Buffalo Bills Crucial Fourth Down Conversions

Games played Sunday, 9/18 (winners in bold):

Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) 3 at Detroit Lions (2-0) 48

Seattle Seahawks (0-2) 0 at Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) 24

Chicago Bears (1-1) 13 at New Orleans Saints (1-1) 30

Green Bay Packers (2-0) 30 at Carolina Panthers (0-2) 23

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1) 24 at Minnesota Vikings (0-2) 20

Arizona Cardinals (1-1) 21 at Washington Redskins (2-0) 22

Cleveland Browns (1-1) 27 at Indianapolis Colts (0-2) 19

Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1) 3 at New York Jets (2-0) 32

Baltimore Ravens (1-1) 13 at Tennessee Titans (1-1) 26

Oakland Raiders (1-1) 35 at Buffalo Bills (2-0) 38

Dallas Cowboys (1-1) 27 in OT at San Francisco 49ers (1-1) 24

San Diego Chargers (1-1) 21 at New England Patriots (2-0) 35

Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) 22 at Denver Broncos (1-1) 24

Houston Texans (2-0) 23 at Minnesota Vikings (0-2) 13

Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) 31 at Atlanta Falcons (1-1) 35

What a wild day for Buffalo Bills fans! The Bills are off to a 2-0 start, and scored touchdowns on every possession in the second half. In my viewing area the Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets game was on; with the Jets holding a commanding lead, the network switched our programming to the Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills game. We started seeing the game midway in the fourth quarter. In the last quarter, there were 5 lead changes between Oakland and Buffalo.

At halftime the score was Raiders 21, Bills 3. I don’t know what head coach Chan Gailey said to the team, but they came out determined to score. The Bills had five possessions in the second half and scored a touchdown on every one. I know I already said it, but it bears repeating.

The stats for the Bills second half: 5 possessions, 35 points scored, 2-4 third down conversions. The key is in that last stat, because the two third downs that weren’t converted were fourth down conversions, both in the last scoring drive. In that last scoring drive, the Bills were down 35-31 with 3:41 left to play. The Bills had all three of their timeouts left, plus the Two Minute Warning. They made most effective use of their time, their timeouts, and their belief in themselves to convert on two crucial fourth downs. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick kept cool under fire and did what he needed to do to win the game.

Fourth Down #1: 1:03 left to play, Buffalo is 4^th and 3 at the Oakland 24. Pass caught, first down. (The Bills are down by 4 at this point; had they not converted, Oakland would have taken over on their own 24 and most likely would have run the clock out to win the game.)

Fourth Down #2: :18 left to play, Buffalo is 4^th and 1 on the Oakland 6 yard line. Pass thrown, caught in the end zone for a touchdown with no one around wide receiver David Nelson. The point after kick is good, and with :14 left to play, Buffalo is ahead 35-38. (Had Buffalo not converted on this fourth down, Oakland would have taken over on their own 6 yard line and won the game.)

Oakland moves the ball from their own 20 yard line to the 44 yard line, and with :01 left, Oakland QB Jason Campbell threw a Hail Mary pass into the end zone. A scrum of players from both teams were there, but Buffalo SS Da’Norris Searcy got the ball in his hands for an interception to end the game. Oakland Raiders 35, Buffalo Bills 38.

This is why I love football: some games go right down to the final tick of the clock and are memorable for a lot of good football action (and not just because my husband is a Bills fan).