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Bills stun emotional Redskins on late field goal

Dec 3, 2007 - 1:28 AM By Tim Hipps PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

LANDOVER, Maryland (Ticker) - On an emotional day, the Buffalo Bills handed the Washington Redskins a devastating loss.

Rian Lindell kicked a 31-yard field goal with four seconds remaining as the Bills rallied from an 11-point deficit to edge the Redskins, 17-16, on Sunday.

Buffalo's dramatic victory came five days after Redskins safety Sean Taylor died from a gunshot wound suffered at his home.

Lindell's winning field goal, his fifth of the game, came after an inexplicable gaffe by Redskins Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs.

Lindell set up to attempt a 51-yard field goal after rookie Trent Edwards completed a 30-yard pass over the middle to Josh Reed, who had five receptions for 67 yards, that moved the ball to Washington's 33-yard line.

After Edwards spiked the ball to stop the clock on first down, leaving eight seconds on the clock, Gibbs called consecutive timeouts in an attempt to ice Lindell.

However, the second timeout resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, moving Lindell much closer.

Lindell split the uprights with 4 seconds remaining, lifting the Bills back to the .500 mark at 6-6.

"To be quite truthful, I made a decision there at the end and it is very likely it cost the game," Gibbs said. "That's on me. I told the team that. I want to tell everybody out there that."

Referee Tony Corrente explained that teams are not allowed to call consecutive timeouts in an attempt to freeze a kicker.

"He (Gibbs) had called the timeout on the previous play, just prior to the snap," Corrente said. "In this case, we're lined up and it's just prior to the snap again.

"First off, we can't have consecutive timeouts. That's number one. Number two, if that timeout is called to freeze the kicker, by rule it becomes unsportsmanlike conduct."

Lindell, who earlier kicked field goals of 38, 43, 24 and 33 yards, was happy to move 15 yards closer to kick his fifth attempt in the rain.

"It was definitely nicer," Lindell said. "I would much rather kick one 36 than 51."

Lindell gained confidence when he booted the first kick through the uprights. That one didn't count, as the Redskins called timeout an instant before his attempt.

"That's why it was nice to hit that 51," he said. "Once I went to the 36, it could've been in the fieldhouse. I felt really good on that first one. I hit it about as good as I hit one all night.

"I knew I had confidence in the footing, so then it was just hit it with my normal hit. It helps when you've made four before. It kinds of snowballs the confidence."

The Redskins, who will attend Taylor's funeral in Miami on Monday, honored their fallen teammate by using only 10 players on their first play on defense.

Fred Jackson, who rushed for 82 yards on 16 carries, responded with his longest run of the day - a 22-yard sweep around left end. Bills coach Dick Jauron said he didn't notice the Redskins had only 10 men on the field at the time.

"We decided to do that last night," Redskins linebacker London Fletcher said of the gesture. "We wanted to play defense with Sean Taylor on the field one more time."

"It was a good call for the first play," cornerback Shawn Springs added. "It was a good way to honor Sean."

Washington (5-7) paid tribute to Taylor with a gritty effort on defense, keeping the Bills out of the end zone.

"We held them to field goals," Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington said. "We were put in some tight spots, and in order to be a good defense that is what you have to do."

However, the Redskins could not put away the contest after opening a 16-5 lead with just under six minutes left in the third quarter.

"Everyone was cool and calm," said Jackson, who made his first NFL start. "We knew that we were going to win the game. We knew that if we got Rian in field goal range, he would connect. We knew that it was about time."

Washington gave Buffalo hope with turnovers on each of its next two possessions. The Bills converted them into field goals, pulling within 16-11.

Lindell's fourth field goal, a 33-yarder, made it 16-14 with 6:08 remaining.

The Redskins could not run out the clock and punted the ball back to the Bills, who began their final march from the Bills 22-yard line with 56 seconds remaining.

In the first half, Jason Campbell moved the Redskins well, engineering drives of 14, 13 and 13 plays.

But the Redskins also failed to finish drives and settled for field goals of 27, 28 and 33 yards by Shaun Suisham for a 9-2 lead at halftime.

Buffalo got its first points when linebacker Angelo Crowell sacked Campbell for a 7-yard loss and a safety with 8:19 remaining in the second quarter that pulled the Bills to 6-2.

After Lindell kicked a 38-yard field goal with 11:25 left in the third quarter, the Redskins finally got in the end zone on Clinton Portis' 3-yard touchdown run with 5:47 left in the third.

"We played hard all game," Fletcher said. "To come down to that situation and lose the game, that's disappointing. I really wish we could have pulled it off. Then Coach Gibbs wouldn't be feeling as bad as he is right now."