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2000

Regular Season October 8, 2000

Bills 13
Miami 22

Attendance: 73,901

MIAMI (AP) -- Like so many times in the past, the showdown between AFC East archrivals Miami and Buffalo ended with Thurman Thomas holding a game ball.

Scoring Summary
	1	2	3	4	F
Bills	3	0	0	10	13
Miami	3	10	2	7	22
First Quarter MIA FG, OLINDO MARE 30 YD, 6:21. Drive: 11 plays, 48 yards in 6:21. Key plays: Fiedler 21-yard pass to Gadsden to Buffalo 38; Smith 4-yard run on 3rd-and-1 to Buffalo 25. BUF FG, STEVE CHRISTIE 45 YD, 13:10. Drive: 4 plays, 2 yards in 1:24. Key plays: Turk 25-yard punt to Miami 29. Second Quarter MIA FG, OLINDO MARE 33 YD, 8:34. Drive: 7 plays, 49 yards in 3:16. Key plays: 25-yard pass interference penalty on Bills' Irvin to Buffalo 35; Fiedler 15-yard pass to Thomas to Buffalo 20. MIA TD, LESLIE SHEPHERD 20 YD PASS FROM JAY FIEDLER (OLINDO MARE KICK), 13:09. Drive: 5 plays, 57 yards in 2:47. Key plays: Fiedler 35-yard pass to Emanuel on 3rd-and-5 to Buffalo 17. Third Quarter MIA SAFETY, JONATHAN LINTON TACKLED BY JERMAINE HALEY IN END ZONE, 4:22. Fourth Quarter BUF FG, STEVE CHRISTIE 23 YD, 2:59. Drive: 7 plays, 55 yards in 1:53. Key plays: Johnson 32-yard pass to Bryson to Miami 28; Johnson 23-yard pass to Collins to Miami 5. BUF TD, SAMMY MORRIS 3 YD RUN (STEVE CHRISTIE KICK), 6:26. Drive: 3 plays, 82 yards in 1:32. Key plays: Johnson 41-yard pass to Price to Miami 27; 24-yard pass interference penalty on Dolphins' Surtain to Miami 3. MIA TD, SAM MADISON 20 YD FUMBLE RETURN (OLINDO MARE KICK), 10:15.

Only this time Thomas provided a spark for the Dolphins rather than the Bills, and he did it not so much with his running as with his taunting.

Thomas repeatedly talked trash to his former teammates, and Miami's defense backed him up with a smothering performance Sunday to beat the Bills 22-13.

"I'm 1-0 against the Bills. I'm happy," Thomas said. "Once I strapped it on today, everything I did for 12 years in Buffalo went out the window."

The Dolphins (5-1), picked by many to finish last in the division, moved into first place with their fourth consecutive victory and beat Buffalo for the first time in four meetings.

The Bills (2-3) lost their third game in a row, all to AFC East teams.

"They were three complete team losses," linebacker John Holecek said. "No question, we're in a big hole."

The Dolphins registered six sacks, scored a safety and clinched the victory when Sam Madison returned a fumble 20 yards for a score with 4:45 left. Trace Armstrong contributed 3½ sacks and forced two fumbles.

The victory was especially sweet for Thomas, Buffalo's career rushing leader. Last week, he accused Holecek and two other Bills players of being disrespectful and admitted he holds a grudge.

"Thurman had a look in his eye all week," Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler. "He was jacked up, and it's easy to feed off a guy like that. It gets us and the crowd fired up."

Thomas, at 34 playing mostly on third down, had a series of verbal exchanges with his former teammates on the way back to the huddle, particularly after big gains by Miami. After picking up 15 yards on a screen pass, Thomas stepped in front of Holecek and signaled a first down with an exaggerated gesture.

"I guess all his talk worked for him," Holecek said. "I don't know why he felt like he had to create an enemy, but I guess I'm going to have to play the role."

Thomas, so often a Dolphins killer in the past, rushed for 24 yards in seven carries and added 26 yards on three receptions. That earned him a game ball from coach Dave Wannstedt.

"It's one I'll treasure," Thomas said. "Coach Wannstedt wanted to make the point that I'm part of this team now."

Despite Thomas' taunting, the Bills almost made him swallow his words.

A 24-yard pass interference penalty on Patrick Surtain set up Buffalo's only touchdown, which came on Sammy Morris' 3-yard run with 8:34 left to make it 15-13. It was the third touchdown and the first rushing score allowed by Miami this season.

The Bills got the ball back with 4:59 to go, but Surtain forced a fumble by Morris. Madison caught the fumble before it hit the ground and scored for a 22-13 lead.

"I didn't know he fumbled," Surtain said. "I just saw Sam doing his dance in the end zone and figured something good had happened."

Buffalo's Rob Johnson finished 11-for-26 for 178 yards with five sacks. He was harried repeatedly and finally knocked out of the game late in the fourth quarter when hit by Kenny Mixon after throwing a pass.

Doug Flutie replaced Johnson, drove the Bills to the Miami 31 and then had a pass intercepted by Jerry Wilson.

"We gave this game away," Buffalo coach Wade Phillips said. "We were in a position to win against a team that hasn't given up many points."

Jay Fiedler directed a Miami offense that controlled the ball for 34 minutes. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown, a 20-yarder to Leslie Shepherd.

Miami punter Matt Turk pinned the Bills inside their 20-yard line four times, including a coffin-corner kick that rolled out at the 1. Two plays later, backup tackle Jermain Haley slipped past center Jerry Ostroski to tackle Jonathan Linton on a dive play for a safety.

Olindo Mare improved to 9-for-9 on field goals this year, scoring from 30 and 33 yards for Miami. Buffalo's Steve Christie kicked field goals of 45 and 23 yards.

The Dolphins, who have a bye this week, overtook the New York Jets atop the AFC East.

"We're doing better than everyone expected us to do," linebacker Zach Thomas said. "I hope everybody just keeps writing us off."

NOTES - Johnson said he left the game when tendinitis in his throwing elbow flared up, but he expects to be fine this week. ... Dolphins reserve linebacker Scott Galyon hurt his right knee, and doctors suspect a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Guard Mark Dixon sprained his left elbow and cornerback Terrance Shaw suffered a concussion. ... At 35, Armstrong has 10 sacks, two shy of his career high set in 1996. ... The Dolphins have been at or above .500 for 58 consecutive weeks, the longest streak in the NFL. ... Buffalo allowed a season-high 120 yards rushing. ... The Bills are 0-3 against the AFC East for the first time since 1987.

Game Breakdown
	BUF	MIA
FIRST DOWNS 3RD-DOWN EFFICIENCY 4TH-DOWN EFFICIENCY TOTAL NET YARDS Total plays Average gain NET YARDS RUSHING Rushes Average per rush NET YARDS PASSING Completed-attempted Yards per pass Sacked-yards lost PUNTS-AVERAGE RETURN YARDAGE Punts-returns Kickoffs-returns Interceptions-returns PENALTIES-YARDS FUMBLES-LOST TIME OF POSSESSION	15 4-13 1-1 254 59 4.3 76 21 3.6 178 14-32 4.7 6-44 6-42.7 76 1-0 5-76 1-0 3-40 4-1 25:38	15 6-15 0-0 254 62 4.1 120 37 3.2 134 14-24 5.4 1-8 7-37.7 122 3-31 4-72 1-19 5-64 0-0 34:22
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Missed field goals None. Buffalo rushing Rob Johnson 4-44, Sammy Morris 5-17, Jonathan Linton 7-11, Shawn Bryson 5-4. Miami rushing Lamar Smith 24-62, Jay Fiedler 5-29, Thurman Thomas 7-24, Autry Denson 1-5. Buffalo passing Rob Johnson 11-26 for 178 yards, 0 INT, 0 TD, Doug Flutie 3-6 for 44 yards, 1 INT, 0 TD. Miami passing Jay Fiedler 14-24 for 142 yards, 1 INT, 1 TD. Buffalo receiving Eric Moulds 4-51, Jeremy Mcdaniel 3-48, Peerless Price 2-61, Sammy Morris 2-6, Shawn Bryson 1-32, Bobby Collins 1-23, Jonathan Linton 1-1. Miami receiving Oronde Gadsden 3-33, Thurman Thomas 3-26, Leslie Shepherd 2-21, Lamar Smith 2-9, Bert Emanuel 1-35, Tony Martin 1-11, Hunter Goodwin 1-4, Autry Denson 1-3. Buffalo tackles-assists-sacks (unofficial) Sam Cowart 8-9-0, John Holecek 3-7-0, Antoine Winfield 3-3-0, Henry Jones 4-1-0, Ted Washington 2-2-0, Pat Williams 2-2-0, Ken Irvin 3-3-0, Erik Flowers 2-1-0, Phil Hansen 2-1-0, Sam Rogers 2-1-0, Keith Newman 1-2-1, Donovan Greer 1-1-0, Marcellus Wiley 1-1-0, Peerless Price 1-0-0, Kenyatta Wright 2-0-0, Kwame Cavil 2-0-0, Jay Foreman 1-1-0, Raion Hill 1-1-0, Daryl Porter 1-0-0, Eric Moulds 1-0-0. Miami tackles-assists-sacks (unofficial) Zach Thomas 4-3-0, Trace Armstrong 5-1-3.5, Patrick Surtain 5-0-0, Kenny Mixon 3-2-1, Jason Taylor 1-4-1, Brian Walker 2-1-0, Tim Bowens 2-0-0, Terrance Shaw 2-0-0, Jermaine Haley 1-1-0, Robert Jones 1-1-0, Sam Madison 1-1-0, Rich Owens 1-1-0.5, Derrick Rodgers 1-1-0, Brock Marion 0-2-0, Jerry Wilson 1-0-0, Scott Galyon 1-0-0, Trent Gamble 1-1-0, Larry Izzo 1-1-0, Tony Martin 1-0-0, Twan Russell 2-0-0. Interceptions Buffalo (Ken Irvin 1 for 0 yards); Miami (Jerry Wilson 1 for 19 yards). Fumbles lost Buffalo (Sammy Morris). Opponent's fumbles recovered Miami (Sam Madison).

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