History of Pro Football in Buffalo

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1998

Week 8 October 25, 1998

Bills 30
Carolina 14

Attendance: 64,050

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) After the Buffalo Bills failed to win a game in September, not many viewed their upcoming five-game stretch against AFC East opponents as crucial.

Scoring Summary
	1	2	3	4	F
Bills	10	7	10	3	30
Carolina	0	7	0	7	14
First Quarter BUF Moulds 20 pass from Flutie (Christie kick), 11:00. Drive: 8 plays, 83 yards, 4:00. Key plays: Flutie 12 pass to Riemersma; Flutie 31 pass to Moulds. Buffalo 7, Carolina 0. BUF FG Christie 42, 5:20. Drive: 9 plays, 49 yards, 4:02. Key plays: A.Smith 21 run; Flutie 19 pass to Williams; Flutie 12 pass to Reed. Buffalo 10, Carolina 0. Second Quarter CAR Floyd 1 run (Kasay kick), 8:52. Drive: 12 plays, 68 yards, 6:16. Key plays: Beuerlein 23 pass to Walls; Beuerlein 14 and 11 pass to Muhammad. Buffalo 10, Carolina 7. BUF Moulds 82 pass from Flutie (Christie kick), 7:01. Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards, 1:51. Buffalo 17, Carolina 7. Third Quarter BUF FG Christie 47, 4:28. Drive: 12 plays, 61 yards, 6:44. Key plays: Flutie 11 pass to Gash; Flutie 11 run and Saleh 15 unnecessary roughness penalty to Panthers 49; Flutie 12 pass to Williams on 3rd-and-16. Buffalo 20, Carolina 7. BUF Thomas 17 run (Christie kick), :41. Drive: 3 plays, 40 yards, 1:27. Key play: Flutie 22 pass to Thomas. Buffalo 27, Carolina 7. Fourth Quarter BUF FG Christie 44, 5:51. Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards, 8:30. Key plays: Flutie 17 pass to L.Johnson; Flutie 11 pass to Gash; Linton 20 run; Flutie 9 pass to Early. Buffalo 30, Carolina 7. CAR Carrier 8 pass from Beuerlein (Kasay kick), 3:38. Drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 2:13. Key plays: Beuerlein 20 pass to Carrier; Beuerlein 42 pass to Carrier; Beuerlein 10 pass to Carrier. Buffalo 30, Carolina 14.

Think again.

The Bills now own a four-game winning streak and are in the thick of the division race following a 30-14 victory Sunday night over the winless Carolina Panthers.

"There is going to be so much electricity in Buffalo next week I wouldn't want to light a match," said team owner Ralph Wilson, of the Bills' upcoming game against division-leading Miami.

Buffalo (4-3) once again got a super effort from 36-year-old Doug Flutie, who has played most of the last three games in place of injured starter Rob Johnson. The 5-foot-10 Flutie was 18-of-22 for 282 yards and two scores, staking the Bills to a 10-0 first-quarter lead.

"I just feel like I'm doing the same things I've always been doing. You guys just haven't seen me for the last eight years," said Flutie, who returned to the NFL this season after a long career in the Canadian Football League. "I feel just at ease out there and with that comes the improvising and running around."

Flutie's 82-yard scoring pass to Eric Moulds midway through the second quarter was the longest of his NFL career and seemed to take the steam out of the Panthers (0-7). He also hit Moulds with a 20-yard scoring pass on the game's opening drive.

"The big plays were the key early on, going upfield with the ball, backing them off and then we could nickel and dime them and mix in the run," said Flutie.

Flutie and others were excited about the team's turnaround. In fact, many Buffalo players believe they could easily be 6-1 and leading the division, considering a 16-14 loss at San Diego and a 34-33 loss to St. Louis.

"We've won four in a row and guys are real confident," Flutie said. "When we were 0-3 it looked a long way away for a lot of people. You've just got to believe and hang tough. There's still a long way to go. You never know what's going to happen."

"It feels good to get out of a hole we put ourselves in," said coach Wade Phillips.

Fourteen-year veteran Bruce Smith, who was on the losing end of four Super Bowls, said the team never panicked after its slow start.

"We kept everything in perspective," said Smith, of the early-season losing skid. "The leaders stepped up, said what had to be said. Maybe some toes got stepped on, but who gives a damn? This is professional football and if you're not doing your job, then we've got a problem."

Meanwhile, the Panthers lost their ninth consecutive game and their sixth straight at Ericsson Stadium. Carolina won its first nine games in the facility in 1996, but has lost nine of 11 since.

"This is as frustrated as I've been because of the sloppy execution," said coach Dom Capers, whose team was penalized 10 times and turned the ball over three times. "Nothing stays the same. We took a step back."

"Yes, I'm angry. I'm upset. I despise losing," added Capers, who led the Panthers to the NFC title game in 1996. "If you ever accept losing it becomes easy. Determination is the only thing that allows you to bounce back in this business." Notes: Buffalo's Antowain Smith rushed for 44 yards on 11 carries before leaving in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle. The Bills said the injury was not serious. ... Carolina tight end Wesley Walls also left in the third quarter with a left foot sprain. He was scheduled for additional tests today. ... It was the first time this season a Buffalo game was decided by more than one touchdown. ... Carolina's Kevin Greene failed to add to his NFL-leading total of 11 sacks. It ended his streak of nine consecutive games with a sack, one short of the league record.

Game Breakdown
	BUF	CAR
FIRST DOWNS Rushing Passing Penalty THIRD DOWN EFF FOURTH DOWN EFF TOTAL NET YARDS Total Plays Avg Gain NET YARDS RUSHING Rushes Avg per rush NET YARDS PASSING Sacked-Yds lost Gross-Yds passing Completed-Att. Had Intercepted Yards-Pass Play KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB PUNTS-Avg. Punts blocked FGs-PATs blocked TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE Punts Returns Kickoffs Returns Interceptions PENALTIES-Yds FUMBLES-Lost TIME OF POSSESSION	19 6 11 2 6-11 0-0 426 56 7.6 144 34 4.2 282 0-0 282 18-22 1 12.8 7-1-0 2-46.0 0 0-0 32 0-0 2-32 2-0 7-63 1-0 33:28	21 4 14 3 6-14 2-3 360 64 5.6 81 22 3.7 279 2-7 286 22-40 2 6.6 3-1-0 4-40.5 0 0-0 149 1-10 6-139 1-0 10-69 1-1 26:32
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING BUFFALO, Linton 10-53, A.Smith 11-44, Flutie 5-27, Thomas 7-19, Gash 1-1. CAROLINA, Lane 18-74, Floyd 2-5, Beuerlein 1-1, Ismail 1-1. PASSING BUFFALO, Flutie 18-22-1-282. CAROLINA, Beuerlein 22-39-2-286, Walter 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING BUFFALO, Moulds 5-145, K.Williams 2-31, Thomas 2-26, Gash 2-22, Riemersma 2-19, Reed 2-17, L.Johnson 1-17, Early 1-9, A.Smith 1-(minus 4). CAROLINA, Muhammad 6-66, Carrier 5-100, Ismail 4-49, Walls 3-39, Johnson 2-22, Stone 1-7, Lane 1-3. PUNT RETURNS BUFFALO, None. CAROLINA, Oliver 1-10. KICKOFF RETURNS BUFFALO, K.Williams 2-32. CAROLINA, Bates 5-121, Oliver 1-18. TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS BUFFALO, Cowart 7-0-0, Holecek 6-0-0, T.Smith 6-0-0, Martin 4-0-0, Irvin 4-0-0, Hansen 3-0-1, Smedley 3-0-0, Northern 3-0-0, Jones 2-1-0, Perry 2-2-0, Price 2-0-1, Washington 2-0-0, Jackson 1-1-0, Bradenburg 1-0-0, Rogers 1-0-0, Pike 1-0-0, A.Smith 1-0-0, B.Smith 0-1-0. CAROLINA, Lloyd 6-0-0, Evans 5-2-0, Davis 5-1-0, Alexander 5-0-0, Barrow 4-3-0, Brady 3-2-0, Peter 3-1-0, Greene 3-0-0, Gilbert 2-0-0, Miller 2-0-0, Richardson 2-0-0, Fox 1-0-0, Saleh 1-0-0, Tatum 1-1-0, Veland 1-0-0, Johnson 1-0-0, McGill 1-0-0. INTERCEPTIONS BUFFALO, Jackson 1-0, Jones 1-0. CAROLINA, Greene 1-0. MISSED FIELD GOALS None.

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