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Bills Pull Off Shocking Come From Behind 17-14 Win
Dan Carpenter hits game winning 58 yard field goal with :04 left.
by Steve Saslow
The Skinny:
Dan Carpenter hit a 58 yard field goal with :04 left to lift the Bills to a come from behind stunning 17-14 victory over the Lions. They had the chance to win it when Alex Henery missed his third field goal of the game for Detroit from 50 yards out with :21. Kyle Orton hit Sammy Watkins for 20 yards as the rookie made a great bobbling catch on a tough pass to setup the winning kick. Orton finished 30 of 43 on the day and became the first Bills QB to throw for over 300 yards in 28 games. He finished with 308 yards and a touchdown pass to Chris Gragg. He also threw an interception to Rashead Mathis that was returned for a touchdown that gave the Lions a 14-0 second quarter lead. They would never score again as the Bills used a suffocating defensive effort to shutdown a banged up Lions offensive unit. They held Detroit to 263 total yards and sacked Matthew Stafford six times. Marcell Dareus had three of the sacks and Jerry Hughes had two of them.
The Turning Point:
Henery's Third Miss: It looked like the Lions were lining up for a winning kick after Stafford hit Golden Tate for 55 yards to setup the kick. Henery missed his third kick of the 2nd half and gave the Bills some life.
The Big Drive:
The Bills Only TD: They went 74 yards in 9 plays in just 3:56 to tie the game early in the fourth quarter. Orton hit Watkins to convert a third and 6 to keep the drive going. Robert Woods pulled in a 17 yard catch and Orton hit Marquise Goodwin for a beautiful 42 yard sideline bomb to the four yard line to setup the Gragg touchdown and the Fred Jackson two point conversion run.
Stat I Did Like:
Sacks: They had six of them all by the defensive line.
Stat I Didn't Like:
Penalties: 11 for 74 yards as the refs were quick to call penalties on the Bills and quick to pick up flags meant for the Lions.
Quick Slants:
- This was the last game with the Wilson family owning the team. It's fitting that they ended with a game in Ralph's beloved hometown of Detroit. Mary Wilson asked that Bills fans think of Ralph at least once during the game. I hope you all did.
- Speaking of Mary Wilson, she was at the game and got a warm welcome from fans and players while going on the field before the game for the last time. She got the gameball after the game and was greeted warmly by front office staff and players.
- Nate Hackett moved back up to the coach's box for today's game. He had been in the box early last year but moved down to the sidelines later in the season.
- The Bills win the toss and elected to receive. They did the same thing last week. Conventional wisdom says you defer on the road since there are less fans in seats at the start of the second half because they aren't back from halftime yet.
- Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was carried off the field after the Bills won the game against his former team. One report said he asked for that to happen.
Key Matchup Results:
The winners of the battles highlighted in our preview article:
C Eric Wood vs. DTs Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh: Winner: Fairley and Suh. There was little room to run in the middle and Orton was sacked twice and under pressure an awful lot.
WR Sammy Watkins vs. CB Rashean Mathis: Winner: Watkins. Came up big in the second half and finished with 7 catches for 87 yards.
DE Mario Williams vs. RT LaAdrain Waddle: Winner: Williams. Wasn't as busy as the rest of the d-line but he did have a sack.
DBs Leodis McKelvin and Stephon Gilmore vs. WRs Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate: Winner: Johnson and Tate. Tate made some big plays and finished with 134 yards on seven catches. Johnson caught only one pass and left with an injury.
Keys To The Game Results:
How the keys highlighted in our preview article turned out:
1. Open Up The Offense: Success! It took a while but they did in the fourth quarter as Orton went downfield with success and went deep to Goodwin to setup a touchdown.
2. Stick To The Running Game: Success! They didn't gain many yards but they kept going back to it with Jackson leading the way.
3. Quick Start Necessary: Failure! It was a slow start for both teams and the Bills fell behind 14-0 before mounting the comeback.
My Take:
If a team is going to make a run at a division title they need to win games like this. They played poorly for most of the game offensively and were playing undisciplined football but there defense kept them in it. They battle back and showed some grit and in the end pulled the game out. Were they a bit lucky that the Lions kicker missed three field goals? Of course, but you need some luck to get to the playoffs and the Bills took advantage. Somewhere in the sky Ralph Wilson is looking down fondly on his team after they pulled out a thrilling win in the final game of his family magnificent ownership of the team.
What's Ahead:
The Bills head back home for back to back home games starting with the dreaded Patriots next week and a battle for first place. It should be a fun atmosphere at the Ralph next week as the celebration to usher in the Pegulas as the new owners of the team should be special. Hopefully it will be enough to give them another emotional win.
Gameballs
Dan Carpenter - He missed a 50 yarder off the upright but more than made up for it with the winning 58 yarder. He also hit 25 and 45 yard kicks.
Marcell Dareus - Had three sacks and a forced fumble to go along with five tackles. He was dominant.
Fred Jackson - He may be old but boy can he still play. He was the glue that kept the offense going. He finished with 108 total yards from scrimmage including 7 catches for 58 yards.
Jerry Hughes - Had a strip sack among his two sacks. He was very active in the backfield with three tackles for loss. Also made a tackle with no helmet on.
Sammy Watkins - Made some big catches on some not so good throws and kept the changes moving finishing with 7 catches for 87 yards.
Kyle Orton - Got a come from behind win in his first start with the Bills and went over 300 yards in the process.
Goats
Nickell Robey - He got burned many times in this game including the big gainer to Tate in the final minute.
Player Of The Week
Dan Carpenter - What a clutch long range kick as he went 3 for 4 overall.
 Positional Breakdown and Grades
NFL.com Gamebook
Lions Game Preview
Gameday Homepage
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