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| Preseason August
16, 2002 Minnesota 24 Attendance: 46,027
"The discouraging part was the special-teams play, but there's so many encouraging things that I have on my notes that I don't want to turn this into a half-hour press conference,'' Tice said. "The thing about the game for us is that we improved off of last week's game.'' Daunte Culpepper led the way, directing three first-half scoring drives and producing 293 yards of total offense. He finished 12-of-19 for 189 yards and one touchdown, and also ran for 34 yards. Defensively, the Vikings improved on last weekend's porous effort in which they allowed 383 total yards in a 27-15 to Cleveland.In the first half against the Bills, Minnesota allowed 134 total yards and held Buffalo to one touchdown and two field goals in three trips inside the 20. "I think we can build on this defensively because we're going to gain some confidence,'' Tice said. "That's exciting for us.'' The game was settled in the second half, with the teams' second- and third-stringers on the field. Minnesota's Shaun Hill hit Kelly Campbell for a 25-yard touchdown pass for the go-ahead score five minutes into the fourth quarter. The Bills' last chance to score ended at the Minnesota 7 with a minute left, when Travis Brown's fourth-down pass was deflected by Cedric Killings. The game ended when Minnesota punter Nick Murphy ran out of the back of the end zone to give up a safety. The Bills (0-2), coming off last week's promising preseason opener against Cincinnati, took a step backward. Drew Bledsoe finished 6-of-8 for 70 yards, while Buffalo's first-string offense sputtered, going 1-for-5 in third-down situations. Mike Hollis made two field goals, but both came after the Bills had drives stall inside Minnesota's 10. "The bottom line is, when we have the opportunity to put seven points on the board, we can't settle for three,'' Bledsoe said. "That's the difference in ballgames right there.''The Bills' defense remained unimpressive. In the first half, Buffalo gave up 104 yards rushing and failed to pressure Culpepper. In two preseason games, the Bills' projected starting defense has yet to produce a sack. "Each and every week we want to progress, and I wouldn't say we progressed,'' linebacker Keith Newman said. "I think we might've taken a step backward tonight.'' Shawn Bryson, on a 1-yard plunge, and Richard Huntley, on a 5-yard run, also scored for the Bills. Minnesota's Michael Bennett had 49 yards rushing and scored a touchdown, and Byron Chamberlain had an 8-yard TD reception. Doug Brien hit a 19-yard field-goal attempt, but also missed a 36-yarder.Culpepper was sharp from the beginning. He found Randy Moss, who sneaked into a seam for a 48-yard reception that set up Bennett's 3-yard touchdown run. On the next possession, Culpepper threaded a perfect pass to Bates, who was covered by two defenders, for a 31-yard gain. The drive ended with Chamberlain's score. "Offensively, I think we improved. All across the board,'' Culpepper said. "It builds confidence. And when you build confidence in this league, good things are going to happen.'' Kenny Mixon hoped the defense can also build on this performance. "It's encouraging. It's very encouraging,'' said Mixon, who sacked Bledsoe for a 7-yard loss. "We're a young defense. We've got a lot of young guys. We're getting our chemistry together. We're making strides.''
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