1997

Bills 28
New York Jets 22

Attendance: 72,988

Bill Parcells had his official homecoming, but the Buffalo Bills had more important things on their mind. Like their season. The Bills looked at this game as crucial. Either they would right themselves after a bad opening loss to Minnesota, or lose again and hear--and maybe even ask themselves--questions about their time being past.

When the Jets took a 10-0 first quarter lead in front of 72,988 at Giants Stadium, it was starting to look like the post Jim Kelly era would be a difficult period for Buffalo. But as they have done so many times the last decade, the Bills called on their tremendous pride and resolve to rally past the Jets 28-22.

Oh, yeah. Eight sacks of Neil O'Donnell and a relentless pass rush led by Bryce Paup (three sacks) and Bruce Smith (1 1/2 huge fourth-quarter sacks) helped as well. "That was the most memorable performance by our defensive unit that I can remember," said Smith, whose two big plays effectively snuffed out the Jets last-chance drive. "A Raiders playoff game (the AFC Championship game after the 1990 season, won by Buffalo 51-3), was big, but this will linger on longer."

Buffalo's defense gave up just 39 yards rushing (1.9 yards per carry), allowed O'Donnell to complete just 43 percent of his passes, sacked him eight times and hit him at least eight more. "They brought on the heat," O'Donnell said. "Every time it was time for them to step up and make a play, they did it."

The game was back and forth. After New York took its 10-0 lead; Buffalo came back to go ahead 14-10. When the Bills scored a touchdown to take a 21-13 third-quarter lead, New York's Aaron Glenn returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, making it 21-19 after a missed two-point conversion. New York went ahead 22-21 with 9:52 left on John Hall's 52-yard field goal, but the Bills backup tight end Jay Riemersma made an acrobatic, leaning catch of a 10-yard pass from Todd Collins to give the Bills a 28-22 lead with 6:58 left. "I'm glad I clipped my toenails," Riemersma joked. "I didn't know if I had my feet in bounds, but I was going to act like I did."

The Jets had one last chance on their last drive after O'Donnell found Keyshawn "Just Give Me the Damn Ball" Johnson for 32 yards and a first down at the 24. But the Bills made sure they didn't convert. On first down, Johnson somehow went out of bounds before catching a pass from O'Donnell at the 15. On second, Smith sacked O'Donnell for a loss of 6. On third down, Smith combined with Jim Jeffcoat for another sack, and O'Donnell's last chance throw on fourth-and-23 was incomplete. "We had our opportunity at the end of the game, and we couldn't get it done," said Parcells, coaching his first home game in New York since he returned to the Jets. "Our quarterback took a terrible beating out there."

Buffalo's victory was its fifth straight on New York's field and the 17th in the last 20 meetings overall. The Jets, coming off a huge road win at Seattle, lost their 13th straight home game. "I rank this performance today--with the number of sacks and the pressure we had--as the best concentrated effort. It was just great," Paup said.

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