1997

Detroit 13
Bills 22

Attendance: 78,025

Barry Sanders came into the game looking to find the endzone on a running play. Unfortunately for him, the Buffalo Bills found him in the wrong endzone. Sanders still without a rushing touchdown this season, was tripped up by Bruce Smith and tackled by Phil Hansen for a safety, breaking a 13-13 tie with 2:12 remaining and lifting the Bills to a 22-13 victory over the Detroit Lions. "I bet that doesn't happen very often," Hansen said. "There was just no place to run in there. We had backside pressure, frontside pressure. It was just a great defensive effort."

Rookie running back Antowain Smith clinched the victory with a 56-yard run after the Bills got the ball back following Detroit's kickoff. Two plays after Buffalo special teamer Eric Smedley downed Chris Mohr's punt at the 1, Sanders ran off right tackle before Smith grabbed his foot behind and Hansen finished the play. "Barry Sanders is a wonderful guy and a great football player, and I'm glad to see him leave town," coach Marv Levy said. "He had us hustling most of the day. He did some good things, but we did some good things."

Sanders finished with 107 yards on 25 carries, marking his fourth consecutive 100-yard game. It was not enough for the Lions. "We held him in check," said Bills linebacker Chris Spielman, who started his career with the Lions. "He's going to make great runs. I've seen him for eight years, and I know what he can do. I think we did an admirable job."

It marked the second straight game Antowain Smith had a big run and Buffalo's defense came up with a big play in the closing minutes. Smith had a 54-yarder that made the difference in the Bills 37-35 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the third greatest comeback in NFL History. Buffalo safety Kurt Schulz stopped a 2-point conversion pass that would have tied the score in the closing seconds of the game.

Andre Reed caught five passes for 95 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown pass from Collins. Steve Christie kicked field goals of 47 and 33 yards. "We got it from everybody, " Reed said. "In our Super Bowl years, it was the same way. Somebody always comes up and makes a play." Buffalo had blown a 13-3 lead before making the key plays at the end. The Bills had four sacks, including two in the final two minutes.

Scott Mitchell tied the score at 13 with 5:54 remaining when he ran into the endzone on a third-and-goal from the 8. Mitchell found Herman Moore for 31 and 19 yards on consecutive plays, and the Bills safety Henry Jones was penalized for removing his helmet deep in Buffalo territory. "It's unfortunate to try so hard and come up just a little short, but that's the NFL," Mitchell said. "We have to move on because we're still in the middle of things. There's a lot of season left."

Buffalo moved ahead 13-1 with two seconds remaining in the first half after Ken Irvin blocked John Jett's punt, giving the Bills the ball at the Detroit 15 with 11 seconds left. Collins threw one incomplete pass into the endzone before Christie kicked a 33-yarder. Detroit drew within 13-6 when Hanson kicked a 30-yarder in the third quarter. Hanson also had a 28-yarder in the second quarter.

The Bills, who had not scored a point in the first quarter going into the game, went into their old playbook on their first drive and took a 3-0 lead on Christie's 47-yarder. Buffalo opened the game in the K-Gun, a no-huddle offense it used to reach four Super Bowls with Jim Kelly at quarterback and immediately picked up good yardage.

Thurman Thomas gained 73 yards and had 21 yards receiving, making him the third back in NFL history with at least 10,000 yards rushing and 4,000 yards receiving in his career. Chicago's Walter Payton and Kansas City's Marcus Allen are the others. Jim Jeffcoat missed the first game of his NFL career. He played in 224 consecutive regular-season games in his career. Jeffcoat missed the game with torn cartilage in his knee.

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