returned for touchdowns. Two others led directly to touchdowns after his key turnovers gave the ball deep into Bills territory.

After Henry's crucial fumble against the Lions had given them a glorious opportunity to tie the game. The Bills defense came out and saved Henry from even more embarrassment. Now he owes the defensive squad a night out on the town.

"I was relieved because that could have cost us the game," admitted Henry. "But the defense stepped it up and stopped them. We got the ball back and won the ballgame."

The Bills came right back with Henry running the ball on the first play after the Bills took over on downs. They did the same when he had two fumbles in one game. Bills head coach Gregg Williams showed his confidence in his number one running back

"It was a huge hit (by Walker) but I think we showed our confidence in Travis by handing the ball to him right when he came back in," said Williams. "Travis is our running back and will continue to be our running back."

Henry gained 64 yards on 19 carries. He also opened and closed the Bills scoring by running for 5-yard touchdowns.

The fact that a fumble at the most inopportune time could have cost the Bills the game is quite troubling, especially to Henry himself. After the fumble, he was on the sidelines, holding his jaw and praying that the Bills D could stop the Lions from tying it up. His prayers were answered and he may be able to sleep a little better tonight. But when he dreams, it may turn into a nightmare of fumbles.

Bledsoe's cool under pressure

With the Bills down 14-7, Drew Bledsoe pulled a rabbit out of his helmet. With his protection collapsing, Bledsoe ran up close to the line of scrimmage and tossed a bomb to Peerless Price, who grabbed it, started to his right and deked the defender out as he reversed his field and went left. Price then galloped unimpeded for a 59-yard touchdown. That changed the momentum of the game and put the Lions on their heels.

Drew Bledsoe lofts his pass over the Lions' Robert Porcher in second half action.

[AP Photo/Don Heupel]

Bledsoe finished with 21 completion on 36 attempts for 302 yards. Like the week before against Miami, Bledsoe wasn't spectacular, but did just enough to guide the Bills to their fifth victory of the season.

Eric Moulds had his best game of the season, catching 9 passes for 123 yards. Price had 4 grabs, including his highlight 59 yarder. In all, the Bills continued their balanced attack and it appears to be a successful mix of the running and passing attacks.

Bills Talk

Henry answered any and all questions about his tendency to fumble.

"I got hit pretty hard but there are no excuses," admitted Henry about the ferocious hit by Walker. "Everybody knows you can't fumble the ball. I have to do a better job. I take all the responsibility. I just have to hold onto it. It seems like every team we play is going after the ball and I have to hold onto it."

Henry was asked if the fumbles are starting to haunt him.

"No," he replied. "I don't think about it at all other than to just keep two hands on the ball. This particular play I got hit pretty hard and just lost it. Most of all, though, my teammates stood beside me and the defense came up and played great today."

Henry, like the a couple games ago when a fumble resulted in a touchdown, was given a full vote of confidence by his coaches.

"They told me to get ready and they were behind me 100%," said Henry. (Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride) told me to get ready, that they were depending on me and I went back out."

Fletcher is one of the key reasons why the young defense is coming together.

"Defensively, we had our bumps and bruises; we had our growing pains," described Fletcher. "We didn't expect to give up as many points as we were giving up early in the season. The thing that we focused on after the Oakland game was 'Hey, let's wipe this off. Don't worry about the first five games. Lets' focus on being the best defense for the next eleven games.' That is how we have approached these games."

Fletcher's veteran status is starting to rub off on the team. Now the defense is making key plays and finally getting some respect around the league instead of snickers.

"It is huge the way the defense has played this week, last week, and the last half versus Houston. We are going to need a total team effort to win football games. Sometimes, the offense is going to struggle a little bit. Sometimes, the defense is going to struggle a little bit. We need everyone doing their job to win."

Bledsoe had plenty of kudos for his two main receivers, Price and Moulds.

"Eric and Peerless, I have tremendous confidence in both those guys," said Bledsoe. "At times we will take some chances that I would not take if I did not trust them that much. When I put the ball out there I trust that they will make a play."

"Eric is a stud," lauded Bledsoe. "I have known that forever. Ever since he came into the league he has been one of the premier guys in the league for as long as I have watched him play and to be on his team and throw the ball to him is a lot of fun."

Copyright © 2002 Bills Thunder & Rick Anderson, all rights reserved.