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Ellis scores on late fumble return as Jets edge Bills

Dec 15, 2008 - 12:12 AM By Joe Rizzo PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Another "Miracle at the Meadowlands" saved the New York Jets.

Defensive end Shaun Ellis scooped up a fumble and returned it 11 yards for a score with 1:54 remaining Sunday to give New York a stunning 31-27 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo (6-8) needed only to convert a first down to close out the game while making the Jets (9-5) burn their final two timeouts.

But on 2nd-and-5 from the Buffalo 27-yard line, J.P. Losman rolled right on a play-action pass and was caught from behind and stripped by blitzing safety Abram Elam.

The loose ball was batted backward, and the 6-5, 285-pound Ellis secured the bouncing ball, barreled through traffic and found the end zone to make it 31-27.

"I was just thinking not to fumble it," Ellis said. "I just kept running. You just try and come up with the ball first. We do that drill in practice - scoop and score."

"Me and (Laveranues Coles) said he jumped into the end zone like he was jumping into a pool," Jets running back Thomas Jones said.

Ellis has been in the news for the wrong reasons of late. On November 29, he was hit with charges of marijuana possession, speeding and driving without insurance.

"We've probably been more supportive of (Ellis) than at any other time," Jets quarterback Brett Fave said. "Shaun has been Shaun. It was good for this team and good for Shaun."

The pivotal play call seemed to be curious, as the Bills mashed the Jets with the running game behind Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. Lynch rushed for 127 yards on 21 carries while Jackson added 31 on seven as Buffalo amassed 187 yards on the ground.

In the four plays before Ellis' TD, Lynch amassed 17 yards on basic running plays.

"It just wasn't executed very well," Bills wide receiver Lee Evans said. "We were having a lot of success, but they were trying to show us a lot of different looks. They put a lot in the box and tried to play with the quarterback."

"There were several things on that play that make you scratch your head," Favre said.

Darrelle Revis intercepted Losman on the Bills' next play to give the Jets the ball at the Buffalo 33. New York ran it four straight times, forcing Buffalo to use all of its timeouts but giving back the Bills the ball at the 26 after a failed 4th-and-2.

Losman's last-gasp heave toward the end zone was intercepted by Kerry Rhodes as time expired.

"Out of a number of heartbreaking losses, that was the worst to this point," Bills coach Dick Jauron said. "There is not a lot we can say about it except it was a dismal locker room.

"Clearly the responsibility for the call when we play-action pass at 2:06 is mine. That goes right on me. It backfired clearly, and it caused us to lose the game."

New York remained in control of its own destiny in the AFC East. If the Jets win in Seattle next weekend and here against the Miami Dolphins (9-5) in Week 17, they'll claim the division title. New England (8-5) is in action in Oakland but the Jets own the tiebreaker advantage over the Patriots.

Jackson's 11-yard touchdown run with 5:30 left gave the Bills a 27-24 lead, putting the game - - and the season - in peril for the Jets.

"It saved the game, I don't know about the season," Ellis said of his heroics.

Favre passed for 207 yards and a TD but was intercepted twice for the Jets, who squandered a 14-3 first-quarter lead. He set up New York's first touchdown, a 2-yard run by Jones, with a 27-yard run on a naked bootleg on 3rd-and-1.

After rookie cornerback Leodis McKelvin pushed the futre Hall of Famer out of bounds, Favre was visibly chuckling, along with most of the crowd and media. It was his longest run since a 35-yarder December 20, 1998 for the Green Bay Packers against Tennessee.

"I thought I was going to score, up until 20 yards down the field when I found out I am slower than I thought," Favre quipped.

Jones carried 20 times for 78 yards and set three team records, with 15 touchdowns overall and 13 rushing this season, and going eight straight games with a score.

"I have the best offensive line in the league and the best fullback in the league in Tony Richardson," Jones said.

Buffalo used a six-yard run by linebacker Keith Ellison, positioned as the up back on a fake punt, to convert a 4th-and-5 to the Buffalo 43, leading to Rian Lindell's 34-yard field goal.

But the Jets marched right back down the field as Favre hit Jerricho Cotchery for an 11-yard score on 3rd-and-6 to make it 14-3.

The Bills scored on an 8-yard run by Losman to take advantage of an interception. Linebacker Paul Posluszny grabbed the ball out of the air after Favre's pass to Coles came out of the receiver's hands and popped up after hitting his ankle.

Buffalo grabbed its first lead after forcing a three-and-out as Roscoe Parrish returned a punt 56 yards to the 24, setting up Losman's 2-yard scoring pass to rookie Steve Johnson.

But New York countered in the two-minute drill 70 seconds later as Leon Washington exploded up the middle for a 47-yard score to give the Jets a 21-17 halftime lead. It was Washington's only carry.

The Jets' first possession of the second half ended when Terrence McGee picked off Favre on 3rd-and-17 and ran back the ball to the Jets 45, setting up a 48-yard field goal by Lindell that closed the gap to 21-20.

But New York countered with a 31-yard field goal by Jay Feely to make it 24-20 with 13:17 left in the game after Hank Poteat intercepted Losman on a ball that went through Josh Reed's hands, giving the Jets the ball on the Bills 20.

McKelvin went the distance with the ensuing kickoff, but safety George Wilson was whistled for holding and Buffalo started at its 30 instead of taking the lead.