BRONCOS LOSE TO BILLS, 20-13

The Buffalo Bills rallied from a 10-point first quarter deficit to beat the
Denver Broncos in Denver, 20-13. The Bills improved their record to 5-6 with
their second close win over the Broncos this season, while Denver fell to
1-10. Back in September, the Bills nipped the Broncos in Buffalo, 17-16. 

After being held to just two first half field goals, the Bills took the lead
for good in the third quarter with their first touchdown of the game. On a
4th and inches from the Bronco 38, J.T.O'Sullivan hit wideout Michael Clayton
on a hitch pass that Clayton took the distance on a nice catch and run with
Denver keying running back Cedric Benson and crashing the line. "It was a
good call," Denver head coach Hank Sienzant admitted later, then corrected
himself - "It was an excellent call. It caught us flat-footed, converted the
fourth down, and gave them the lead. Not a bad trifecta."  

The Boncos never recovered, allowing a second touchdown early in the fourth
quarter, when O'Sullivan did it again, this time hitting rookie Davone Bess
for 21 yards on a third and three with the Broncos again looking for Benson.
"We were over-agressive there," Sienzant admitted in the post-game interview.
That score gave the Bills a 20-10 lead that the Broncos cut to 20-13 when new
acquisition DE Frostee Rucker dropped into coverage and picked off O'Sullivan
on the Bills next possession, with the Broncos taking over at the Bills 14.
An incomplete pass, followed by two runs by Lendale White left the Broncos
staring at a fourth and one, but a delay of game moved it back and the
Broncos settled for the field goal that cut it to 20-13 with 7:1 remaining in
the contest.  

The Broncos defense did its part the rest of the way, forcing two separate
three-and-outs, but the Broncos could not capitalize, with Denver punting it
back once. Getting the back back the second time, with just over two minutes
remaining at their own 13, the Broncos picked up two first downs, but with a
third and five from their own 45, Brad Johnson was picked off by safety
Madieu Williams to seal the Buffalo win. 

The first half was mostly all Denver, with the Broncos scoring ten points on
their first two possessions while piling up a 113 to minus 8 yardage
advantage. The advantage was gained as the Broncos, behind Brad Johnson, came
out passing while Buffalo expected Denver to run to set up the pass. Johnson
completed 9 of his first 11 for 106 yards and a short touchdown to Nate
Washington on their second possession to end a 57-yard drive that gave Denver
a 10-0 lead after Mason Crosby's 45-yard field goal on the Broncos first
possession. 

In the second quarter, the Bills started to creep back into it, getting a Jay
Gould field goal of 49 yards twenty minutes into the game, and then ending
the half with a 28-yarder to cut Denver's lead to 10-6.  

When the Bills came out and scored a touchdown on their first possession of
the third quarter to take the lead on the fourth and inches touchdown pass,
you could see the Broncos wilt, and the pervasive 'here we go again' attitude
that Sienzant has yet to eradicate took hold and refused to let go. 

Game Notes: The Broncos offense all but vanished over the final 48 minutes.
They had 113 yards, six first downs, and 10 points in the first twelve
minutes, and only another 141 yards, 8 first downs, and three points over the
final 48. The Bills defense suffered three big injuries, as corner Fabian
Washington and Anthony Adams suffered multi-game injuries, with Adams likely
lost for the remaider of the season. Veteran wideout Dexter Jackson of
Buffalo also went down with injury, but he does not have a catch this year,
so his contributions won't be missed too severely. The Bills host 6-4 New
Orleans next week while the Broncos take on the 5-5 Carolina Panthers on the
road.