Rian Lindell kicked three field goals
and the Bills intercepted Matt Cassel four times to beat the struggling
Kansas City Chiefs 16-10 on Sunday.
Buffalo (5-8) overcame three
turnovers and an ineffective passing game to finally close out a win in
the fourth quarter. The Bills had lost seven times this season when
they were within a touchdown headed into the final 15 minutes, pulling
this one out with two interceptions in the final 2:11.
Kansas City (3-10) got a career-high
143 yards and a touchdown from Jamaal Charles, but couldn’t overcome
another shaky game from Cassel.
A week after being benched in the
fourth quarter against Denver, the Chiefs quarterback had three
interceptions in the fourth quarter, overthrew Mark Bradley twice on
potential long touchdowns and was sacked four times.
Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick
wasn’t exactly stellar, throwing for just 86 yards on 12-of-20 passing
with an interception. He did throw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Terrell
Owens in the first quarter and relied on Marshawn Lynch and Fred
Jackson, who combined for 183 yards.
The Chiefs needed an extra day to
avoid their first blackout since 1990 and keep their sellout streak
alive at 156 games. They did it, but apparently most of the fans didn’t
want to use their tickets: Arrowhead Stadium was a little over half
full for this game between downtrodden teams.
The ones who did show up didn’t like what they saw.
Watching the Chiefs bumble away good
field position for most of the half, the fans booed the Chiefs off the
field, cheering more for the mini Michael Jackson impersonator at halftime
than the home team.
The blase atmosphere continued for most of the third quarter until Charles gave them something to really cheer about.
Taking a handoff on the first play
after Lindell’s second field goal — from 24 yards — Charles burst up
the middle untouched and outran Buffalo’s defensive backs for a 76-yard
touchdown. In the 17 seconds it took him to run down the field, Charles
gave the Chiefs life.
It didn’t last.
Trailing 16-10 after Lindell’s
36-yard field goal, Kansas City drove inside the Buffalo 25-yard line
to set up the potential winning score. Instead, Chris Chambers dropped
a pass inside the 5 and Cassel was picked off by Jairus Byrd. George
Wilson sealed it with a pick on Kansas City’s final pass into the end
zone.
It was like that all game for the Chiefs.
Kansas City had the ball at the
Buffalo 9 in the first quarter after Mike Vrabel sacked Fitzpatrick and
the Chiefs recovered. Three failed runs later, the Chiefs, at the
behest of the few fans who showed up, opted to go for it on
fourth-and-goal from the 1.
The play: a naked bootleg by Cassel. The result: a 7-yard loss. Bills ball.
Buffalo, sparked by the stop and
Lynch’s 47-yard run, picked the Chiefs apart on the next drive, moving
92 yards in eight plays for Fitzpatrick’s touchdown pass to Owens on a
crossing route.
The Chiefs crossed midfield five times in six first-half drives, coming away with three points.