BY SAL MAIORANA
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
FOXBORO, Mass. - With six seconds left to play, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson turned to his daughter, team scout Linda Bogdan, and told her what was about to happen.
"I said they're going to throw it into the end zone, and we're going to get a pass interference," an infuriated Wilson squealed Sunday following one of the most heart-wrenching losses in his team's 39-year history, a 25-21 setback at the hands of the New England Patriots.
"I wish I could call the stock market that well."
Just as Wilson had predicted, New England quarterback Drew Bledsoe heaved a pass into the front left corner of the end zone where about eight players were jockeying for position.
The Hail Mary pass descended from the heavens, bounced off Terry Glenn's chest, and the Bills began celebrating what they thought was a huge victory over the Patriots.
But before they could even throw their helmets gleefully into the air, an official reached into his pocket to extract a yellow flag and at the same time, tore the hearts right out of the Bills' chests.
By calling interference on safety Henry Jones, he gave the Patriots one last play from the 1-yard-line with no time left on the clock because games cannot end on a defensive penalty.
"The receiver was up to catch the ball," referee Walt Coleman told a pool reporter. "He (Jones) just went right through the receiver. He was not playing the ball, and made contact with the receiver." On the next play, Bledsoe play-faked to Robert Edwards, rolled to his right and just before he was about to be sacked, lofted a pass into the back right corner of the end zone to wide open tight end Ben Coates to give the Patriots the victory, sending the crowd of 58,304 into a state of pandemonium for the second week in a row.
Last Monday, Bledsoe executed an 80-yard touchdown drive in the final two minutes to defeat Miami.
This time, it was a superb 82-yard drive in the final 1:52 which Bledsoe pulled off without the aid of a timeout to produce a victory that lifted the Patriots into a tie with Buffalo in the zany AFC East race at 7-5, one game behind Miami and the New York Jets.
"I think it's ridiculous," disgruntled Bills coach Wade Phillips said of the game's conclusion. "It's a shame for our team."
Bills quaterback Doug Flutie, who sealed his status as a New England legend when his 48-yard Hail Mary pass lifted Boston College to a 47-45 upset of Miami on Nov. 23, 1984, could only shake his head at the irony.
"It was worth the price of admission, wasn't it?" asked Flutie (21 of 39, 339 yards), who threw touchdown passes of 84 yards to Eric Moulds (8 catches, 177 yards) and 4 yards to Andre Reed on the way to a career day. "Drew played a great game, played with a lot of heart. We played with just as much heart, and the officials had way too much control in the game."
What made the loss so galling is that it never should have come down to the Hail Mary because on the play before, the Patriots converted a 4th-and-9 play when the officials awarded Shawn Jefferson a catch along the right sideline even though TV replays appeared to show he had failed to get both feet down inbounds.
The Bills had fallen behind 14-0 in the second quarter, but proceeded to score on five straight possessions - three Steve Christie field goals, and two Flutie touchdown passes.
The TD pass to Reed came with 6:14 left to play and gave the Bills a 21-17 lead.
After a defensive stop, Buffalo took possession with 4:41 left, but could only achieve one first down before punting with 1:52 to go. Bledsoe, who played gallantly despite a broken right index finger, completed passes to Coates (twice), Derrick Cullors and Glenn to move the ball to the Bills' 37, then he threw a one-yarder to Coates who failed to get out of bounds with about 23 seconds left. Faced with 4th-and-9, Bledsoe hurried to the line, called a workable play, took the snap with 11 seconds remaining, and hit Jefferson along the sideline to keep the Patriots alive.
"He (Jefferson) was definitely out of bounds, that's for sure," said Phillips. "I was standing right there and neither one of them (the officials) knew whether he was or wasn't and they didn't make a call. We should have made the play, that's true, but they have to make the right call, too."
Six seconds remained after the Jefferson play, time for one throw to the end zone. The last thing Jones was worried about was a pass interference penalty.
"It happens every week in the league and you never see that type of call," Jones said with a blank look in his eyes. "The guy, I don't what he felt he had to do, he had to be a hero or prove a point. I don't get it.
"I could see if someone pulled someone down or held them down from getting a jump. There were a lot of bodies in there hitting each other. I don't know what he called. It's disheartening. We got robbed." That was the prevalent thought in an intense Buffalo locker room.
"I don't know what's going to happen, something has to happen to these people who are making these calls," said linebacker Gabe Northern. "What happens now? We get 'I'm sorry' on Monday, and then what, we still lost. It's unbelievable, you earn your money, you work hard, and we earned it. Then we had it ripped from us."
JAGUARS 34, BENGALS 17
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Game statistics
