1999

Bills 19
Washington 20

Attendance: 64,004

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -- The Washington Redskins' first-team offense got its only touchdown against the Buffalo Bills' second-team defense. The Bills' offense didn't come to life until Doug Flutie led the backups against the Redskins' starting defense.  

Such are the quirks of exhibition games, but the net result of Friday night's 20-19 Washington victory was that both teams need to work on getting the ball into the end zone.

"We definitely have room to improve," said Buffalo left tackle John Fina, part of a starting offensive line that produced just 24 yards rushing in the first half. "There were some things we did pretty well, but you have to be perfect, and we weren't."

With the exception of Flutie, the players generating the genuine excitement were the bottom-of-the-depth-chart reserves in the fourth quarter. The game wasn't decided until Buffalo rookie Jeremy McDaniel caught the ball just out of bounds on a 2-point conversion attempt with 51 seconds to give Washington the win.

"During the regular season, certainly we would have kicked an extra point," Buffalo coach Wade Phillips said. "I wasn't as worried about the score there, I just wanted to get the game over with."

With Buffalo trailing 20-13 and less than three minutes remaining, first-year quarterback Mike Cawley led a 76-yard drive capped by an 8-yard pass to fourth-round draft pick Bobby Collins before the 2-point try failed.

Collins also had a 3-yard touchdown reception from Alex Van Pelt with 9:01 to play to tie the game 13-13.

In between, the bottom two running backs on Washington's depth chart spurred an 87-yard scoring drive. Arena Football League veteran Chad Dukes caught four passes for 58 yards and Norman Miller caught a 5-yard pass from Casey Weldon for the touchdown with 3:05 remaining.

However, for the regulars, it was a night of futility.

Using his starters longer -- including wide receivers Michael Westbrook and Albert Connell into the fourth quarter -- Redskins coach Norv Turner again demonstrated a must-win preseason mode fueled by new owner Dan Snyder. Needing the first-team vs. second-team mismatch to get into the end zone, the Redskins put together a 76-yard drive ending with Stephen Davis' fourth-down, 3-yard scoring run to make it 10-6.

"We got a lot of outstanding things done in the first half," said Turner, whose team held a 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession in the first half. "But we have a lot of work to do."

For Buffalo, Rob Johnson lost ground in his bid to overtake Flutie as the No. 1 quarterback. Johnson got the start because he played little in last week's exhibition opener, but the Bills went three-and-out on three of five possessions with him in the game.

Johnson also threw an interception straight to Redskins first-round draft pick Champ Bailey deep in Washington territory. His one solid throw of the day, a 35-yard completion to Eric Moulds, led to Steve Christie's 36-yard field goal that opened the scoring in the second quarter.

Johnson finished 5-for-10 for 66 yards, but he was also hurt by an offensive line that had its hands full against the Redskins' front four.

"There wasn't much there in the running game," Johnson said. "I thought I was throwing the ball well. I missed on a couple little things here and there."

Flutie entered late in the second quarter and was masterful, scrambling to make impossible throws with zip on the ball. But the Flutie-led drives sputtered because he played most of the time with the second-team receivers who couldn't quite make the catch and second-team lineman who didn't always make the blocks.

"I was in there with a lot of the second team, so sometimes things aren't picture-perfect," said Flutie, who was 5-for-11 for 69 yards and led the team in rushing with 22 yards. "I was having fun. It was a blast."

The Redskins dominated the scoreless first quarter, holding the ball more than 11 minutes, but their best drive ended with no points after a first-and-goal at the 2. After two incomplete passes and a no-gain on a running play, long snapper Dan Turk sent the ball sailing over holder Matt Turk's head to botch what would have been a short field goal attempt.

The Redskins also lost their top two pass-catching tight ends, Stephen Alexander and Kevin Pesak, to injuries that will sideline both for a week or two.

But the most frustrating night was had by Skip Hicks, who fell behind Davis in the battle for the Redskins starting running back job. Davis rushed nine times for 38 yards, while Hicks had just 12 yards in nine carries.

"My head wasn't in the game," Hicks said. "I was looking for too much, basically trying to get that home run every time."

Copyright ©1999 WGBB