Bills ride Lindell’s leg to win over Skins

For once, the Bills won a game on a last second kick.

Rookie quarterback Trent Edwards couldn't get the Bills into the endzone, so it was up to Rian Lindell to do all the scoring for the offense. The Bills D racked up 2 points itself with a safety as Buffalo beat the Redskins 17-16 on a kick with 8 seconds left.

Lindell was originally faced with a 51-yarder and kicked his first attempt through the uprights. However, the Skins coach Joe Gibbs had called a timeout just before the snap to ice Lindell. He called one again when the Bills were set to line up again, but this time Bills coach Dick Jauron cited the officials the NFL rule that two timeouts can't be called in succession. Thus, the Redskins were penaltized with unsportsmanlike conduct and Lindell was 15 yards closer when the attempted the kick again. Once again, the kick split the uprights as it did the 4 previous times and the Bills for once were a winner in a last second kick.

The media is having a hayday over the fact that Gibbs blundered and called two straight timeouts. Not too many are giving Lindell the proper respect in thinking that he'd be able to kick two straight 51-yard field goals. The first one was long enough and true. Only the fact that Gibbs had called a timeout right when the ball was being snapped and Lindell had to do it over again.

However, Gibbs seemed to forget the rule that a timeout cannot be called twice in a row. Bills coach Dick Jauron certainly didn't forget that rule and it resulted in Lindell having to kick one only 36 yards away. The way he was kicking on Sunday, Lindell probably could have nailed one from 54 yards out.

Previously this season, Denver and Dallas had beaten the Bills with last second kicks, but this was the Bills time for magic.

"It was nice to be on that side of one of those late wins," said Jauron. "We've been where they are and that's not a good feeling. It's just getting that win and evening our record at 6-6 and fighting to stay in the picture somehow."

The Redskins dedicated the game Sunday to Sean Taylor, who had been gunned down Monday in his home and killed in a blotched robbery. The football field was filled with Sean Taylor signs and the Skins actually had only 10 players on the field for the Bills first offensive snap. Buffalo had agreed to run the ball and Freddie Jackson ran for a 22 yard gain on that first play from scrimmage. Jackson had a career day, rushing for 82 yards and 69 receiving.

Meanwhile, Edwards had a decent game, completing 22 of 36 for 257 yards. But the fact that he couldn’t get them into the endzone once again highlights one of his major shortcomings. He has thrown for only 1 TD this season and has to get the Bills over the hump in that department. Edwards had at least 6 badly thrown balls, but didn’t have a pick. He fumbled once, but the Bills center recovered.

Edwards was accurate when it counted the most. With the Bills down 16-14 and less than a minute to go, the Bills and Edwards got one last chance. They started off at their own 22, but didn’t have any time outs. So Edwards went to work, connecting with Jackson for a short gain, then he completed one to Roscoe Parrish, who did make it out of bounds. There were only 27 ticks on the clock when Edwards finally went deep. He hit Josh Reed in the middle to the Skins 33. There, Edwards quickly got the team lined up to spike the ball to set up Lindell at 51 yards.

"It was the right call at the right time and we needed it and I just went out and executed," described Reed. "Trent made a great throw and I just went and got it."

Lindell was true at 51 yards, and then made it count for good at 36 yards after Gibbs got penalized for his second straight "icing" timeout.

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