NFL Recap (Miami-Buffalo)
Posted: Sun November 1, 1998 at 11:40 p.m. EST
BUFFALO 30, MIAMI 24
BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- The Buffalo Bills used a
smothering defensive effort in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 unanswered
points and forging a four-way tie atop the AFC East with a 30-24 victory
over the Miami
Dolphins.
Doug Flutie
continued to work his magic for the Bills (5-3), guiding them to their
fifth straight win. He passed for 206 yards and three touchdowns against
one of the NFL's most dominant defenses as Buffalo moved into a first-place
tie with Miami, New England and the New York Jets.
"Wow, what a game," exclaimed Bills coach Wade Phillips. "This team
is a wonderment. They continue to amaze me. You look like you're down and
out in the fourth quarter and they came alive. That's when a good team
comes through, in the fourth quarter when you're behind."
Flutie improved to 3-0 as a starter, throwing a pair of scoring
strikes to tight end Jay
Riemersma and a 48-yarder to his favorite target, Eric Moulds, that lifted
the Bills within 24-21 with 11:46 to play. He went 15-for-26 for 206
yards.
"Miami has a great defense, they really do. It was like pulling teeth
trying to move the ball all game," Flutie said. "I really give them credit.
We took advantage every time we had the opportunity. Finishing off the
job and sticking them in the end zone was what it was all about."
"We needed a play, something to spark us. Eric Moulds came up with
it," he added. "Eric slipped his defender at the line of scrimmage and
took off and that was the play that spearhearded us."
Defensive end Phil
Hansen recovered quarterback Dan Marino's fumble at the
Miami 13 and Steve
Christie tied it four plays later with a 22-yard field goal.
The Dolphins could get nothing started offensively and Buffalo largely
kept the ball on the ground on the go-ahead drive. The Bills drove 54
yards in 6:19 as Antowain
Smith carried six times for 22 yards. Flutie had a 12-yard pass to Andre Reed on 3rd-and-5,
then connected with running back Sam Gash for 14 yards to
the Miami 27 before Christie's 36-yard field goal put Buffalo ahead, 27-24,
with 1:58 remaining.
Marino was sacked on the next play from scrimmage before three
straight incompletions gave the ball back to the Bills, who extended their
lead on Christie's 25-yard field goal with 23 seconds to play.
"We had a two-deep coverage and we underplayed the ball and that gave
them the (Moulds) touchdown," Miami coach Jimmy Johnson said. "Then they
got the pass rush and then the fumble. We didn't protect, they got the
ball and the field goal. Again, their crowd got into it, and they got
juiced up and never could get the crowd out of it."
Held to minus-7 total yards in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins sprung
to life when rookie John
Avery returned the ensuing kickoff 55 yards to the Buffalo 45. Marino
threw a 41-yard pass to O.J. McDuffie but with
Miami out of timeouts, McDuffie was stood up by Eric Smedley as time
expired.
Marino was 15-for-27 for 196 yards and capped the Dolphins' first
possession of the game with a 12-yard touchdown toss to Oronde Gadsden.
But the Bills, whose initial possession ended when Christie missed a
49-yard field goal, tied it early in the second quarter. They stopped Karim Abdul-Jabbar on
4th-and-1 at the Miami 34 and needed only seven plays to reach the end zone
as Flutie and Riemersma hooked up for a one-yard score.
"We were trying to go for it to make something happen and get their
crowd out of the game," Johnson said. "We went for it and we just didn't
make it."
The Dolphins, who had gone eight quarters without allowing a
touchdown, responded with a 10-play, 74-yard drive and regained the lead as
Abdul-Jabbar went in from the 1. He finished with 97 yards on 22 carries.
Buffalo tied it, 14-14, before halftime on Flutie's 16-yard TD strike
to Riemersma.
"Flutie is amazing," said Dolphins linebacker Derrick Rodgers. "The
things he does week in and week out present problems. With his size, you
can't see him. He's good with fakes. He has good feet and can move around
the pocket. He's always looking for someone to throw the ball to."
Miami took the second-half kickoff and marched 71 yards to the
go-ahead score. Avery broke the deadlock with a one-yard run and Olindo Mare's 38-yard
field goal 81 seconds into the fourth quarter made it 24-14.
Smith collected 82 yards on 21 rushes, helping the Bills to their
third straight home win -- all against first-place teams.
"We made some mistakes," Rogers said. "We can't make the mistakes we
made today on the road and expect to win. We just didn't take care of
business when we wanted to. We needed to make some more big plays and take
advantage of our opportunities."
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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