1988 Week 16 - Buffalo at Indianapolis

there is much at stake here at the hoosier dome for the buffalo bills a win today would clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs for the indianapolis colts to make the wild card they must win while the browns lose to the oilers the colts will be facing the number one defensive unit in the afc buffalo leads and sacks with 43 they lead the conference in fewest points allowed defense has propelled the 12-3 bills throughout the year while the colts for the record of 8-7 need eric dickerson to put up big numbers aside from one game against miami the nfl's leading rusher has been quiet in recent weeks but he's looking to break out today another capacity crowd on hand at the hoosier dome in indianapolis better than 60 000 have turned out with the colts season on the line hi everybody marv albert along with paul mcguire and for the indianapolis colts it has come down to the 16th and final regular season game it's come down to eric dickerson who in the two previous games against buffalo has been held in check both incidentally victories for the buffalo bills you know barb i talked to walt corey who's the defensive coordinator of the buffalo bills and he told me one thing he said we don't change our defense when we play the colts because of dickerson all we do is we have a man that goes wherever he goes we go to the ball and look what happens when they go to the ball 19 yards 66 yards they know that if they stop eric dickerson they stop more than half of the colts offense and bruce smith has been a major factor the last two games against the colts he has manhandled fellow all-pro left tackle chris hinton he's been handling a lot of tackles i'll tell you he's just he's got such a great release off the line of scrimmage and we'll show him during the course of the game he's got a great turn move to the inside he can get up field on the outside but the best thing about him he plays run so very well and head coach marv levy will be without two outstanding members of his defensive unit shane conlon because of a foot injury aren't still with a knee problem inactive today fred smirles will start at nose tackle but he's bothered by an ailing knee so he will not see much action we'll see quite a bit of jeff wright and we are set for the kickoff sponsored by budweiser the king of beers the bills won the toss they will receive as dean villasuchi the four-year pro from western carolina gets set to kick it off the deep man harold tucker back from a knee injury activated for today's game a first year player out of utah guy who can break it it is a short kick and it is taken by ronnie harmon and here's harmon puffing it up the indianapolis colts get an early break as they recover you know as a return man marv you're supposed to get as much as you possibly can break it to daylight and here harmon is trying to get a little bit more yardage jumped over a man in the process loses the ball here comes harmon the hole is there he sees it he goes to his left for a moment then he sees the hole is right back to his right he makes that move now watch when he goes up in the air when he goes up in the air the ball hits off his knee just trying to get a little bit extra beatasuchi is on the ball and for the colts their 20th fumble recovery they came into the game tied with houston for the nfl lead in that department and they go to the offense here is dickerson heading inside the 30 picked up seven scott radisic linebacker replacing the injured shane condom making the stop chris chandler starting at quarterback the hvac mark boyer eric dickerson the running back leading the nfl in rushing and the receivers were dan and brooks and beach donaldson making it to the pro bowl anchoring the line at center dickson and out of the guards hinton and patton rather and call are the tackles second out and three at the 30. dickerson stopped at the line he is smacked up [Applause] leon seals who is getting the starting nod today because of the injury suffered by aren't still making the stop smearless start of the game to continue that streak 133 straight starts not including the the strike period and so he is replaced by jeff wright tally radissic bentley and bennett the linebackers and burrows with kelso smith and odom's third down and about four look out no penalty flags thrown and we'll hear from jerry seaman for the first time they had two people outside bruce smith was offside cornice bennett jumped in whether they were pulled off we'll have to wait it's against the colts bald start prior to the snap number 20 offense still third down and the colts have not been a highly penalized team it is albert bentley the h-back who was called on that penalty sets it back to a third down and nine bentley you just see bentley move now you can he could move along the line of scrimmage but he moved towards the line of scrimmage once he did that smith was there and then fingers started being pointed out out of the shotgun looking for then clarence verdan with a good effort but not able to hang on he was covered by the strong safety leonard smith well derrick burroughs number 29 is going to be on him on verdan man to man here you're going to see 46 come into the picture verdan actually has burroughs beat but he knows that he has help from the safety that ball was there should have been caught and now the field goal unit checking in dean biazucci will attempt from 53 yards away he is five for seven from 50 and beyond that is an nfl record let's see here's biasi strong leg he's got it 53-yard field goal by dean villasuchi that is an nfl record most field goals in a single season from beyond 50. they're now calling it officially 52 and the colts taking advantage of that fumble on the opening kickoff have a three-nothing lead a 53-yard field goal that was earlier in the season against the chicago bears and the asushi has tied the colts franchise record for points by a kicker in one season 112 time with raul alegre who's now a member of the giants allegri did it back in 1983. just keep one thing in mind the first time these two teams met this season colts were leading 17-nothing when the bills decided to get back in the ball game and then win it ronnie harmon is back deep on the right wing errol tucker is way back and again it is harmon out to the 10. nice move by harm and a penalty marker is down and he is able to hang on a good return 27 yards but let's see what this flag entails the hold against buffalo [Applause] buffalo bills go to the offense now for the first time holding number 99 receiving team during the return first down so the hold on hal garner urban thomas jamie mueller the running backs chris burkett throwing the starting knot rather than andre riedel sat out last week because of a knee injury and it was thought he would be back we'll see him later and a look at the offensive line and the bills hearing the crowd as they start out first down from the 18-yard line thomas reeling off seven on the play or bryant alston the outside linebacker making the stop harvey armstrong in a nose tackle for joe klecko who is expected to play later bothered by a nerve injury in his neck austin with young krause and pickett young bothered by a heel injury missed the second half last week in the game against the jets and that's a revamp defensive secondary because of a host of injuries here's thomas again on a sweep short of the first down harvey armstrong on the stop so a third down and one coming up thurman thomas leading the buffalo bills 854 yards on the ground our first sweep around the ticker and the only score to report on pittsburgh leading miami 7-0 we'll keep you posted on that cleveland houston game that is the big one as far as the indianapolis colts are concerned colts must win grounds must lose if cleveland wins they make it to the wild card by virtue of head-to-head play third week of the season cleveland beat indianapolis in cleveland 23-17 patriots also still have a shot at the browns and the colts are losers nice catch for the first down and more pete metzelars the tight end for a 26-yard hookup keith taylor number 27 who is a nickel back in in in this formation now jermaine johnson is forced inside but watch with number 27 right here he goes up to try to make the interception misjudges the ball metzelers keeps his eye on the ball makes the reception first down buffalo bills first down at the indianapolis 49 three-nothing colts on a 52-yard field goal by via sushi rod riddick stopped on the play one yard advance john hand number 78 the right defensive fan made of the tackle there's some excellent linebackers in this game cornelius bennett and also dwayne pickett number 50 for the colts phil's as well as anybody against the run also is an excellent pass rusher we're going to see bickett probably commit hand is the man that makes the play he gets he gets ready but you see bickett going down the line getting away from metzelers he's in it in a position number 50 to make the play second down for kelly could not find anyone and just throws it away it was in the process of being caught by barry krause metzelers the intended receiver last week in the buffalo victory over the raiders which ended a two-game losing streak the bills ran for a season-high 255 yards and again they're trying to establish the run here in the early going all right we talked about vicki a moment ago here he is on jamie mueller number 39. now watch he carries him inside mueller holds on to him lets kelly get back to the outside but then krause forces the play kelly tried to get the ball of metzelers no dice third and nine at the colt 47. incomplete riddick the intended receiver covered by keith taylor a quickie series for the buffalo bills and the crowd reacting to the defensive play of their colts you know you mentioned it that andre reed was out the buffalo bills have about five or six guys that really aren't playing in this ball game even though this game means home field advantage in the championship game but on the other hand we still have the colts as you said another makeshift defense and this is so important to them if cleveland should lose and they should win they're in the playoffs clarence verdan as you saw second of the afc at punt returns kit handling that low snap so the good hop and for dan has to cover up tough one to handle for clarence verdad it's a 40-yard pod well if you're watching this game and sometime you hear an uproar and nothing has happened during the huddle you realize that houston might score again and if they do that this place will go crazy as long as the colts are winning and for buffalo what is at stake his home field advantage a victory here today would provide that advantage throughout the playoffs if they lose it would be cincinnati's throughout the playoffs it is a first down from the six-yard line colts with a three-nothing lead on that long-range field goal by via sushi here's dickerson he has stopped back at the line of scrimmage leon seals and ray bentley combining you know it's interesting when you watch eric dickerson in the backfield now he lines up about seven yards deep and when you see him run in place their plays are not designed to just run in a particular hole you see when dickerson comes up to the line of scrimmage he's looking all the time to find any kind of daylight all they want to do is screen the defensive players let him find a hole and he can run anywhere he wants to run he lost the yard second and 11 at the 5. and again dickerson he found the hole this time working his way to the 14. picked up nine now eric dickerson running away from smith is on the other side there's cornelius ben at 55. he's playing on a tight end now watch what happens as soon as he sees leon seals to the inside cornelius bennett to the outside dickerson just breaks it right up between the two and he's got that burst that can get him there and it sets up a third down and two eric dickerson trying to become the first cult since alan the horse amici back in 1955 to win the rushing title he has won it three separate occasions as a member of the los angeles rams dickerson cuts to the left this time and has the first down the bill the bills change their defense up what they do is they move sometimes they'll move bruce smith to the inside that time eric dickerson i think he looks at him and they take a look at here comes hitting down they brought bruce smith to the inside once dickerson sees that now tally takes himself to the inside dickerson breaks back to the outside eric dickerson going into today with the lead on roger craig of san francisco herschel walker of dallas first down at the 18. halfway through this first quarter and chandler goes the middle has brooks bill brooks on the reception picked up 25. now derrick burrows made a mistake first of all he gets beat to the inside i don't know whether the defense calls for help on the inside but once brooks catches the ball he goes down and watch what burroughs does number 29 he's first of all he's playing off of brooks brooks breaks to the inside here's the catch now brooks was on the ground he's not down you've got to go over and touch him but he touched him on the way up so he picks up another six yards bill brooks with his 51st catch of the season as derek burrows he's the left corner nate odoms on the right side kelso and smith are the safety men it is a first down for the colts at the 44 and apparently they're checking out the replay that is dave kamanski well i don't think they're checking out the fact that the ball was caught that was caught whether he was down or not and burroughs actually got his hand on brooks while he was on the ground which will move the ball back to the 36 yard line now here's brooks down now he's rolling back if he's up the play stands he's down no he's not he's down his knee is on the ground the play should be back about the 36-yard line burroughs did get there in time so a first down at the 44. [Music] off the draw dickerson able to pick his way he reads so well he has that hesitation move and he went for an effortless nine although it really does look effortless when you sit here and look at this guy right he's got such great momentum and poise now we're looking at hitting blocking on bruce smith hitting 75 bruce smith pushes him to the inside but when he does that look at he actually takes himself out of the play it'll be a second and one at the buffalo 47 six minutes remaining in this first quarter ron meyer took over the colts for the final three games of the 1986 season won all three last year they won the afc east chandler in trouble has to run it out and has the first out he was looking to throw could not find anyone and then picked up the first down houston on the field goal by zandejas from 40 yards away with the a three nothing lead if the giants beat the jets they take the nfc east division title philadelphia and dallas no score [Music] miami and pittsburgh tied at seven and of course we'll be keeping a careful watch on houston and cleveland first down at the 43-yard line marv albert paul mcguire from the hoosier dome in indianapolis dickerson getting across the 40. [Applause] indianapolis colts at eight and seven that began the year one and five appear to be out of it dead but a five-game win streak got them back into it then last week lost to the jets 34-16 jets with 21 points in the third quarter just controlled the ball in the second half 22 out of a possible 30 minutes special teams did not play well the kicking game with major breakdowns offensive line not opening the holes for dickerson but not the case thus far here in the first quarter second and six nickerson to the outside has ruined and another first down he's running so well here at the start he reeled off another 11. you've got to keep a linebacker on the outside that time daryl talley took an inside move once dickerson saw that he stands so far back in the backfield all he does is read whatever you do he does the opposite he looked to the outside saw daryl talley number 56 stuck on the inside he just broke it back outside and there was no one there until you get to the corner of the safety take a look at dickerson he goes here there's tally 56 got himself with boyer number 84 stuck to the inside once that happened all you have is kelso the safety making the play and the colts have a first down of the buffalo 28. chandler [Applause] on a keeper there was some movement in the line and now a disagreement bent up the indianapolis right guard involved with a couple of the bills i don't think that was designed i think they snapped the ball too soon looked to be confusion from the look of ron meyer i think that was it and what chandler did mark scooby is he smart enough to say all right got a busted play let me go forward i'll pick up a yard and that is what he did second and nine dickerson this time had nowhere to go loss of four ray bentley the inside linebacker was right there he has had a career season 108 tackles to lead buffalo this is third year out of central michigan had a big game last week against the raiders when you talk about a linebacker with dickerson here comes bentley and scott radisick number 97 they are both in there keying on dickerson going up the middle they lose a lot the buffalo bills defensively because of shane cotland not being in there but radisson's a pretty good player long drive 10th play of the drive they've accounted for four first downs but now facing a third and 12. and chandler goes the middle and looked to be some miscommunication albert bentley was making his way out to the flag yeah he was wayne davis number 21 was sitting there with him this ball was thrown in a hurry bentley didn't even look back he thought it was supposed to be a longer pattern probably was not the primary receiver on this play but when you see people blitzing and they put that many people on a line of scrimmage you have to look right now and here is checking in once again he hit from 52 earlier [Applause] and this will be a 48-yard attempt ron stark will hold viasuchi is 25-31 on the season no good so the score remains the colts three the bills nothing 250 left first quarter goes the middle and has the first down with andre reed andre reid had a sensational game earlier in the season against the colts six catches two touchdowns question mark because of a knee sat out last week against the raiders and he has the first down and kelly is looking at andre reid all the way andre reed is only playing on third down passing situations he comes into the ball game he does have a sore knee but he practiced all week long looked very well they thought you know he could start but they said why chance it if we don't have to if the other receivers are doing their job we can leave them on the sideline picked up 10 he now has a reception in 35 straight games first down at the 45 that's mueller in motion play action and kelly goes sideline and it's broken up chucky miller from the left corner position able to break it up it is still houston with a three-nothing lead on the 40-yard field goal by tony zandejas pat leahy from 41 yards away to give the jets the lead over the giants and dallas in front of philadelphia 7-0 giant win would clinch the division a philadelphia lost would also do it miami and pittsburgh tied at seven tampa bay leads detroit seven nothing second down and ten soft pass metzelers could not get to it cliff odom on the coverage and the thing about this pass and i don't know why kelly picked out metzelers on this particular play is because there's only a three-man rush and kelly has all day to throw the ball look at there is really no penetration nothing nothing in kelly's face here's metzler's going across he was open just dropped the football cliff odum was there should have had it kelly two for six 37 yards looking at a third down and ten the bills trailing the colts three nothing 40 seconds left first quarter and kelly guns it it's complete but short of the first down riddick on the reception for eight but they need two more for the first down willie tell us the strong safety made the stop that's just the question of the back with riddick at that point he's got to know where he is on the field he was two yards short of the first down go beyond that come back to the marker you have time to look at a hunting situation they're going to let it go at the end of the quarter yeah with john kidd checking in but first of the gun to conclude batters in this first quarter quick moving first quarter here at the hoosier dome capacity crowd better than 60 000 on hand and the indianapolis colts lead it three nothing you're gonna hear a roar here in indianapolis because houston has moved in front of cleveland 10-nothing domingo bryant on a pass interception he ran 36 yards for the touchdown cleveland quarterback don strock has been intercepted three times thus far in the first quarter the fair catch call for by prior 37-yard punt by kidd as we get underway here in the second with the colts leading the bills by the score of trina there's the roar greeting the scoreboard presenting the oilers with a 10-0 lead on the browns a win here by the colts and a loss by the browns will put the indianapolis colts into the playoffs as a wildcard last drive started on its own seven this one from the nine as we are just getting started in the second quarter on a 52-yard field goal by dean villasuchi the colts lead the bills three nothing first down from the ninety [Applause] [Music] [Applause] here's dickerson this time went the middle picked up four jeff wright on the stop now for an update let's go to bob costas and nfl live all right mark you've mentioned what this means to the colts don strzok has been intercepted three times in the first quarter twice by domingo bryant his first interception set up a zendejas field goal this one he brings back 36 yards for a touchdown 10 nothing oilers if they win they're insured home field advantage in the wild card game and cleveland is eliminated [Music] all right bob it's the second down and five here back at the hoosier dome colts from their 14-yard line dickerson [Applause] with the short pickup and scott radicek on the tackle i would like to know if someone could ever keep the mileage on dickerson the rt runs behind the line of scrimmage you're going to see the hole the hole is supposed to be to the right donaldson moves in there but dickerson there's nothing there so he goes left there's nothing left so he goes up to up the middle radissick makes the play i like to know the number of yards that he runs in the course of a year behind the line of scrimmage before he even gets there maybe he may lead the league in that also our staff will have that for you at the conclusion of the game third down and three at the 16. look out for smith jumping let's see if he was wrong i'll take it this is a late flag donaldson the center snapped the ball when he saw bruce smith off the line of scrimmage they snapped the ball at chandler he stood there there were no whistles and finally a flag came from the right-hand side or the left-hand side of the offense watch what happens everybody's standing there now chandler gets the ball on he's standing there donaldson centered it booster moves in i mean they're just standing around encroachment number 78 defense first and then the late flag comes so the call against smith can i tell you in the opening about a quick move yes huh paul you are so perceptive well you just know that a guy that quick trying to anticipate a call and it's the first down at the 21-yard line chris chandler making it back from the brews right shoulder suffered last week against the jets second play of the game and gary hogable went most of the way again the handoff vickerson to the outside could not make the turn cornelius bennett right with him but a flag has been thrown bennett and leonard smith able to chase dickerson down are they looking at face mask here because dickerson tried to break it outside and cornelius bennett is so quick you just don't try to run away from him because he's going to catch it everything here remaining the same as we checked the ticker new orleans now leading atlanta the saints can qualify for the playoffs only as a wild card with a win while the ramsey 55 on the defenses linebacker cornelius bennett well he's got he's got dickerson by the shoulder pads then he just reaches out and it's incidental contact he grabs him or accidental i guess grabbed him by the face pass he cut off but you know you got that feeling you know you grab on anything you can it is a first down at the 25-yard line [Music] [Applause] they won a penalty on ray bentley who stuck his head in there bentley hit him and just moved away look at he sit around who me i didn't do anything [Applause] now watch at the end of this play when chandler slides you're going to see number 50 ray bentley come in with his helmet and he hits chandler cabler still blowing right here but he actually hit his own man jeff wright 91 so that's that will harm no foul second down and two chris chandler in his rookie season out of university of washington has been hard hit by injuries but knocked out of three games dickerson to the other side for the first down across the 35 7 yard advance tally and rattasic got him down and clarence verdan is down he is shaken up i'm going to tell you something when you watch dickerson run marv it's just so beautiful because he actually sets up the block for verdan on odom on the outside when he's running he's going to make a couple of steps after he breaks it here now watch the stutter steps that he makes to set up the outside block right here bing bing and then you see verdan getting the block on 37 odom picks up two more yards today's game is brought to you by pontiac we build excitement by wendy's old-fashioned hamburgers the best burgers in the business and by goodyear certified auto service nobody fits your car like goodyear welcome back to the hoosier dove indianapolis indiana marv albert paul mcguire producer george finkel director dick klein clarence verdan shaken up a moment ago now on the sideline where told he had the wind that knocked out of him but should be all right first down at the 36-yard line as chandler is able to complete that piece the tight end broke the tackle picked up nine let's go back to verdan you think it's easy playing the wide receiver now watch first of all nate autumn almost rips his jersey off now verdan goes back inside holds nate odoms and then daryl talley falls on his back and that's when he knocked the wind at him it's tough out there particularly when you're 5-8 160 pounds and he's listed at 160. second down at one at the 45 the colts three the bills nothing meanwhile houston leading cleveland 10-0 in the second quarter 10 and a half remaining here in the second quarter dickerson has the first down four yard advance leon seals on the stop let's go back to bob costas and nfl live marv don strzok's problems continue in cleveland the browns approaching field goal range but he's sacked here by johnny meads spun back into brown's territory they have to punt they've moved to early second quarter now houston leading the browns 10 nothing back to marvin paul all right bob the colts must win the browns must lose that from the indianapolis point of view if cleveland wins they would make it by virtue of head-to-head play they beat the colts in cleveland earlier this season if the colts and the browns lose new england makes it because new england would have the better a division record hard charging run by dickerson for another four so it will be a second down and six you know you said it in the first quarter marv about how effortlessly he runs and it really doesn't look like dickerson is moving that fast but he is he has so many moves he sees the entire field and when he takes a hit it's not a solid hit you're only getting pieces of him you don't get the whole body and clarence verdan apparently all right is back replacing matt bouzit second down and they're calling it seven now at the 48th play action chandler could not find anyone and jeff wright picks up the sack his fifth sack of the season jeff wright and it knows tackle for fred smirles the pro bowler smirlos did start the game but bothered by a knee so right figures to go most of the way all right he's on dixon number 69 gets rid of him and now donaldson the center why he didn't pick him up i don't know but jeff wright gets by two people and ends up making a second this is going to be a great football player they're really happy about jeff wright what he's done so far this year and they see him eventually as the man who will take over for fred smirles the bill's 44th sack of the season they leave the afc their team record is 47 that was back in 1981 third down and 15 from the 44. penalty marker down chandler again in trouble kind of run out of it and the bills front three coming on eight yards for chandler but also a marker down offside the buffalo bills you know talk about jeff wright the heir apparent to fred smirlos the only problem is you're going to have to probably rip freddie's jersey off him while he's playing in order to get rid of him [Applause] and on the subject of making it to the pro bowl look at this group the buffalo bills with a club record six plus an alternate daryl town left side remember all the defense still third down offside call on bruce smith [Applause] so it will be a third down and nine and also you got ken hall the center that also made it on offense and the colts with three representatives eric dickerson ray donaldson chris hinton there are some folks who feel that donaldson and hinton although they've had decent years have not had the kind of seasons they've had in the past but still made it to the pro ball good question all they want they're in there bruce smith left the field we've got pike in there now third and nine at midfield [Applause] intended for bill brooks and the punting unit will come on just under eight minutes remaining in this first half still three-nothing cults on the 52-yard field goal by dean biazuchi [Music] here's ron stark who has had his ups and downs and he will punt for the first time today has not been as consistent as usual errol tucker is back deep back at his 10-yard line earl tucker back from a knee injury activated today fifth round pick of pittsburgh back in 85 and broke his leg on a punt return steelers waved him last year and now a member of the buffalo bills it's a 50-yard punt just did get into the end zone [Applause] wait a minute what do i have to do i'm just running over here well he's not signaling for a fair catch if he singles for a fair catch you can't hit him but he didn't signal for a fair catch and they ran over earl [Applause] there's buffalo bills return man errol tucker not happy about that last play but he never actually gave the signal for the fair catch and he wasn't in position to catch the ball either because the ball goes down and when you cannot stand around i mean he without giving a fair catch signal he could go up and block he can't give a fair catch signal mark and then go block somebody because that's not further the defensive man coming down he slows down and you nail him but as long as he doesn't put up his hand he's fair game and they ran him over so and the punt carried to the end zone a 50-yard punt on the touchback they bring it out the colts have owned the football in fact they had possession the first six and a half minutes of this quarter they lead three nothing the bills to the offense first down from their 20-yard line we've got to give it to the horse jamie mueller number 39 eventually he ran well last week kelly with the short set it has reed coming out of the backfield andre reed out to the 45-yard line daniel and kraus on the stop now let's get back to bob costas in new york all right marv a dramatic development in cleveland another defensive touchdown but this one is scored by the browns michael dean perry will pick up the fumble after dave grayson hits warren moon moon was shaken up on the play remain on the field for several moments here's michael dean perry picking it up going in from 14 yards out the browns are alive trailing 10-7 all right bob back to the action here following that 24-yard reception by re the pass intended for burkett and it will be a second and ten at the 44. eugene daniel on the coverage of chris burkett when you look at jim kelly uh and and all the other quarterbacks in the national football league the one thing that jim kelly has that the the receivers really likes he holds the ball high marvin when it leaves his hand the receiver can see the ball from the time it leaves jim kelly's hand till the time the ball gets there a lot of quarterbacks will bring it down and bring it up and throw it kelly doesn't do that and kelly hands it off to mueller who is bottled up hit for the loss on the play following that 10-5 loss to tampa bay and we have a player down jim kelly took a lot of grief back in buffalo as you look at jamie mueller on the carry i know he was upset about all the criticism led us to the editor and the buffalo newspapers uh the media uh taking shots at him i wanted to get your reaction but first we'll take a time out back after this weave your way through this indianapolis colt cliff odom apparently all right getting back to the jim kelly situation what is your reaction is uh the criticism justified i i think one of his major problems and they really don't talk about it that much when i watch him play if you look at most of his interceptions come going in to the end zone i think he has trouble picking up the safeties he can read the corners very well he knows when he sees him in man-to-man he knows when he sees him in zone but after that is and i think a lot of that comes from a young quarterback like jibis who has such a strong arm that he thinks he can get it there no matter what happens but those happen to be pro football players playing in that secondary and they're going for the ball they're reading eyes they're reading his eyes on the other side of the ledger what if the bills had a genuine speed receiver that would help i would think that would oh well that would open things up statistically and that has been another uh criticism as kelly throws the middle and people are accustomed to the jim kelly firing left and right as a member of the houston gamblers of the usfl and maybe more is expected and this is not that type of offense that's true now just take a look at kelly here now watch where this ball is going to be it's it's going to come up right here and now they see it it's almost like a hitch there with a receiver coming across can see the ball and once it leaves his hand they see it the entire time budding situation on the other hand jim kelly and his buffalo bills are 12 up and three down good team and he doesn't make the pro ball well he's an alternate well i can understand that yeah so can i boomer the boomer made it [Applause] great kick john kidd with a boomer on the subject of boomer a 55-yard punt so they'll bring it out to the 20 6-27 remaining from half the colts with a three-nothing lead on the bills it is now as bob costas told you a moment ago 10-7 houston over cleveland the jets extend to a 10-0 lead on a ken o'brien touchdown pass to mickey schuler on a five-yard play giants need a win to clinch the division or a philadelphia eagle loss would do it so the jets coming off the win over the colts looking to play the spoiler that's a big game for new orleans in their quest for a wild card position pittsburgh over miami we're told that uh odom a moment ago took a blow to the head and there's a question mark as to whether he will return first down from the 20-yard line and the colts go back to the ground scott radicek with the stop of eric dickerson remember i talked about before there's a linebacker following dickerson wherever he goes this is a classic example of it scott radisic never moved when chandler went back and he handed the ball to dickerson scott radisson saw the ball coming it just filled in the hole made the tackle but again two yard gain eric dickerson is gunning for his fourth rushing title which will tie him with steve van buren and o.j simpson for the second most in nfl history jimmy brown won the title eight times an amazing statistic second down and eight and again the short advance carlton bailly on the stop another linebacker every time he makes that move wherever he's going to be the defensive line their job is to hold up they're trying to find them also make the tackle but those inside those two inside linebackers whether it's carl bailey radissic or bentley their eye is on dickerson we've got we can't let him run up the middle on us that's what they're saying to themselves because i heard i read their lips third down five at the 25. and that is the up-to-date story with herschel walker in action roger craig and his 49ers will play this evening at home against the los angeles rams third down five at the 25 just under five minutes to go first half chandler is hauled down back at the 15-yard line and the colts beginning to hear it from the crowd daryl talley making a two and a half sacks on the season all daryl talley did was wait till bruce smith cleared it out dickerson is looking to bruce smith carol talley hesitated for a second took a straight shot right at chandler made the play no one touched him second sack of the day for the bills and now ron stark will punt from his two yard line his earlier punt went 50 errol tucker who had an adventure last time he was back there is now awaiting the punt at the 40. [Applause] and it is down a 34-yard punt coming up at halftime on nfl live we go back to our studios in new york and bob costas will be joined by frank deford who will have an essay on left-handers paul my brother was left-handed what a fascinating fact that is yeah it is i thought so did that affect you in any way psychologically no first down from the 48. and here's thurman thomas three-yard advance he went off hobbling you may recall back in the first quarter fred young who's still in there despite a heel injury able to make the stop the bills just they they got to do something on first down to throw the ball now they the last time they got the ball they were deep in their territory while the 20 yard line and they threw it on ray reed and all of a sudden here they get they get the ball in excellent field position and they run just a simple handoff off the right tackle now johnson is to the left and read right second seven at midfield bueller in motion thomas going straight up the middle picked up four five yards on the play the right defensive end john hand on the tackle jamie mueller we were talking about i was talking about him earlier now here he comes in motion now his job is to block he has to kick out to the outside that's o'brien alston the linebacker he gets a piece of him he does his job alestreia is down there number 71. but actually jamie mueller did his job the play was cut back to the inside and the defensive line was there mueller had a strong game back in october against the colts 70 yards 15 carries third down three at the 45 just under three minutes left first half kelly looked off riddick and then able to complete for the first down seven yard pass play with harmon taken down by the combination of ball and miller you know harmon just has excellent hands jim's trying to scream over this crowd and he looks to his left first now he's going to come back to harmon and the play by by miller is perfect miller can't play it any better watch this there's harmon there's miller right on his back harmon goes up great hands makes the catch first down can't play it any better chuckie miller in his first nfl start eighth round draft pick two years ago then suffered a broken leg shot out a year first down at the 38 coming up on two minutes to go first half short set by kelly and able to complete he threw a bullet to tremaine johnson a 13-yard advance and johnson doing it in front of miller as the clock is stopped the two-minute warning provided three-nothing colts will be back in a moment out here in indianapolis we'll be reacting in just a moment because the houston oilers have moved in front of cleveland now 13 to 7 as tony's and dejas hit again this time from 42 yards away so in the second quarter the oilers 13 and the brown seven i'm really i'm really kind of shaky about that game i thought that straw could come into that game and and do a little bit more you know three interceptions one for a touchdown shock is a better quarterback than that of course he's not used to playing when it's four degrees either yes that is certainly uh certainly a factor as the raiders found out last week as they had an enjoyable time up in buffalo and there is the reaction two minutes remaining in the first half here it's three-nothing indianapolis well we're in a very comfortable 72-degree degree frame of mind outside up at 22 degrees they have snow in the forecast did snow lightly yesterday here in indianapolis thurman thomas with a three-yard pickup enemy a second and seven barry kraus making the tackle now if you wonder what happened to fred young used to be with seattle here comes fred young he's reading jamie mueller misses him he's got his head down but the block of joe devlin not only took out the defensive lineman donnell thompson 99 but it also got fred young excellent block by devlin the bill's on the move second down seven at the indianapolis 23 the clock is down to a minute and 20 remaining in this first half thomas in motion kelly off the pump wants thomas to go long but overthrows chuck miller on the coverage of thurman thomas kelly was looking downfield at first if he would if he'd throw that ball to thurman thomas as soon as he comes out of the backfield he's open and i wouldn't be surprised to see him come back with it because as soon as thurman thomas makes the break you see kelly looking straight downfield there's nothing there thomas now is covered he wasn't covered before would have been able to pick up at least five or six yards and now he almost like he's throwing the ball away just didn't have the touch you've got to stop to throw that they have the touch to throw that ball in the end zone right on target third down seven can't call the center jim richard l hellestre for the engine tim vogler at the guards devlin and wilford at the tackles as kelly is able to complete touchdown andre reed on a 23-yard pass play and the buffalo bills have taken a 6-3 lead on the indianapolis colts and that's the match-up you want to get you want to get the strong safety of the free safety mike pryor one-on-one on andre reid and kelly looks over there he sees reed coming across the middle pryor is just way behind reed not even close to him there's no help on the other side keith taylor number 27 was not even involved in the play and reed gets the touchdown perfect throw so andre reed with his fifth touchdown of the season kelly has now thrown for 14. and scott norwood will attempt the extra point he's 31-31 he's hit his last 73. make it 74 in a row the buffalo bills take a 7-3 lead andre reid comes off he's tremaine johnson's to the outside he breaks underneath and when reed does that he moves to the inside all you have now is a free safety is prior number 39 not even close in fact he's backed up into the end zone you're not going to stop a touchdown into the end zone kelly looks right he looks left to germain then he sees andre reid puts it right down the pipe nobody there third catch of the day for radius 67 on the season there are some who felt that he should have made it to the pro bowl but he did not having a terrific season hurt the colts in that earlier meeting back in week six in buffalo bills came from behind to beat indianapolis 34-23 in a steady rain at richmond stadium that's the game you refer to earlier the colts led 17-nothing in the second quarter kelly had an excellent day 21-39 315 yards he threw for three well houston with a 13-7 lead on cleveland the jets extend 13-0 on the giants second field goal by pat leahy and philadelphia leads dallas 10-7 philly needs a win over the cowboys and a giant loss and they would win the nfc east uh elsewhere new orleans with a seven nothing lead i picked philadelphia at the beginning of the year you know to win a division did you yes they did you're saying it now at the best possible time is that i had to save it for 16 weeks you know to bring that up although still a long way to go this afternoon paul i know yes but i'm happy now though albert bentley george wensley roy banks back deep for the kickoff from scott norwood the bills now with a 7-3 lead [Applause] [Music] and bentley lets it go coming up at halftime a look at all the scores and highlights from around the nfl with bob team's ball yard line rashad frank taking that a close-up look at left-handers some of the great men of our time have been southpaws you're right-handed right yes that's why i said sounds like a great bet of our time my my left hand is absolutely useless i can't do it i can't do anything with it the only thing i can do is put my jacket on in effect you could not go to your left no i really couldn't i got lost i'd run left i got lost so every that's why we lived on the right hand side of the street so i can get home you know i never thought of that i thought first down for the 35 with a minute seven remaining of the half [Applause] they would like to see a chandler air it out for a last-minute drive timeout is called we'll be back in a moment they're back at the hoosier dome indianapolis 7-3 buffalo leading run meyer and his indianapolis colts it is a second and 11 as dickerson lost the yard of that last play and the colts at their 34-yard line the colts taking the time out so they have two remaining and let's see how meyer plays it here gotta throw the ball and look at the tight end chandler goes short range and that's short of the first down the reception by dickerson daryl kelly on the stop they are in the hurry up it'll be a third down at one clock is running we're coming up on 40 seconds to go in the half and now chandler goes the middle and it's broken up intended for dickerson took a hit from the strong safety leonard smith and you're in a situation where you now have to punt you know there i can't imagine why they didn't give the ball to dickerson take the first down get on on one yard because they still have two timeouts left go ahead use them the timeouts are no good to them now they have to punt the ball they're going to take them into the locker room and you cannot use them in the second half so ron dickerson he if he can't get a yard you'll be the same situation anyway why throw the ball to him over the middle for a one-yard game when you know he can run it one yard and here is ron stark inside his 30. 34 seconds to go on the half [Music] get out of the way tucker and tucker lets it fly right by they'll bring it out to the 20 that will go down as a 56 yard punt and buffalo from it's a 20 with a 7-3 lead and 25 seconds remaining the buffalo bills at 12 and three that equals the bill's team record for most single season victories they won 12 back in 1964. is that your ball club you bet it was we were better we weren't in as good a shape as these guys but we were better [Music] at one point meyer believing in his bills won seven in a row they started at 11 and one this is a team that went 2-14 both in 84 and 85 but the bills are just gonna run out the clock clock running down and they will go to the locker room with a 7-3 lead buffalo seeking to clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs a win would do it a loss would mean cincinnati would have the home field advantage and we have come to halftime with the score the bills seven and the colts three a 52-yard field goal by dean biazucci put indianapolis on top three nothing he did miss from 48 and just a moment ago was jim kelly to andre reid on a 23-yard touchdown pass for the 7-3 lead we'll be back after these messages from your local station hi again everybody bob costas back along with ahmad rashad in new york let's check on the game that so many of you are interested in houston is in front of cleveland 13-7 there's a delay in the game now because of spectators standing along the edge of the end zone was hit as an incomplete pass was thrown by warren moon here's a look at it it goes beyond the receiver the defender and the receiver each wind up colliding with that gentleman who apparently was a photographer rather than a spectator driven back into the snow bank and now he's receiving medical attention and so the game is delayed momentarily houston is going to try a field goal they are well within range that could increase their lead to 16-7 as it stands now it's 13-7 marty schottenheimer knows that they must win to get a wild card if they do win then they host houston right back in the same ballpark on saturday but don strzok playing in place of the injured bernie kozar's had a tough time three interceptions although that one a possible interception by steve brown was ruled an incomplete pass so the browns caught a break but not here here's the interception by domingo bryant he has two of the three pick-offs by the oilers the first led to a tony zendejas field goal that one was run in for a touchdown it was ten nothing houston the browns show life however as dave grayson really racks warren moon up and picking the ball up is michael dean perry the younger brother of refrigerator perry he goes in for the touchdown after that zendayas hit another field goal for houston a 42-yarder to make it 13-7 and they are still looking after the photographer along the sidelines so houston is yet to attempt the apparent field goal as it stands now 13-7 in favor of the oilers if they win they eliminate the browns and they host the wild card game next week no matter who the other wild card is bob houston's showing a lot of poise in this game they get up ten nothing they get a big play michael dean perry runs that punt that fumble back in for a touchdown but they have not lost their poise they keep coming right back and right now they are getting ready to attempt a field goal but i think something for the fans at a game like this the fans in cleveland are throwing snowballs i mean which somebody could get hurt i think they just made the announcement that if they find anybody else throwing snowballs i'm gonna eject them out of the stadium but that that's not good sportsmanship and uh uh houston is gonna have to withstand not only the cleveland team but the snowballs in order to win this game the reason why i'm glancing to the side i'm trying to see if they're lining up for that field goal this game is of such importance so while i continue with this next bit of business you keep an eye on it for us my pleasure jump right in at any moment buffalo in front of indianapolis as you know have time in the climate-controlled atmosphere of the hoosier dome and the bills trying to secure home field advantage throughout the afc playoffs lead for marv levy 7-3 although throughout most of the first half the colt defense stopped them cold now here's the opening kickoff ronnie harmon trying to bring it back and as he battles to squeeze out extra yardage he fumbles and who recovers it but the kicker dean biazucci which sets up his own 52-yard field goal it's his sixth field goal of 50 yards or better this year that's an nfl record he is simply terrific and has been the premier field goal kicker in the league for the past few years however jim kelly finally gets it in gear on this third down play andre reed over the middle for the touchdown of 23 yards eric dickerson had a big first half better than 60 yards rushing but buffalo leads it now over indy 7-3 the jets and the giants at the meadowlands technically it's a jet home game you got to be a jet ticket holder to get in today and the jets are in front in this one not yet halftime 13 to nothing paul mcfadden has missed a couple of makeable field goals for the giants that hasn't helped pat leahy has made two field goals for the jets and ken o'brien has thrown a five-yard touchdown pass to mickey schuler so if the giants lose this there's a chance they won't make the playoffs at all and if the eagles beat the cowboys today with a giant loss the eagles would be the champs of the nfc east speaking of that situation the eagles now lead dallas after spotting them a 7-0 lead on a one-yard herschel walker run they've come back to take a 10-7 advantage at dallas randall cunningham just threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to keith jackson the saints need help they got a win and hope for other developments to help them out to sneak in as a wild card they're in front seven nothing at home over the falcons on a bobby a bear 13-yard touchdown pass to dalton hilliard the dolphins and the steelers in a game that means nothing but it's turning out to be an entertaining contest dolphins come in at six and nine for don shula and there he is in a cold circumstance in pittsburgh the steelers with a four and 11 record as they close out their season schulich can't be pleased to see this it's in the hands of davenport but it slips through ron davenport's hands off the mourinho pass and dwayne woodruff intercepts runs it in 78 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 pittsburgh lead miami went in front ten to seven and then bobby brister gives it to merrell hodge he hands it to lewis lips on the reverse 39-yard touchdown run for lips they often use him on the reverse so the end around it's his third rushing touchdown of the season watch mourinho here scott swades will make the catch what a beauty down to the one yard line lorenzo hampton scored from there a moment later it was his second rushing touchdown of the game and the game is even up now at 17. tampa bay playing at home against detroit it has now gone to halftime mixed bag for vinnie testaverdi he's been intercepted three times bringing his league leading total to 35 but he's also thrown for a couple of touchdowns each a 31 yarder one to bruce hill and the other to mark carrier the bucks in a battle of four and 11 teams leading the lions 14 nothing before we go to this break they have not removed the cameraman from the field yet so the players still stopped they have not yet attempted the field goal there are two minutes and 21 seconds to play in the first half in cleveland with houston in front of the game 13-7 and uh they are still looking after the gentleman who was hurt in the collision with one euler player and a member of the browns so we'll have to keep you posted on what's happening there we'll take his station break and we'll come back following these messages okay bob back at the hoosier dome in indianapolis the buffalo bills with a late score as jim kelly connected with andre reid now leading the indianapolis colts by the score of 7-3 and we'll be back here in indianapolis bills despite the loss of several of their defensive standouts shane cotland art still did not dress today because of injuries fred smirless stressed but left after the first couple of plays because of a knee injury despite all that have played well at halftime they have a 7-3 lead over the colts and i've said this so many times the most meaning meaningless stat it's time of possession you look at the colts with 18 almost 19 minutes in this ball in the first half of the ball game and they've got three points out of the deal even with bills with a turnover it doesn't make any difference how much time you have the ball it's what you do with the ball when you have it and obviously the colts have not been able to do anything they got the field goal after the fumble of the kickoff couldn't move the ball three straight downs and then kick the field goal and eric dickerson with 63 yards on 18 carries averaging three and a half per carry as we get set for the second half kickoff kelly to read on a 23-yard touchdown with a minute to go in the half and the colts on the board with that 52-yard field goal by via sushi following the fumble on the kickoff by harmon and there is art still who is out with a knee problem he has played well 33 year old out of university of kentucky shane cotland sidelined with a foot injury tim vogler the right guard is through for the season he will undergo knee surgery and dale hellistrae has taken over the position and has played well and the buffalo bills playing for whole field advantage throughout the playoffs need a victory here today while the season is on the line for the indianapolis colts they must win the browns must lose to make it as the wild card the second half kickoff sponsored by budweiser the king of beers [Applause] albert bentley is back deep as scott nolan kicks it off and here's bentley and he decides to stay right there that is only the fifth tough touchback of the season for scott nolan and they're also what the number one team on kickoff against the kickoff return they have done very well particularly uh last week against the raiders bill's did an excellent job holding tim brown in check now indianapolis starting out from the 20. chris chandler starting at quarterback today despite the brews right shoulder gary hogable went most of the way last week [Music] and it starts off with dickerson [Applause] to the 24-yard line so an advance a four did i hear boo well the crowd has been a little testy not only in the final minute when ron meyer kept it on the ground but there were some moments earlier because it has been primarily eric dickerson left right and up the middle but you know when when you look at the game and you see eric dickerson carry the ball as many times as he does the interesting thing about it he only averages somewhere around 24 25 carries a ball game at the beginning of the game it seems like he carries it in the first series and here is dickerson this time a big hole for the first down out to the 35. 11-yard run bennett on the tackle remember the first half i told you he does not give you a full shot at him when you hit him cornelius bennett is going to hit eric dickerson but watch where cornelius bennett ends up he's going to hit dickerson now and another six yards later eric dickerson is down the field he does not give you his whole body and he has bounced back from the 42-yard performance against the jets last week he has not been running well in recent weeks except for that miami game when he had 169 yards and has certainly done the job here today another nine for dickerson and we have a punch-out between matt bouza and nate odems going at each other pretty good penalty marker is down matt boozer and nate odoms going at close quarters the offensive line play they just they do a job look at they just drive everybody off the line of scrimmage i mean down the field about four or five yards bentley shot the gap missed when dickerson for 37 defense number 85 offense second down he cuts dickerson cuts back in picks up the artist if you're good you know i think this is the most ridiculous call in football i mean why why throw the flag if you're going to call in on both guys warn them get on with the game well the choices are warning or uh ejection and autumns and boozer were slugging away pretty good that's that's one of the more active football fights you will see although you got to hit helmet and pad you're going to hit your hand so offsetting penalties it is a second down and one and dickerson has the first down to the 49. here's another time i told you the time before when dickerson cut back inside bentley overshot it here comes bentley again now the line play they're getting off with the ball double teaming right on a nose tackle c-50 comes shooting in overruns the play dickerson just cuts back to the inside and picks up five yards leon seals number 96 makes the play but it's twice that bentley is taking himself out of the play by trying to run straight at him you've got to be controlled when you're gonna when you're gonna make a tackle on dickerson and dickerson getting the holes today the indianapolis offensive line has done a nice job first down from midfield that's booze in motion and chandler to throw let's say bill brooks world incomplete but he trapped it billy you got to understand this is not baseball this is not a one one hopper here brooks is downfield he's covered by derrick burrows and his job is to go down run burrows off and come back to the ball now watch where the ball hits whoa wait a minute i'm going to tell you they may have to take a look at this thing because his hands were underneath i guarantee they're going to take another look at this they have to unless in this angle it's it's different but his hands no no they're apart the ball hit the ground from the side angle it looked like his hands were underneath the ball but the ball actually hit the ground between his hands good call they will not look at it that's right second down and ted because we looked at it chandler throwing deep for brooks off the mark and he was covered by derrick burrows it will set it to a third and ten for chris chandler [Applause] oh yeah i wonder sometimes derrick burrows this is just tremendous coverage by the corner number 29 on brooks number 80. and at the last second he's reading his eyes he sees it he's looking for the ball reaching for the ball bros gets between he and the ball but you take the ball from the 20 and you move the ball to the 50 with dickerson running the football now dickerson is not tired you throw two pass plays and now you have troubles [Applause] and now the colts have verdan to the left flank wide left side boosa in the slot back to the ground for dickerson [Applause] it'll be a fourth down and two of cochi again all right let's take a look paul and not they're on the right-hand side excellent block on cornelius bennett because he can't get a full shot at dickerson dickerson runs through him jeff wright number 91 is going to end up making the play but that's an eight-yard gain and they're not thank you i just did some coaching nice going paul then we'll go for it they heard it meanwhile dickerson with 101 yards for his eighth 100 yard game of the season fourth and two four minutes in third quarter well then marker on the other side the chains are on this side of the field he had to get the ball inside the 41 and that ball is marked inside the 41. but they're going to be about half the ball short yeah they are bill's ball so the colts lose it on downs ron meyer going for the fourth and two and they fall shy of the first down a timeout taken will be back after this breyer from the hoosier dome the cult's seventh set out and eight home games only the tampa bay game did not sell out the colts trailing buffalo 7-3 four minutes gone by in the third quarter the handoff to thurman thomas as the buffalo bills go back to the offense and he's stopped by the nose tackle harvey armstrong all right let's go back to the dickerson plate albert bentley doesn't get a block because nate adams really does the job he doesn't make the tackle but he strings dickerson out to the left of your screen he's coming in now 37 is right there nate odoms when he forces it out it gets kelso a chance and bruce smith a chance to get up field all he wanted to do was to get dickerson running sideways so they can get the support he did his job the bills now with a second down and their offense has not done much or a hard hit on jamie mueller able to hang on only a one-yard advance or maybe a maybe two eugene daniel the right corner with that hit i don't know how jamie muir holds on to this ball unless it was knocked back into him look at his it's on the tips of his fingers and daniel just nails him jamie mueller hangs on to the football for a two-yard game and he felt it third down and five and the crowd urging the indianapolis defensive unit on thompson harvey armstrong john hand up front kelly with the screen for nothing loss of three so harmon made the catch but he lost and it will be a putting situation for buffalo john hand the defensive end played it beautifully he stayed there when he saw harmon drop back into the backfield read the screen and made the tackle super defense clearance for this john kidd punt kid from inside is 30. [Applause] his way to the 28 a 42-yard pawn and a 14-yard return by the man who's second in punt returns in the afc the five foot eight inch clarence verdant and eugene daniel number 38 clipped or hit in the back above the waist behind all that stuff on kelso or not on council excuse me uh it was on steve tasker number 89 it'll be eugene daniel 38. illegal block during the return number 38 receiving team at this spot that will be accepted we also had an illegal block number 48 receiving team from that spot that will be declined for stand so the ball is [Applause] being spotted let's see they are marking it back now and we'll pick up the spot when we return as a timeout was taken they're putting it just outside the 12 will be right well the colts have not done much thus far today against the afc's top ranked defensive unit and they take over at the 13-yard line meanwhile houston still leading cleveland 16-7 in the third quarter first down at the 13 the bill 7 and the colts iii dickerson finding a hole that's across the 25 for a first down burrows on the stop of dickerson who went for 13. that's his longest run of the day question to the paper today was who was going to block cornelius bennett now boyer number 84 there he is he's blocking cornelius bennett bernie has been and he's also holding cornelius bennett by the left arm and it's very difficult to make a tackle on dickerson when you have two arms but when you only have one it's almost impossible eric dickerson has run for 115 yards and 25 carries first down at the 26. and again dickerson picked up a couple sick on the stop now that time bentley on the right hand side of the defense forced up field so he made dickerson cut back what he did radicek was just sitting right in the hole waiting on him you know but it's it's strange he still picks up two or three yards and it looks like you know most backs get nothing he gets something [Applause] [Music] on the right hand side left hand side of the screen you see bentley come up once he does the radisson's on this side there's nobody to block him so he waits for the play and makes it second and eight from the indianapolis 28 cruza to the right [Music] [Applause] that did not fool anyone or have to fool his teammates well either he went the wrong way or eric dickerson went the wrong way somebody messed it up in the backfield because when chandler went back to hand it to dickerson dickerson didn't happen to be there now watch what happens he comes back he's going to spin he's going to his his left whoops eric went to his right and eric went the wrong way this which gets quarterbacks killed and it sets it back to a third down and nine burden is now to the left [Music] [Applause] [Music] that's the first time he has looked in the direction of the backup wide receiver mark fellini 16-7 houston's and dejas has now kicked three giants scoring on a sims to steven touchdown baker touchdown and if things stay the way you see right there with philadelphia winning and the giants losing the eagles would win the division rollins with the lead pittsburgh over miami tampa bay in a meaningless game leading detroit harold tucker has dropped back for this run start punt another quickie series for the colts good hang time by stark and here's tucker that was 30. 46-yard punt and only a six-yard return barry kraus albatanko with 6 31 remaining third quarter the bill 7. the colts 3. this week against the jets after chris chandler was hurt can you see a change up coming on part of ron meyer not after that last pass to chandler threw now he threw the ball at bellini and he just dropped the ball he hit him right in the hands of the ball he also had booze open across the middle and that's not a quarterback fault when a man drops the ball buffalo takes over at the six and a half left third quarter and kelly able to complete and has a first down thurman thomas for 17. [Applause] mike pryor the free safety on the stop of the rookie out of oklahoma state now look at the middle blocking ken hall who is the all-pro center of the buffalo bills getting some help jim richard when you have a receiver like thurman thomas wide open like he was there there's just no chance of defending against it the bill's first down from the 49. buffalo seven indianapolis three kelly is three for three make it four for four in this third quarter as riddick runs for the first down 13 more on the pass play the outside linebacker o'brien alston stopping rob riddick kelly just sees ridick he circles out of the backfield and no one's covering riddick you dump the ball riddick on a four-yard pattern just no way that you can stay with him barry krause is a linebacker trying to keep up with riddick can't do it brian austin's off the field [Applause] [Music] alston shaken up 10th round draft pick out of maryland has had an outstanding season orlando lowry has come on at the outside linebacker position for alston first down at the colt 38 back to the ground for mueller and he stacked up a yard on the play for jamie mueller [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you know sometimes you question play calling in and we did we did it with the colts and i'm going to do it here with the bills they just move the ball right down the field throwing the football it's wide open go ahead and throw the ball you've got to throw if something works you keep doing it until they stop it when they stop it you go back to something else second and nine at the colt 37 and kelly will throw throwing deep intended for tremaine johnson covered by the strong safety willie thomas [Applause] well houston with that 16-7 lead on cleveland don strzok having his difficulties intercepted three times one return for a touchdown and fumbled once you know when i talked about kelly not reading the secondary safety he threw the ball that time to the only man that had three people covering him there were one-on-one coverage on the outside and he treated a man and had two safeties and a linebacker on it and now he is looking at a third of nine out of the shotgun saw the opening and then dumps it off but cuddly mocker is down the pressure was on kelly and he threw the ball and get all sought the next that natural reaction for anyone if you play this game it all involves a football and ken hall knows here comes the pressure number 79 is uh armstrong is there but when he throws the ball to ken hall kent is that's the reaction is you know i got to reach for it i'm a center i touch the ball all the time ineligible receiver ken ken hall and here is kidd coming out to punt for the fifth time mike pryor is back they will use him in fair catch situations because he is sure-handed 4 20 to go in this third quarter and kid pops it high so it's a 34-yard punt the catch made by steve tasker and we'll take a timeout back after this scores a balmy 72 degrees outside 22 degrees they do expect some snow and in your your hometown of buffalo 19 degrees not bad beautiful just like summer hey it's beautiful there and a first down from the three as the colts take over 4 in this 14 quarter chandler on the screen for dickerson gets out to the nine-yard line you run a screen you've got two offensive linemen out in front ray donaldson and randy dixon and they don't block anybody watch this there's 53 going out 68 is dixon donaldson what's this hit somebody [Applause] call us nice to see you don't get excited about this game second down and three dickerson cut to the outside for the first down he picked up five derrick burrows on the stop and man does dickerson set up boyer to block cornelius bennett dickerson dips to the inside boyer 84 55's cornelius bennett watch this dip by dickerson right here now he sets him up boyer makes the play dickerson pops back to the outside and gets the first down that's beautiful 122 yards 27 carries for eric dickerson for just under three minutes remaining in the third buffalo still with a 7-3 lead [Applause] the only score that early field goal from 52 yards away by via sushi and here's a reverse verdan cuts back and it did not work eric burroughs right there and that's a loss of six this reverse really never had a chance because of the penetration of the buffalo bills defense watch it right here you're going to see jeff wright here he is he's the guy that turns verdan back the other way when he does that burroughs is actually blitzing and he comes back and makes the play for a loss that's super defense that's why they're number one in the afc and they're doing it today without fred smallis art still and shane conlon they don't lose a lot more they really don't that's the depth of this defense second and 15 back at the 10. that boosa has checked back in is hit down he was walloped and he is hurt bruce smith with sack number 11 on the season chris chandler now being checked over as gary hoganboom makes his way on he has been knocked out of three games including the earlier meeting against buffalo he's had a bruised shoulder a bruised sternum suffered a concussion last week bruised his right shoulder on the second play of the game against the jets and then left after going over four pogoboom came on but he took a real hard pump well bruce smith just runs right by chris hinton chris hinton really doesn't even slow him down on the top of the screen 75 is hitting watch this bruce smith goes around him and then hits him chandler right from the backside i mean just nails and puts his helmet right in his back the quickness of that man we saw him play the run we see him play against the pass now you know why he's pro bowl material has tremendous explosion and for the moment he is leading the afc with 11 sacks second half of the doubleheader here on nbc seattle and the la raiders playing for the afc west the winner wins the west goes to the playoffs or some of you will see kansas city and san diego that's right here on nbc all right here's another look at it as chris chandler is still down he was sacked at the one by bruce smith left of the screen dickers is looking for the linebacker blitzing and you see hitton really never slowed down bruce smith and he was there and hits chandler in the back with his helmet it's a legal play but when you don't expect anybody from the back side you expect him coming up in front where you may be able to get with a little bit of peripheral vision get a chance to see a piece of the guy coming unload the ball but he never saw smith anxious moments for chris chandler and the indianapolis colts chandler the rookie a third round draft pick the colts first pick in the draft from the university of washington and a big quarterback six foot four 210 pounds i got that nfc pretty much straightened out ready yeah why do you look so enthusiastic if philly wins and the giants lose then the 49ers have to beat the rams in order for the giants to get in how do you like that paul i'll agree with whatever you say i got that from george finkel in the truck he's so smart what if the giants beat the jets they take the division championship the giants can be the wild card if they lose but the rams would have to lose tonight that'd be based on the overall record and a win over new orleans now the eagles would be a wild card at 10 and 6 and 9 and seven based on a win with the saints and uh rams in a multiple tie and you would still have all kinds of permutations if you follow what i'm talking about paul everything until you said permutations i didn't get that's the part i didn't get here's hokeboom replacing a dazed chris chandler so gary hogaboom played three quarters last week against the jets when 16 for 30. intercepted three times so this is kale number four for chris chandler he has been knocked out now on four separate occasions and hogeboom [Applause] it's a nice situation to be in eric where are you eric minute and a half left third quarter hills 7-3 lead over the colts and here is dickerson running it out on the slant gets out to the seven see leonard smith come up and make the play no arm tackling i'm gonna jump on your head and the punting unit coming on as chris chandler is still trying to figure out what happened to him moments ago there's leonard smith you know i'm going to jump on your head get every piece of your body i can get and hope for some help ron stark will punt from his end zone his fifth putt of the day he's had a good day averaging just under 50 uh rather 47 yards per punt [Applause] and that is errol tucker at midfield here comes tucker 40-yard punt and a 12-yard return or brian alston on the stop of tucker it's an andover and kick it was not an act a very good kick but when tucker gets the move now o'brien alston is going to make the play and when he hits him with his arm right here now watch tucker really never hits his knees on the ground that's what the official behind was waiting on that's excellent balance and a good strong left hand in elsewhere downfield number 26 ticking team penalty decline first down all right that's uh that call against craig swope and as you heard it was declined so a first down as the buffalo bills start out at the indianapolis colt 37 yard line with a half minute left in the third quarter kelly throwing on first down he has reed andre reed with the stutter step move eugene daniel on the stop picked up nine andre reed making it back from the knee problem his fourth catch of the day the indianapolis colts are defensive secondary they're just sitting back they're giving well that'll be the end of the quarter but they're giving the 8 to 10 yard pass play and on that play the bills took it on chris chandler who took that hard hit to the head it's uncertain as to whether he will return we'll be back after these words from your local station [Music] and we're getting set to get underway here in the fourth quarter this game the property of the national football league buffalo bills indianapolis colts all rights reserved second down and one and jamie mueller has the first down jb mueller in his second season out of benedictine and anderson kansas the ravens of benedict teams i talked to him this week and jamie mueller said he's never had the perfect game and he doesn't know anyone that's ever had the perfect game you buy that yep i agree with it i don't think there's such a thing as support he said to him the perfect game is of us blocking the guy by the sidelines and i could clear out the silence and i'm blocking the guy in the middle of the field i put him on his back and every time i ran the ball i went for a touchdown first down out the 21-yard line as kelly unleashes a beautiful pass again andre reed on the reception 15-yard hookup and another buffalo first down houston maintaining that 16-7 lead on cleveland the jets continue to provide problems and philadelphia leading dallas 17-7 in the third new orleans with that 7-6 lead pittsburgh over miami tampa bay leads detroit it is a first and goal at the seventh thomas and mueller are the running backs there's thomas stopped up the line thompson on the tackle the colts must win here today and the browns must lose to houston for indianapolis to make it as a wild card if cleveland comes from behind and wins they make it by virtue of head-to-head play they beat the colts earlier in the year now both the colts and the browns lose guess what the new england patriots are the wild back in again wild card ball club they have a better conference record here's kelly for the end zone touchdown again it is andre reed a six yard touchdown pass play so reed has caught his second of the day he had a two touchdown game against the colts earlier in the year and they picked on a young man it's for the it's his first game miller chucky miller number 28 and watch us read real quick move to the outside back to the inside no help inside at all one-on-one coverage out there 97 o'brien austin who was is a linebacker never got back deep enough and that's touchdown beautiful play [Applause] and andre reed is having a terrific day his sixth catch 85 yards here's scott norwood who has hit his last now 75 straight extra points so it's the bills with a 14-3 lead we'll be right back to 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the season is on the line for the indianapolis colts kelly to read for a second touchdown pass combination and now the buffalo bills have a 14-3 lead on the indianapolis colts the kickoff from scott norwood short kick here's roy banks letting it go and it is now houston over cleveland 23-7 and some words between the colts and the bills that situation right there always keep your helmet on all right butch roll number 87 who is the backup tight end comes downfield and that's ball number 31 and it's a great dance step to throw you and a flip that's beautiful bentley's saying why don't you throw our guy all right here we go kelly to read and he just reads it perfectly andre reed coming in super pass look at right in the stomach can't throw it any better than that folks unnecessary roughness number 79 receiving team after the ball was kicked off out of bounds an unnecessary hit all in play in the wait wait wait they got him for unnecessary roughness you did you see what bush roll did well harvey armstrong agrees with your point here's a look at it well that's sherman kochraf right there and he hits him out of bounds afterwards but they missed something way up field what's your role first and 10 from the 20 warren moon on a 7-yard touchdown pass to hayward jeffries and the oilers now 23-7 over the browns in the third quarter [Applause] tight end pat peach stopped by ray bentley it's all well and good with houston rolling up the score on the browns but it will not mean anything for the indianapolis colts if they are not able to come from behind cornelius he just has a great time this guy loves to play courteous but it was just holy get out of my way that was ben number 64 and flew out of the way he's throwing people all over the place they spin here a lot easier than they do on grass second down and three at the 27. dickerson he made the reed try to go outside and went for four and a first down leon seals pushed him out gary hogable has come on for the injured chris chandler took a hard shot from bruce smith and that last series back at the goal line first down at the 32 now hoga boom will use his tight end a lot more than chandler will chandler likes to throw the backs that let's throw the wide receivers but hogaboom knows that those tight ends are your outlet people and they'll get you that five and six yards that was only the second catch for the tight end beach how about this incomplete beach could not hang on covered by the strong safety leonard smith see hoga boom is going to go to the people that he knows that they're going to be covering 101. now that time they had leonard smith the strong safety ended up on beach so he has him one-on-one coverage now beach is coming all the way across the field this is excellent covered by coverage by leonard smith because of the distance that he has to travel look at how fast he closes on beach beautiful they must have had the houston score up again but it won't make any difference because this team happens to be down by 11 points which is two touchdowns second and ten off the draw nothing dickerson stopped behind the line and the crowd now showing it's a dissatisfaction with the home club lee on seals on the stop there it is off the touchdown pass from warren mode a 23-7 lead and if all this holds up if the browns lose and the colts lose it is hello new england and the wild card will be the patriots and the oilers winner who be the quarterback tony eason grogan yeah yesterday [Music] [Applause] down 11-yard play i'll tell you what they gave him one of the greatest marks billy brooks you're ever going to get in your entire life now the ball is at the 42-yard line now watch where brooks gets hit now here he is at the 36 37 38 40 41 and that's it now ball is marked right on the line at the 42. that's a whole one-yard extra thing in it good effort though by it was a great effort and he picked it up so bill brooks reaching out to the spot and did pick it up thank you i just can't believe that spot i mean it was a great effort by brooks he did he picked up actually picked up five extra yards and he's not that big but you don't give him six and a first down at the 42 10 minutes to go fourth quarter the bill's 14 and the colts three now brooks comes in motion again has brooks nice spin to midfield nine on the play it will be a second down and one and for the first time the indianapolis offense is cooking aside from eric dickerson yeah look at pogovo's saying come on he said the clock's running you don't need time to be shaking hands but ron myers saying won't just take your time there is no time you got nine minutes and 27 and counting hoga boom knows give me the play let me get on with it or let me call my own player [Applause] ray bentley on the stop and we're down to nine minutes left in this fourth quarter and here was bentley again they'll move dickerson boyer will take him to the outside call blocks downfield and here comes bentley he's there but see what dickerson does he turns on you to only give you a piece you don't get all of him he picks up four yards in the first down but bentley was that definitely had him in the backfield 135 yards now for dickerson pogba boom standing in a flag has thrown incomplete pass antenna for mark boyer covered by the corner nate odoms there's going to be pass interface because one of the back judges are sidelined judges or the judge on the side whatever that judge is he threw a flag it's a judge judge over here [Applause] all right here's jerry's number 78 defense penalty decline pass interference number 36 defense heavily accepted they don't have a 36 on the bills team here it is to the outside right of your screen dados was there just a little bit too soon on boyer boyer already knew it and they're looking nate adams thinks well this guy on the side didn't call it who happens to be the side judge because i got him right but it came from downfield the early penalty on smith declined and then odom's on the interference accepted first down at the 39 eight and a half remaining in this fourth quarter that's buza in motion followed by odoms and it's blocked solidly by leon seals an emphatic rejection by seals second year man from jackson state they called him dr sack it is collegiate days a fourth round draft pick a year ago and he just times this perfectly look at leon seals gets up right in the face of the offensive lineman now the offensive lineman blocking him that time is kevin call who stayed back now seals was off the line of scrimmage once leon saw pogba blocked his arm to throw he just timed it perfectly went up knocked the ball away brooks to the right who's a left second down and ten again the tight end beach but short of the first down an advance of six and it's smith on the stop the bill sent everybody that time they had the blitz coming hoga boom read it look for his tight end coming across again excellent coverage by by smith here but look at beech he's clearing out smith is closing on him the pass is caught but he keeps beach from getting the first down in is third and three this is also fourth down territory pal both of them is four for six clock running just under eight remaining fourth quarter dickerson running for the marker look out oh bar i'm sorry but mark kelso came up to put a a hit on dickerson and dickerson has got the greatest forearm shiver i guess is the old expression that you've ever seen watch dickerson's right arm hit number 38 markel so bam right here get away from me however he's short of the first down it's a fourth and three colts went for it earlier in the game and did not make it you may recall in a fourth down situation well i wouldn't go wide here i'd go straight up if i'm going to go i'm going to go up the middle with dickerson big play hocheboom has the first down about six on the play and the colt drive continues so brooks with the catch bentley on the hit and with hoga boom coming on for chandler the colts moving well you have no idea what a great catch watch how hoga boom just fires this ball and brooks with his hands bentley is there number 50 but brooks just reaches up and grabs it and that was a fourth down play it'll be a first down at the 26. got the time and complete look out dickerson taken down after the play by bentley it will be second and ten at the 26. the bill's 14 the colts 3 704 remaining in this fourth quarter the colts need a victory plus a cleveland defeat to make the playoffs ray donaldson to the sideline and this the first time in three years that he has missed and offensive play as brian baldinger has come on replacing him at center dickerson again the stiff-arm move running well for 13 and another indianapolis first down he was pushed out by nate odom now marv this was not a safety that eric dickerson hit this was daryl talley the right side linebacker number 56 of the buffalo bills and he has a shot at him to stop this play here comes the right arm bam in your face a lot of power now he might have been out of bounds now you got to take a look at this thing again right there is as close as you're going to get he is out of bounds out of line and are they going to take a look at it pogba boom now waiting on a play they're going to call a timeout and they may look upstairs because he did step out of bounds about two yards or three yards short in the first down that is indianapolis first timeout [Applause] all right they will check it out it is now houston 23 cleveland 14. john struck to ernest beiner on a three-yard touchdown pass play we'll be back here at the hoosier dome in a moment you wouldn't believe the stuff my dad had to do to get his hands on his dream machine all right folks we're going to give you two angles of it look at his left foot dickerson right here is the plant at the 20. now that looks out of bounds but remember the camera is off to the left now take a look at this one here's the other angle dickerson right at the 20 his left foot get your that guy with his big head in the way but it still looks like it's out of bounds and they are reviewing it and nothing happened they're gonna they're gonna keep it wait a minute yeah they're to keep it right there because it is inconclusive that is the key word and you've touched upon it again paul is it inconclusive yes or we don't have the guts to bring it back inconclusive very nice paul first down at the 15th 14th play of the drive just under seven minutes remaining fourth quarter and hogan has bentley out of the five albert bentley for 10 moore gary hogan why didn't you start the game for the colts here he comes and he just fires this ball bruce smith can't get in there he hits bentley who is wide open cornelius bennett and the other linebacker ray bentley are way down field so their their job was the coverage on albert bentley didn't work bills 14 cults three hoga boom with impressive stats moving to club first and goal at the 5. [Applause] out of the ground here's kickerson [Applause] jeff wright the nose tackle made the stop houston now leading 23-14 over cleveland giants coming back 20 to 14 for the jets in the fourth quarter however philadelphia leading dallas in the fourth that's a big game for new orleans in their quest for a wild card atlanta now up 9-7 pittsburgh score 37-17 second and goal at the three [Applause] on the coverage excellent coverage that ball was laid out nate autumn stayed right on him and the thing you have to do when that ball is thrown up in the air like that the quarterman must look at the eyes of the receiver booze is there odors is looking at him he's looking at him when he sees him make his turn then you go back and look at the ball perfect perfect coverage give it to eric the only problem is the clock is running with 5 35 it stops after that play but if they stop eric two times from here i'd give it to him third and goal from the three hoga boom to the air wide open touchdown mike hoosier has put the colts back into it with 5 32 remaining fourth quarter that's a call out of me i just brought it back to boost with the easily right after dickenson but it almost looked like a pick because when he when you take a look at the play coming inside i think that's brooks and when boozer goes outside odems lost him just lost him totally pogba boom saw him wide open hit him for the touchdown they're still 5 32 to go in the fourth quarter jose's fourth touchdown of the season hogaboom throwing for his sixth and here is bia and sushi takes it on so the colts come back they now trail the bills 14 to 10 you see the time left 5 32 remaining in the fourth quarter harry hogan from matt and we'll be back in a moment i don't know good evening engineered by gary hogeboom who came on for the injured chris chandler it is now buffalo by 4 14 10 5 32 remaining fourth quarter [Applause] kicking it off with errol tucker the deep man indianapolis wants the ball back desperately stay in there and he does stay right there is there anything bad about a drive that ends up in seven points the only thing the only problem is it took him seven minutes and 28 seconds in order to get that seven points there's still 5 26 on the clock but when you take almost half of the quarter and you're down by 11 at that point they still they know they still have to score a touchdown now what are we looking at and the chat of defense from 60 000 plus here at the hoosier dom another sellout their seventh and eight home games the buffalo bill setting an nfl attendance record with the big crowd last week the ball went into the end zone the receiving team member touched it down so we have a touch back consequently there can be no holding out in the field of play first and ten on the 20-yard line it was holding on the play by the buffalo bill's kick return team but once you down the ball in the end zone it is a dead ball you can't have holden jim kelly and the bells first down from the 20. kelly's had a good second half seven for nine 59 yards [Music] even though the buffalo bills have a four-point lead here there's we got an injured player down on the field and that's o'brien alston number 97 the linebacker but even though the bills have a four-point lead here don't forget that you have andre reed sitting out there and he's playing against a rookie got ahead and played before chuckie miller and he's had a tough time all day with andre reid it's just been playing catch don't be afraid to do that miller in his first nfl start on injured reserve most of this season that indianapolis secondary has been hit by a injury will he tell us now strong safety the start of fred robinson is out with a knee problem craig swope has a bruised knee mike pryor starting now at free safety he was the strong safety last week well coming up next you will see either the seahawks and the raiders in their battle to make it to the playoffs for the kansas city chiefs and the san diego chargers right here is the second part of our double header we're going to look at this play here now brad austin's number 97. and it looks like his own man hit him and that'll smart [Applause] or brian alston has had an outstanding rookie season he batted down three passes in the final preseason game and won the starting job on the left outside linebacker spot leading to the departure of johnny cook's 10th round draft pick who emerged as a starter still houston over cleveland 23 14 in the third jets by six over the giants philadelphia leading dallas 20-7 and new orleans traveling atlanta in the other game of importance among the early starts 512 remaining here in the fourth quarter marv albert with paul mcguire our producer george twinkle record decline and the colts looking to rev the crowd up freight spoke playing cheerleader second down they say an eight from the 22. and kelly let's see what will that be ruled a catch and a fumble or incomplete let's see it's gotta you know well we're gonna replay this thing you gotta have control and that's jermaine johnson went across and they were working on on miller here it is does he have control of the ball the ball is coming out on the way down if he has control they've got to take a look at it because that ball is coming out as he's going down well if it stands up it's a 13-yard pickup bar believe he wants the clock to be started here it is on the left hand side of the screen right at the bottom at the very bottom of the screen and is that ball that ball is coming out on the way down they've got to take another look at it if kelly get the play off but they're not it is ruled completed pass first down at the 35 that's a critical play here's mueller three-yard advance for jamie mueller the clock is running we're down to 415 remaining in the fourth quarter don't get mad at me in the truck guys but they couldn't have used that replay anyway because you couldn't you could hardly see part of the body and the other thing is what they have ups upstairs they have their own replay machines so they they know what they're looking at but it from that angle from just seeing the ball coming out as he was going down it was either chip and roll either no catch or no control or a fumble on the play word on o'brien alston a bruised lower back suffered and a question mark as to whether he will return the colts have two timeouts left the bills with three second down and seven mueller going wide could not make the turn only one yard advance cliff odom wrote him out i can promise you that that play was not designed to go wide and out of bounds not when you have the clock rolling in 333 and now kelly's talking to him once you get to the sidelines he's telling the young man jamie you've got to cut it up inside take the loss it'll be third down but let's go ahead and take the loss but we've got to keep that clock running or force indianapolis to take a timeout per down six the bills from their 39 they lead the colts 14-10 rod riddick has checked into the backfield kelly gets it away incomplete and the colts will get it back good coverage by the combination of eugene daniel and keith taylor two things happen on this place a tremendous pass rush and how kelly got out of the first wave i'll never know he ducks watch the rush coming up the middle kelly fakes he gets underneath everyone and then back up the field he goes with the ball and almost got the completion out it is a tremendous play by jim kelly and also by the defensive secondary john kidd in his fifth season from northwestern hunting for the sixth time today clarence verdan is back at his 21. 3 28 left here's her dan and he runs it out so the clock is stopped 44-yard punt and eight-yard return and the clock shows 319 remaining in the fourth quarter the seahawks and the raiders will go at each other with the winner coming away with the afc west the loser goes home that is next for most of you here as nbc presents a doubleheader offering for the buffalo bills the question is home field advantage right throughout the playoffs a victory and it is theirs if they lose it will be cincinnati having that advantage for the colts the question is is the season over following today or will they play the wild card game next week they also need a loss by the browns and they are still trailing the houston oilers first down at the 25. and hogan runs out he picked up seven second down and three as we approach three minutes remaining fourth quarter they got wasting no time setting his club at the line and off the draw it is dickerson as the first down eric dickerson 411 stopped by the three safety mark kelso two minutes and 40 seconds remaining fourth quarter the colts do have two timeouts left what a great weapon he is it's like a pass play marv it's a short pass play to him when the guy picks up 12 to 15 yards when he runs it hogan over the middle oh markus 19. i was just looking i thought maybe leonard smith was going to get a penalty for for nailing the way he did but you're allowed to hit the man when he's down because he can get back up look at booze you're going to see leonard smith come in here that's that is legal that is legal he didn't get it with his head second catch for booze and the whistle blows for the two-minute warning so the clock is stopped the colts when we resume first down at the buffalo 39 run meyer in the fourth quarter the bills with a 14-10 lead over the indianapolis colts dean the isuchi hit from 52 yards out early in the game and he missed from 48. now had he hit that things would be different right now that is not to say it would be necessarily a 14-13 game but you set it into break bar when you said this game would have been played a lot differently by the buffalo bills also that had he made that field goal i mean they know sitting back there already in the playoffs they would like to have the home field advantage forever i guess that's forever this year or in 89 which is going to be 89. but the other thing is that the colts need to score a touchdown so they're going to play a little softer that stuff's going to be open in the middle now they're talking about did he call timeout or not what i'm saying is that pogoboom shouldn't have called timeout because he's going to get the two minutes now he still has two timeouts on the other side of the two minutes nine for 13. 82 yards one touchdown that to matt boozer all in the fourth quarter he came on for chris chandler who took a hard hit from bruce smith and was knocked out of the game for the fourth time this season when we pick it up indianapolis will have first down at the buffalo 39 please reset the stadium clock to 202. that means he used that timeout and if he did use that timeout they should know [Music] until 02. and i want to we'll get into it left time to get it when we get to the two-minute deal so this means that the two-minute warning is coming up and the colts did waste a timeout here's dickerson for another first down and he gets out of bounds after picking up 13 with a minute and 57 remaining fourth quarter well another 157 the question was now we got the two minute warning they still have they still have two timeouts on the board which i know they don't have there should be just one we'll have to clarify that we're at the two minute warning now i wouldn't have taken that time out of that position i said that before because now you only have one timeout on the other side of the two minutes you had time to one run one play which took five seconds if you wait and you get to the two minutes you can still run that play call timeout with 155 and still have two timeouts remaining i think it was a bad time to call it eric dickerson now with 163 yards [Applause] twice this season he's gone for 169 and they are saying it is still two timeouts left for the colts all right they're saying it was an official's timeout so now when hoga boom got up under the ball as soon as the whistle was blown the ball was snapped so they the clock never got a chance to run down and i'd like to know what the officials call timeout for oh houston and cleveland 23-21 the browns making a move houston by two as ernest finer ran it in from two yards out they are now early in the fourth quarter houston 23 cleveland 21 so the browns have come back they were down by the score of 23 to seven in the third quarter to clarify that point the official said they made a mistake by blowing the whistle so that was an official timeout and the colts do have two timeouts left a minute 57 remaining off the draw big hole and then it's closed dickerson stopped by leonard smith and now indianapolis calls for time and now they are down to one remaining [Music] here i go again i wouldn't call a timeout here either because you still have a minute and 50 seconds to go you can still run another play with dickerson and then call a timeout you'll be down around 130. but these plays should be called two and three of them at a time in the huddle where you don't have to be fooling around especially on a running play because you can get back to the line of scrimmage in a hurry mark if it's a pass play way down field and it was completed well it had been a touchdown here but i mean if you know on a situation like that if it's a past place completed everybody has to get to the ball that takes a lot of time it'll be a second and seven at the 22 this 13 minutes remaining in the houston cleveland game with the oilers up 23-21 the colts must win here and that has to be coupled with a defeat by the cleveland browns for indianapolis to get in as a wild card if cleveland wins they make it by virtue of head-to-head play the pills lead it 14 to 10. [Applause] hulk of him off the roll throws it away had no one and we're set for an update let's go to nfl live at our new york studio okay mark here's the cleveland touchdown ernest byner from two yards out following the extra point they trail by 23-21 a field goal could win it for them there's plenty of time left in this game 13 minutes houston just returned the subsequent kickoff to their 40s so they have good field position back to marvin paul thank you bob a third down and seven at the 22 minute 45. remaining fourth quarter brooks to the right and bellini now flank left that is boozer in motion [Applause] what a great call that is a great call bentley has not taken a handoff today has he kenny i don't think bentley is taking a handoff today that was his first there's a flag on the play bentley did not take a handoff and all of a sudden everybody's looking at dickerson you're looking at four wide receivers and you hand the ball of bentley and a little quick trap up the middle but they got the bills they got the bills in the defense where they have six defensive backs only one linebacker in the backfield delay of game one of these minutes one of the buffalo bills kicked at the ball and it's called a delay of gain a critical call against buffalo well what happens the bill's got they have six defensive backs one linebacker that plays deep they have three down linemen and they move cornelius bennett who is a linebacker up on the line of scrimmage as a down lineman they're just running in the middle because there's nobody there mine is touchdown albert bentley had carried the ball only 10 times the last seven games he has been a forgotten man since the addition of eric dickerson he reeled off 10 on the ground he just caught a touchdown pass and indianapolis very much alive as they now lead the bills 16-14 with a minute 18 left in this fourth quarter and here is dean villasuchi [Applause] three-point lead and a count from behind effort by the colts now would you say about albert bentley the forgotten man obviously the bills forgot about him on on a running play where he got the first down and here when you take a look at bentley comes out of the backfield there's no one on him right here and right at the end leonard smith gets to it but he got cut off because they had a crossing pattern now watch boozer boozer goes across the middle this freezes leonard smith for just a second bentley slips out two plays in a row a running play for about 12 to 15 yards and a pass play for a touchdown can't do it any better than that folks and what an effort by gary holgerberg who came on for chris chandler hogaboom the nine-year veteran from central michigan has made it back from shoulder surgery he had three major injuries last year played most of the game last week against the jets i did not have this kind of success but he has come off the bench and he has lit it up now here's the problem for the colts cleveland's on a comeback could be all for naught but you got the best field goal kicker in the national football league is on the buffalo bills team scott norwood there he is and they only need three to tie it to send it into overtime they've got a minute and 18 seconds of bills with three timeouts here we go of course indianapolis colts fans will argue that point with dean biazuchi and here is the return by ronnie harmon short of the 25 an 18-yard return seven and a half left in cleveland and the houston orders leave the cleveland browns now 23-21 eugene daniel on the tackle and we're down to a minute ten and three timeouts left [Applause] all right barb two things happen here with the buffalo we had offside against the colts on the kickoff so what do you want to do you want you want to run more time off the clock you take the ball right where it is don't you because when they kick off again you're going to run more time you got it down to 110. they're going to make it [Applause] take a look you see the blitz kevin the buffalo bill set also set a corner wayne davis who plays safety in in that dime package which leads one-on-one coverage with leonard smith and albert bentley see i don't like this via sushi can kick the ball and get it down by the five-yard line and they get good coverage again you're gonna you lost about seven seconds on the clock and you're gonna lose another seven or eight seconds on the clock which is valuable time two things have to happen here the bills have to be patient because they have that fuel wheel kicker they've got the stronger armor killing they've been able to throw the football the other thing the indianapolis colts don't do anything stupid one of those stupid penalties that that guy's overreacting to things making a mistake like that just play your defense the way you know how to play it the way you played it for the first four quarters of this ball game or almost four quarters indianapolis coming back from a 14-3 deficit in buffalo the bills the club that came from behind but colts had left 17-nothing in the second quarter in that earlier meeting will kick it again and there's errol tucker first year man from utah back at his eight-yard line buffalo does have three timeouts left oh excellent kick and they will bring it out to the 20. and they lost not only did they lose time on the clock the first time the clock didn't start here but they lost about eight yards that they would have had houston with that two-point lead over cleveland fourth quarter under seven minutes remaining and the giants have come from behind if they win they take the division new orleans has come from behind they lead atlanta 10-9 as they are gunning for a wild card pittsburgh big over miami tampa bay league detroit and it has come down to this depending of course on houston and cleveland as kelly unleashes oh nice catch made by ronnie harmon chucky miller on the stop it is just shy of the first down remember the cincinnati game we did with the buffalo bills when they got trouble in the game they were way down they just started coming down the field with harmon and riddick carmen and riddick once the wall take a look for andre reed just throw those little short passes get him at that plate took six seconds and they picked up what nine yards on the play second down one kelly looking sideline and that's exactly what they're doing as he has andre reed a 14-yard advance and for reed his 71st catch of the season and that is a buffalo bill franchise record breaking the record held by frank lewis coming up next you'll see either the seahawks and raiders battling for the afc west or the chiefs and the chargers 59 seconds remaining fourth quarter kelly could not find anyone or want to do that and quickly calls for the timeout jeff herrod brought him down [Applause] so the timeout with 50 seconds and the fourth quarter give credit to the defensive secondary and also the pass rush by the colts on that play kelly had no place to go with the ball no one to throw it to now you go back and take a look at harmon and riddick and see what the what the colts are doing or if they don't want to get they don't mind going into overtime they wouldn't like to but if kelly throws that bomb and then they're down by four points that means you have to score a touchdown to get back and give up the three it just could send this thing into overtime so they're gonna give him the short stuff but all of a sudden you get to a point in this field where you have to tighten it up because of scott norwood and when we pick it up it'll be a second out of seven at the 46 buffalo bills now trailing the indianapolis colts 17-14 for buffalo it's a matter of home field advantage throughout the playoffs or a loss today would mean cincinnati would gain that advantage kelly again could not find anyone and has to slide down so he's got a you're running too much time because you have receivers down the field he's going to just dump the ball he's gonna dump it and he stops the clock with 33 seconds remaining see there's a situation we were talking about earlier when you got with the colts taking the timeout before the two-minute warning you're into a situation marv where you got all your receivers downfield because it was a pass play now he's running with the ball runs time off the clock now you're gonna wait for all of these guys to get back which takes about seven or eight more seconds go ahead take the timeout you have one more you have one more now they're they've taken their second time out they've got one left they still have two timeouts i'm saying they could have taken that one there and had one left kelly goes the middle down to 29 seconds darby and thompson i mean they're they're just blowing up the field they have no responsibility whatsoever right now the defensive lineman and this is the part of the ball game where they really love it they don't have to worry about draws they don't have to worry about screens they don't have to worry about any running plays all they want to do is get to number 12. and looking at that secondary you talk about excellent coverage kelly had no place to go with the ball it's a third and 10. buffalo at the indianapolis 46. now kelly goes sideline and broken up pass intended for chris burkett and it was eugene daniel number 38 five-year man from lsu who made the play eugene daniels went for the ball now you know you got to make sure that you can get to that ball you don't want to make a mistake you bypass that ball burkett gets it he's got touchdown daniel was there i don't think there was any chance at all for that ball to get there now you're looking at what fourth down 10 yards to go 25 seconds and you got one timeout so the timeout is taken i'm told about four minutes remaining in the houston cleveland game with the oilers leading the browns by the score of 23 to 21. no they say eight minutes all right eight minutes remaining of the game as we check out the report card and hoga boom came on and connected on 10 of 15 to lead the indianapolis colts back 166 yards for dickerson and bentley with a 10-yard run and a touchdown catch in that series that put the colts on top that amazing dickerson coming to this game carrying the ball like 25 times a game he's carried it 36 times and he didn't look tired eric dickerson who appears to be on his way to another nfl rushing title kelly 17 for 29 two touchdowns to andre reed reed with 71 catches now for the season this place can explode in about a half a minute fourth down play flag has been tossed and kelly completes territic for the first down but let's check out the penalty it's gonna be fourth and fifteen i think start prior to the snap 71. dale hello over for the engine tim volcker at right guard [Applause] fall down the penalty [Applause] it is a fourth and 15 with 22 seconds remaining the bills have one timeout left eric dickerson is sitting on the bench relaxing [Applause] everybody's up on the sidelines and this is a playoff performance this is do or die here's eric he's just getting himself ready casey has to go for overtime hi how are you and paul they just reset the clock ron meyer in a discussion about it it's back to 25 seconds fourth and 15. [Applause] his first of the season i told you it was going to erupt here it comes take a look to the right of the screen kelly never sees him and just flies out of her rod came up he's a blitzing linebacker they had everything covered in the secondary kelly had no place to go ask why he didn't unload the ball remember it was fourth and 15 not fourth and five fourth and fifteen he had to go downfield and when you have to go downfield you have to wait the rod was there and that the first sack of the day for the colts so with 22 seconds remaining indianapolis takes over and they will just run it down we looked at eric dickerson on the sideline before that play did he didn't look tired only carried 36 times for 166 yards that means cincinnati bengals have the home field advantage in the championship if they get there [Applause] and a timeout has been taken by buffalo their final timeout stops the clock with 16 seconds remaining and it also means that the cleveland browns must lose as far as the indianapolis colts are concerned if the browns lose the colts go to the playoffs right here time for the most valuable player award sponsored by budweiser and today's mvp quarterback gary hogable who came on for the injured chris chandler and rallied his club back so gary hogaboom of the colts our mvp budweiser will make a contribution to the united way on behalf of all the mvps selected in today's games and that is the guy that i think i i swear i just think they're all happy and everybody's hugging and kissing on the sideline but you got to wait on the cleveland game i always thought that gary hogan should have been the starting quarterback of this football team the entire year for gary hogaboom leading his club back into it and now the colts head back to the locker room and they will be rooting for the houston oilers to hang on as they have defeated the bill 17-14 to make it a record of nine and seven the bills finish at 12 and four and the cincinnati bengals now have home field advantage off their victory yesterday plus the bill's defeat today they'll have it throughout the playoffs so still houston 23 cleveland 21 in the fourth quarter at cleveland indianapolis knocking off buffalo [Applause] 17-14 they get a split on the season series and the capacity crowd here at the hoosier dome just thoroughly enjoyed what they saw in the fourth quarter as hogaboom hit with two touchdown passes coming up another major confrontation the seahawks and the raiders battling to go to the playoffs as they buy for the afc west championship marv albert with paul mcguire saying so long from the hoosier dome in indianapolis

Channel: Sports !

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Id: 7KObRbGvJX4

Length: 153min 0sec (9180 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 21 2021