Buffalo simply snow-tacular
Conjures images of tuck game
As if we needed yet another reminder of what it’s like to be in the AFC East and not be the New England Patriots, consider what took place yesterday afternoon in snowy, can’t see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face Orchard Park, N.Y.
The poor Buffalo Bills, who haven’t appeared in the NFL playoffs since Bill Clinton was in the Oval Office, were doing some hosting and hoping — welcoming the Indianapolis Colts, hoping to keep pace with the first-place Pats in the AFC East. Yes, the Bills emerged with a 13-7 overtime victory on LeSean McCoy’s 21-yard touchdown run, leading to old-time pandemonium at white-out New Era Field. Kids threw celebratory snowballs. Old men cried tears of joy. We even saw Bills players doing Lonnie Paxton-like snow angels on the field, reminiscent of The Snow Bowl (also known as the Tuck Rule Game) at Foxboro Stadium in January of 2002.
For Bills fans, it was a thrilling end to a chilling day. Imagine: The 7-6 Bills not only added some spark to their wild card playoff hopes, but they kept the 10-2 Patriots, who play the Dolphins tonight at Hard Rock Stadium, from clinching the division.
It was cold, crazy and cartoonish in Buffalo yesterday, the conditions so bad that nobody could do much of anything. You’ve heard of the Punt, Pass and Kick Contest? This was the Can’t Punt, Can’t Pass and Can’t Kick Contest, with the added lowering of the competitive bar coming in the form of Buffalo resorting to third-string quarterback Joe Webb in the third quarter after rookie Nathan Peterman, starting in place of the injured Tyrod Taylor, was hurt after being hit hard by the Colts’ Johnathan Hankins and Antonio Morrison.
Webb was placed in charge of a 7-0 lead when Peterman was placed in concussion protocol. But before continuing, let’s consider the then and there: You’re the Bills, and you’re desperately trying to keep pace with the fivetime Super Bowl champion Patriots. You’re in the thick of a blinding blizzard, and now you’re rolling out Joe Webb, a career journeyman who last threw a touchdown pass in 2011 when he was with the Vikings.
Hopes seemed dashed when Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett — remember him? — led Indy on a grindit-out 19-play, 77-yard drive that chewed up 9:53 on the clock, culminating with a 3-yard pass to Jack Doyle with 1:16 remaining.
Here, the crazy got crazier. The Colts staggered into the day with a 3-9 record and aren’t going anywhere but home once the regular season is over. So coach Chuck Pagano went for the nothing-to-lose, gamewinning two-point conversion rather than the gametying PAT. And it worked, as Brissett again connected with Doyle ... except that it didn’t work because the Colts were flagged for offensive pass interference.
A two-point try not really an option now, the Colts went for the PAT. And out came Adam Vinatieri.
And now we go back to The Snow Bowl/Tuck Rule Game. Imagine some fool approaching Vinatieri after yesterday’s game in Buffalo and saying, “Have you ever seen anything like this?” He would have laughed . . . and then he would have cried.
Vinatieri, as all Pats fans know, as all Raiders fans know, as your Great Aunt Sally living in a cabin in Montana knows, is the guy who kicked the game-tying (45 yards) and game-winning (23 yards) field goals in the snow on the evening of Jan. 19, 2002 to lead the Pats to a thrilling 16-13 playoff victory over Oakland.
It was the end of the line for Foxboro Stradium. And it was the beginning of the Pats’ dynasty.
Vinatieri did kick what turned out to be a 43-yard PAT yesterday to tie the game. But the Colts got the ball back with 1:01 remaining in regulation when Webb’s horrible, horrible short pass intended for Bills tight end Charles Clay was intercepted by the Colts Matthias Farley at the Buffalo 37.
With six seconds left, Vinatieri returned to try for a game-winning 43-yard field goal. He was wide left — as in to the left of Bernie Sanders.
The Bills now had a chance to win in overtime, and they did. Snowballs and snow angels. Tears and cheers, hugs and high fives.
It has to be the biggest Bills victory in the 21st century. Think about that, Pats fans.