Bills Pull Another From Fire

The Buffalo Bills made another comeback for the record books.

They overcame a 26-0 deficit, then stopped a 2-point conversion and a pair of desperation passes in the final seconds Sunday to beat the Indianapolis Colts 37-35 in the third-biggest comeback in NFL history.

Buffalo’s victory was reminiscent of its win over the Houston Oilers in the 1992 AFC playoffs. The Bills trailed 35-3 before winning 41-38 in overtime on their way to their third Super Bowl appearance.

That was the greatest comeback in NFL history, and Sunday’s game now ranks No. 3 behind a rally from a 28-point deficit by San Francisco over New Orleans in 1980. Last week, Buffalo’s rally fell short in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

“This was a tremendous win for our team and for our egos,” said rookie Antowain Smith, who led the rally. “Coming back from 26 points down was a little scary. We can’t spot teams 26 points and expect to come back like we did.”

“I knew we were capable of coming back,” Bills quarterback Todd Collins said. “I’d like to get on these guys early, so it doesn’t come down to the wire every time.”

Smith rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns, including a 54-yarder that made it 37-29 and appeared to seal the victory with 1:14 left.

But Indianapolis (0-4) moved 80 yards and made it 37-35 when backup quarterback Paul Justin, playing for a groggy Jim Harbaugh, hit Marvin Harrison with a 2-yard touchdown pass with 14 seconds left.

Harbaugh, known as Captain Comeback for his late-game heroics when he led Indianapolis to the playoffs in 1995, left the game during that drive when he was hit late, giving the Colts 15 extra yards on the penalty after a pass completion.

Packers 38, Vikings 32

Green Bay’s win was its 21st straight at Lambeau Field and was notable for two things - Brett Favre’s five touchdown passes and the Vikings’ rally after trailing 31-7 at halftime.

Favre threw two scoring passes to Antonio Freeman and one each to Robert Brooks, Terry Mickens and Mark Chmura to break Bart Starr’s Green Bay career record of 153 in a span of 16 seasons. Favre now has 156 in just five-plus seasons.

Bucs 31, Dolphins 21

Much-maligned quarterback Trent Dilfer threw for 248 yards and a career-high four touchdowns as host Tampa Bay remained the NFC’s only unbeaten team.

Dilfer threw a pair of short TD passes to Mike Alstott, a 38-yarder to Reidel Anthony and a screen to Warrick Dunn that the rookie running back turned into a 58-yard scoring play.

The victory improved Tampa Bay’s record to 4-0 for the first time in 18 years.

Saints 35, Lions 17

At the Superdome, Mario Bates ran for 162 yards and two touchdowns and passed for another on a halfback option as the Saints won their first game under Mike Ditka.

The Saints (1-3) had lost 12 straight September games, but last week’s tirade by Ditka seemed to work. Heath Shuler, who had thrown eight interceptions without a touchdown, was 15 of 21 for 202 yards and a touchdown.

Broncos 38, Bengals 20

Terrell Davis’ club-record 215 yards included a 50-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter that gave the Broncos (4-0) a 28-20 lead.

The Bengals (1-2) stayed close for most of the game, tying the score on Ki-Jana Carter’s 79-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage after intermission. Carter finished with 104 yards, the first 100-yard rushing game for a Bengals’ back in 168 games.

Jets 23, Raiders 22

Corwin Brown blocked a field goal and Ray Mickens took it 72 yards for the winning score to stop New York’s home losing streak one short of the NFL record.

The Raiders (1-3) appeared headed for another victory as Jeff George threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns.

Ravens 36, Oilers 10

The Ravens, who didn’t win a road game in their first season in Baltimore, won their second straight away from home before just 17,737 in the Liberty Bowl.

Vinny Testaverde threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns for Baltimore (3-1). Matt Stover added four field goals, and the defense shut down the Oilers (1-3).

Chiefs 35, Panthers 14

Elvis Grbac threw for 214 yards and three touchdowns for the Chiefs, who scored the most points against the Panthers in their three-year history.

Kansas City (3-1) had four interceptions against Kerry Collins.

49ers 34, Falcons 7

Steve Young had two touchdown passes and Terry Kirby ran for two scores for the 49ers (3-1), who have outscored the Falcons (0-4) 257-95 in the last six games they’ve played in San Francisco.

The point output was the 49ers’ biggest since losing Jerry Rice to a knee injury.

Rams 13, Giants 3

Two field goals by Jeff Wilkins and a late 4-yard touchdown run by Craig Heyward were just enough for the Rams (2-2).

The field goals would have been enough for the St. Louis defense, which sacked Giants quarterback Dave Brown four times and harassed him all afternoon.

Patriots 31, Bears 3

In Foxboro, Drew Bledsoe threw two touchdown passes for the Patriots (4-0), and Curtis Martin had a 70-yard TD run.

Bledsoe, the league’s leading quarterback, threw for TDs of 7 yards to Vincent Brisby and 52 yards to Troy Brown, giving him 12 in four games. Rick Mirer started his first game for Chicago (0-4).

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SUNDAY’S BEST Quarterbacks Brett Favre 18-31-266-5-2 Jeff George 26-38-374-3-0 Steve Young 17-24-336-2-0 Vinny Testaverde 23-37-318-3-0

Running backs Antowain Smith 12-129-3 Terrell Davis 27-215-1 Mario Bates 29-162-2

Receivers Tim Brown 10-153-1 James Jett 5-148-2 Jake Reed 9-119-2