Details on Buffalo’s Week 14 win in overtime against AFC opponent the Indianapolis Colts.
Buffalo Bills Insider Chris Brown provides the details. Here is his report:
Location: New Era Field, Orchard Park, N.Y.
Regular season records: Buffalo (7-6), Indianapolis (3-10)
In a nutshell:
It may have been the snowiest home game in Bills history. A lake effect snowstorm brought both the Buffalo and Indianapolis offenses to a crawl for much of the day and it took overtime before a winner could be determined. Joe Webb hit Deonte Thompson for a 35-yard pass with two minutes left in OT to put the Bills in scoring territory. Three plays later LeSean McCoy on his 32nd carry ran 21 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 1:33 left for a 13-7 victory.
The Bills and Colts battled the snowy conditions as much as each other Sunday. Buffalo clung to a 7-0 lead for the entire second half, until Indianapolis scored with 1:16 remaining to pull to within one (7-6) and Adam Vinatieri made good on a 43-yard extra point after penalty to tie the game (7-7).
That was followed by a Joe Webb interception, which led to one last chance for the Colts in Buffalo territory with under a minute to play. However, a 43-yard field goal attempt by Vinatieri for the win with one second left was wide left forcing overtime.
Indianapolis appeared to have taken the lead on a two-point conversion pass from Brissett to Doyle after their touchdown drive, but it was negated due to offensive pass interference. The Colts were moved back 10 yards and chose instead to attempt an extra point relying on their 45-year old kicker who delivered.
Buffalo’s only touchdown in regulation came on an eight-yard pass play from Nate Peterman to Kelvin Benjamin at the end of the first half.
With snowfall coming down at a rate of two to three inches per hour during the game from a lake effect storm, both teams relied heavily on the run game as the wind was also blowing steadily at 15-25 miles per hour.
LeSean McCoy rushed for 158 yards on the ground with 48 coming on the team’s first-half touchdown drive. His 32 carries were a single-game career high.
With the win Buffalo remained in the hunt for an AFC Wild Card playoff berth at 7-6 with three games to play.
How it went down:
-The Bills got on the board first when Nate Peterman found Kelvin Benjamin for an eight-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds left in the first half. Benjamin had two receptions for 29 yards on the scoring drive.
-The Colts waited until 1:16 remaining before they finished a possession with points, as Jacoby Brissett found Jack Doyle for a three-yard touchdown reception to cap a marathon-like 19-play drive. Adam Vinatieri then hit an unlikely 43-yard extra point after a penalty to tie the game (7-7).
-LeSean McCoy ran it in from 21 yards out with 1:33 left in overtime to lift the Bills to cap a five-play 65-yard scoring drive and win the game (13-7).
Subplots:
-Nate Peterman made his second NFL start in place of the injured Tyrod Taylor, but the weather conditions rendered the passing game non-existent. He finished the game 5-for-10 passing for 57 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed four times for 10 yards.
-With 5:09 left in the third quarter, Peterman was injured on a scramble. When he lowered his head to lunge forward with two tacklers closing on him, it appeared one of the defenders went helmet to helmet with Peterman. He was visibly woozy as he was helped off the field.
-Joe Webb had to replace the injured Nate Peterman at quarterback after a helmet-to-helmet hit at the end of a scramble. Webb had four carries for 24 yards and a big 35-yard pass to set up the game-winning score.
-With 158 rushing yards, LeSean McCoy became the first Bill to eclipse 4,000 scrimmage yards in three seasons since Travis Henry in 2001-2003. He also went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season.
-Kelvin Benjamin returned to the lineup after a two-game absence due to a knee injury. He caught his first touchdown pass as a Bill on an eight-yard reception at the end of the first half. Unfortunately, he also re-injured his knee and left the game in the fourth quarter. He came back into the game briefly at the end of regulation.
-Right tackle Jordan Mills was injured on the same play as Peterman in the third quarter and limped off. He was replaced in the lineup by Conor McDermott. Mills did return to the game.
-Inactive for Buffalo on Sunday were John Miller, Seantrel Henderson, Cordy Glenn, Leonard Johnson, Tyrod Taylor, Khari Lee, and Brandon Reilly.
Up next:
The Bills play host to the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 17 for a 1 pm kickoff.