2000

Bills 31
St. Louis 27

Attendance: 64,900

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Kurt Warner's sore shoulder is history.  

The NFL's MVP was held out of practice for two days following the Rams' Monday night loss at Tennessee, but played most of the first half. He hit Marshall Faulk and Torry Holt for scores of 21 and 27 yards and was 14-for-21 for 196 yards.

"There was a slight bit of pain, but it was similar to something I went through last year," said Warner, who didn't let a sore shoulder the second half of last season stop him from throwing 41 touchdown passes. "I knew once I got out and got warmed up properly and got into the game that it wouldn't bother me."

Warner missed a third touchdown pass when Roland Williams, attempting to vault into the end zone, fumbled at the goal line for a touchback. Williams said maybe he should have bulled his way into the end zone.

"Hindsight is 20-20," he said. "I was thinking he might try to chop my ankles out and knock me out of bounds at the one. You see it a million times."

In the Rams' first two preseason games, Warner threw only six passes, completing four for 65 yards. The only curious aspect to his outing is he was removed in the middle of a drive. Warner said that was because the Bills turned the ball over and backup Trent Green hadn't had a chance to warm up.

Buffalo's Rob Johnson also had a big half in an often sloppy game, going 8-for-12 for 237 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson hit a wide-open Jeremy McDaniel for a 51-yard gain to the Rams 5 on the third play of the game. He and McDaniel also hooked up for an 85-yard touchdown with 2:32 left in the first quarter.

"We played the world champs pretty well," Johnson said. "Hopefully we can get more consistent and sustain some drives, but big plays are nice."

McDaniel said he took advantage of double coverage on Eric Moulds on his long score.

"Eric was bringing a whole lot of attention to him, being the great receiver he is," McDaniel said. "They broke down in coverage and I was just sitting there wide open."

Johnson hit Jay Riemersma for a 5-yard score and Bobby Collins from 26 yards.

Faulk also got a lot more action, with 58 yards on 10 carries and three catches for 15 yards. Faulk totaled 16 yards on five carries with no receptions the first two games, and topped his rushing total with a 20-yard run on his first carry.

Holt also caught a 22-yard pass from Green as the Rams (1-2) scored 17 points in the last 4:07 of the second quarter to take a 24-21 halftime lead. Holt, St. Louis' first-round pick last year, caught six passes for 109 yards in the half.

The Rams committed three turnovers, two interceptions by Green and a fumble on a kickoff return by Curtis Jackson, in a span of three plays to hand the Bills the lead in the second half. Shawn Bryson scored on a 3-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the Bills a 28-27 lead.

Jon Hilbert added a 36-yard field goal with 12:30 to play for the Bills (2-1), who met the Rams in the preseason for the first time since 1976.

The Bills stopped the Rams at the Buffalo 28 with 17 seconds to go. The Rams' second-team defense had a highlight in the third quarter, with a goal-line stand that stopped the Bills at the 1 to preserve a 27-21 lead. The last three plays came from the 1.

New Rams coach Mike Martz twice challenged rulings in the first half, and he won one and lost one. An apparent touchdown return by Sam Cowart off a fumble was overruled by replay in the first quarter, but the touchback ruling on Williams' fumble into the end zone was upheld.

Rams offensive tackle Orlando Pace strained the patella tendon in his left knee in the second quarter and did not return. Safety Devin Bush strained his right groin in the second quarter and cornerback Dre' Bly injured his right hamstring in the third.

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