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Parrish stars, Lindell kicks winning field goal for Bills

Nov 26, 2006 - 9:24 PM ORCHARD PARK, New York (Ticker) -- Roscoe Parrish's fleet feet made the difference for the Buffalo Bills.

Showing extraordinary speed and agility, Parrish returned a bouncing punt 82 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter and set up the winning field goal with a 30-yard catch down the left sideline as the Bills edged the Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-24.

A second-round pick in 2005 out of Miami, Parrish immediately became the team's top punt returner and second-best kick returner. But he had little success as a wide receiver.

On Sunday, he recorded his first touchdown on a punt return, fielding a bouncing ball at his own 18 before racing down the left sideline for an electrifying touchdown, increasing the Bills' lead to 24-14 with 3:46 left in the third quarter.

He also filled in as the third receiver with Josh Reed still sidelined with a kidney injury.

"It feels good to be involved in the offense," Parrish said. "With Josh Reed down, I knew I had to come in and step up and take advantage of my opportunities. So the good thing about it is I helped contribute on the offense and special teams."

"I don't know what you can say about Roscoe," Bills coach Dick Jauron said. "He made some huge plays for us that made the difference."

the Jaguars (6-5) rallied and tied the game, 24-24, when David Garrard hit Matt Jones with a three-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Garrard scrambled for 15 yards on a 4th-and-14 play before throwing the game-tying TD.

Terrence McGee returned the ensuing kickoff 19 yards to the 40 for Buffalo (5-6). J.P. Losman then hit Parrish with a six-yard pass. On the next play, Losman lofted a 30-yard pass down the left sideline to Parrish, who made a leaping catch over cornerback Scott Starks and somehow kept both feet inbounds.

"I saw a little opening and tried it and Roscoe made a great catch," Losman said. "It was a tough catch over the guy's shoulder."

"The line did a good job of giving J.P. time and I saw J.P. scrambling, so I just worked my way to get open," Parrish said. "J.P. did a good job of launching the ball down and I just tried to keep my feet inbounds."

Two plays later, Rian Lindell kicked the winning 42-yard field goal as time expired. He missed a potential go-ahead field goal attempt in the fourth quarter of a 17-16 loss at Indianapolis two weeks ago.

"It feels great, in any situation, to get another chance to go out there and show yourself what you're capable of kicking," Lindell said.

It marked the second straight week that Losman has directed a game-winning drive in the final minute. Last Sunday, he hit Peerless Price with a 15-yard pass with nine seconds left in a 24-21 win at Houston.

"We're on a little streak here," said Losman, who was 21-of-28 for 169 yards. "Of course, you have to call it momentum, I don't know what else you would call it, other than anything positive."

Willis McGahee returned for the Bills after missing two games with broken ribs and rushed for a pair of touchdowns in the first half, including a 30-yard run. He finished with 63 yards on 12 carries.

The Jaguars rushed for 207 yards. Fred Taylor led the way with 101 yards on 22 carries and rookie Maurice Jones-Drew added 78 yards on eight carries and scored twice.

"We ran the ball well, but we lost again on the road and that's been our story," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "We're 1-4 on the road. We haven't gotten it done. It's hard enough to win on the road, but when you give up punt returns it doesn't help for sure. But it's a rare thing to rush for 200 yards and lose."

Garrard threw for just 132 yards and was intercepted three times.

"They pretty much dropped everyone in coverage," Garrard said. "They had a pretty good pass rush all day. They were taking away most of my reads from me and making me scramble, making me try to get to my check downs."

A wild play led to Buffalo's first touchdown. Jaguars rookie Dee Webb intercepted a pass by Losman, but fumbled after being hit by tight end Robert Royal, who recovered the ball at the Jacksonville 28.

Four plays later, McGahee scored on a four-yard run with 3:23 left in the first quarter.

A 43-yard pass interference penalty against Webb on Lee Evans led to a 21-yard field goal by Lindell, increasing the Bills' lead to 1-0 with 12:58 remaining in the second quarter.

The Jaguars responded with a five-play, 62-yard drive - all of them coming on runs. Taylor rushed three straight times for 24 yards and Jones-Drew broke off a 24-yard run before scoring on a 14-yard run with 10:25 left in the second quarter.

Buffalo came back with an eight-play, 80-yard drive. McGahee capped it with a 30-yard touchdown, diving head-first into the end zone with 6:32 remaining in the half.

The Jaguars pulled within 17-14 when Garrard tossed a one-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Marcedes Lewis with 1:11 left in the half.

Parrish brought the crowd to its feet when he fielded a bouncing punt, maintained his balance and then streaked down the left sideline, getting touched only by punter Chris Hanson, on his 82-yard touchdown with 3:46 remaining in the third quarter.

"You have to trust his decision-making with the ball in the air and he certainly showed what he can do," Jauron said of Parrish. "It was really a remarkable return."

Jacksonville's Josh Scobee kicked a 27-yard field goal four seconds into the fourth quarter.