Doug Flutie has heard all the criticisms about his throwing arm. "He can't throw the long ball. Rob Johnson has the better arm." In today's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Flutie made a statement and he let his arm do the talking. In leading the Bills to a 24-21 victory over Pittsburgh, Flutie had one of his most productive days passing in his NFL career. He threw 32 times, completing 21 of them for 254 yards and 3 touchdowns. Flutie hit Eric Moulds six times for 122 yards which included a breathtaking 49-yard touchdown strike in the second quarter.
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Doug Flutie scrambles for big gain |
Flutie also scrambled 39 yards on 7 carries, the biggest one coming on 3rd and 20 when he took off right down the middle of the field to pick up 21 yards and the first down.
By beating the Steelers, along with New England's last second loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bills gain a tie with the Patriots for first in the AFC East. Since their opening day loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Bills have now won four straight.
"We saw the miss, and it was nice," Flutie said of the Pats' missed field goal that bounced off the right upright. "We're 4-1 and that's nice, too."
There were a lot of other Bills who made this win possible. Jonathan Linton was one of them. He ran 15 times for 45 yards, but he was the key to keeping the ball out of the Steelers hands during the Bills final time-consuming drive. Twice he ran 8 yards for first downs, thus allowing the Bills to run out the clock.
"Don't read anything into this," Linton said. "Antowain is still the starting tailback, and I'm still the third-down back."
Sam Rodgers put his stamp on the victory when he made the biggest play of the game, an interception in the third quarter to halt a Steeler drive. Rodgers returned the ball 24 yards. That set the stage for a Flutie-to-Jay Riemersma touchdown pass.
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Phil Hansen sacks Kordell Stewart |
"It was better," said Stewart about his improved play from the last few games. "But if there's one thing I'd like, it's to have that throw back."
This was a game the entire Steeler team would want back. On the Steelers first drive, Stewart passed to Hines Ward for seven yard. On third down, he passed again to Ward to the Pittsburgh 33 and a first down. But the Steelers could not convert on the next series of downs and were forced to punt.
The Bills, on their first play from scrimmage, fumbled away the ball when Antowain Smith could not hang on to Doug Flutie's handoff. This blunder resulted in the first score of the game.
With a third and ten from the Bills 12, Stewart ran out of the pocket, looked towards the middle of the endzone and fired it again to Ward, who made a leaping grab for the touchdown.
Flutie, trying to make up for the miscue, fired to Andre Reed on the first down play for ten yards. The next play, the Bills quarterback collided with Jonathan Linton and was forced to scramble for nine yards. Flutie then rolled right and rambled for another 8 yards. After a Smith run for 4 yards, Flutie lobbed a short toss to Sheldon Jackson for another 4 yards. Two runs netted another 6 yards and then Flutie tossed to Eric Moulds for 8 yards and a first down at the Pittsburgh 11 where he was pushed out of bounds by Earl Holmes. Then on third down, Flutie had to avoid the rush, ran to his left and threw a dart to a diving Reed who caught it at the one. The Bills were short of a first down and elected to go for the touchdown. Flutie rolled right and found Sam Gash wide open in the right corner of the endzone. Gash used his sure hands to haul it down and tie the game at 7. The Bills used up 7:53 minutes in that 14-play 69 yard drive.
The Bills defense came up big on the Steelers next possession. Jerome Bettis got 5 yards on two carries, so on third down, Stewart went to the shotgun. The pocket collapsed on Stewart and Shawn Price brought down the Steeler quarterback for an 8 yard loss.
When the Bills got the ball back, Flutie had two big passes to Moulds. The first was your standard 11 yard out. Then Flutie, who has been criticized for the past two years for not being able to throw the long ball, threw a perfect strike to Moulds who blew past Chad Scott for a 49-yard touchdown. It was reminiscent to the old Kelly-to-Reed strikes in the first part of this decade.
"I was guessing he was going to run an out, and he ran a post," Scott said in the Steelers locker room after the game. "I guessed wrong."
Stewart decided it was time to get things rolling as he completed a 3rd and 5 pass to Troy Edwards for 25 yards down to the Buffalo 43. But the Bills defense toughened up and stopped that drive, forcing another Pittsburgh punt.
On first down from the ten, Smith ran up the middle for seven yards, but coughed up the ball again. This time, however, the refs ruled that he was down by contact. Linton then ran for 5 yards and then Flutie went back to his favorite receiver again. This time it was for 28 yards and Moulds got down to the midfield stripe. On the next two plays, Flutie was sacked and Linton was hauled down for a three yard loss. On third down and twenty yards for a first, Flutie avoided a sack and took off down field. The whole field was open to the nimble quarterback and he darted down the middle of the field for 21 yards, one more than the Bills needed for the first down. Next, Flutie found Reed for 15 yards down to the Steelers 20. He hit Reed again for 9 yards on the next play. But on third and one, Flutie went back to pass, saw a Steeler safety closing down on him and was forced to run left. He was tackled by Lethon Flowers just short of the first down. Christie came on and kicked a 29 yard field goal.
After the Steelers received the kickoff, Stewart threw long down the right sideline to Will Blackwell, but it was too far for him. Two plays later, Stewart lobbed a pass to Richard Huntley and he rambled down to the Steelers 48 for 17 yards. On a third down, Stewart threw to Huntley again, this time the 5 ft. 11 in. running back gained 11 yards. Huntley then rushed up the middle for another 7 yards. Continuing their longest drive of the game, Stewart hit Blackwell for 10 yards to the Buffalo 17. From there, Stewart hit paydirt again when he connected with Edwards. Feeling the pressure, the Steeler quarterback ran to his left and threw to Edwards. Thomas Smith went up and tipped the ball right into Edwards hands for the touchdown.
After that Steeler touchdown, the Bills drove down the field with the precision passing of Flutie. He threw incomplete Moulds, but Carlos Emmons was flagged for unnecessary roughness when he gave Moulds a shot well after the play was over. Flutie hit Moulds again for 8 yards at the Steeler 38. Then Reed was Flutie's target as the Bills all-time receiver caught his typical over the middle crossing pattern for 20 yards. On that catch, Reed overtook Art Monk and vaulted into fifth place on the NFL's career yards receiving list with 12,742 yards. Reed had six catches in the game for 68 yards.
With only 14 seconds remaining in the half, Flutie attempted a pass to Moulds that fell incomplete, so Christie came in to attempt a 36 yard field goal. His kick was long enough but wide right. The half ended with the Bills up 17-14.
The third quarter turned out to be a punting contest as both defenses came up big. Finally, Stewart got the Steeler offense rolling when he hit Ward for a 24-yard completion at the Pittsburgh 30. Then Stewart passed to Ward again for another 14 yards down to the Buffalo 44. And then came what turned out to be the play of the game. Stewart attempted a pass to Mark Bruener, but Sam Rodgers stepped right in front of the pass and picked it off. He rumbled another 24 yards before being tackled by Alan Faneca. That was a big change in momentum and Flutie took advantage of it.
"All I know is we had the right call to put me in a perfect position and I was lucky he threw the ball right to me. I don't think Stewart saw me," said Rogers. "I was supposed to cover the No. 2 receiver into the flat. In the preseason they did the same thing, but I stayed on the No. 2 and Bruener caught a pass on John Holecek. I told John all week in practice I was going to try to bait that route. And it just so happened No. 2 went out, and I played Bruener the whole time."
After Linton carried twice for 9 yards, he was stopped short on third and one. The Bills decided to go for it on fourth and one and this time Linton was good for three yards and advanced the chains. Flutie went to the air and his favorite target once again. Moulds grabbed the pass for 18 yards along the right sideline and was hauled down by Scott at the Steeler 8. On first and goal, Riemersma was lined up on the right side and blocked two Steelers. He fell down, got up and raced to Flutie's left. Doug spotted the wide-open tight end and lofted a soft pass to him. Once Riemersma caught it, there was no one around to stop him from scoring. The Bills were now up 24-14.
"That's a beautiful call," Flutie said in his post game conference. "That's the one trick-'em play. It was a fake toss and a roll right and Jay slammed and goes to the ground, tries to get loss in the mess, and slips out the back side. The timing of it and the play call, where you are on the field were very important. It was a great call .... by Joe Pendry. Perfect position, perfect call."
Stewart had to get the Steelers in the endzone in a hurry, and started a drive towards that goal. He passed to Bettis for 7 yards to the Steeler 30. Then he hit Lyons for 25 yards at the Buffalo 37. On a designed quarterback run, Stewart went back but then raced for 11 yards to the Bills 26. Huntley smashed over the middle for 3 yards on the following play.
To keep the drive alive, Edwards caught a 6 yard pass at the Buffalo 17. Stewart decided to go for it all when he fired a pass to Edwards again. Thomas Smith was all over him, causing interference and getting the flag. After two futile attempts to get into the endzone, the Steelers got the needed touchdown when Bettis rammed it in from the one, making it a 3 point game.
The Bills now had to control the clock and eat up valuable time. The Bills decided to let Jonathan Linton do the dirty work. Linton ran for two yards on his first carry and then on second down broke a tackle and went 8 yards to get a very important first down. The big fullback/halfback got the ball again and carried for three. Linton, on the next play, made the game-winning first down as he rambled for another 8 yards to pick up a first down. That was enough for the Bills to kneel down and eat up the rest of the clock. The game was over and the Bills now had a 4-1 record.
"A lot of people were saying, 'This is going to be a cakewalk, it's Pittsburgh . . . we beat Miami in Miami, we should be able to beat Pittsburgh at home,' " said Flutie about the stiff fight from the Steelers. "But every game is a war. You've just got to find a way to win that week. And we're doing that."
Next week the Oakland Raiders will invade Ralph Wilson Stadium and try to halt the surging Bills.
Copyright © 1999 Bills Thunder & Rick Anderson, all rights reserved.
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