Nothing to show for wild plays

Closer Look: Dolphins, Bills see big plays come up empty

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Posted: Saturday January 02, 1999 05:35 PM

Dropping the ball: Moulds' (80) fumble on the first play of the game wiped out a 65-yard reception AP

MIAMI (CNN/SI) -- The first half of the Dolphins' wild win over the Bills on Saturday was framed by two long plays that combined for 121 yards -- and zero points.

On the game's first play from scrimmage, Bills quarterback Doug Flutie hit receiver Eric Moulds in stride for a 65-yard gain, but as Miami's Terrell Buckley tackled Moulds, he also popped the ball loose. Dolphins defensive back Brock Marion recovered the ball on the Miami 12-yard line and returned it 17 yards to the 29-yard line. Some 16 plays later, the Dolphins would settle for a 3-0 lead.

The half ended with another field-goal attempt -- this one a 26-yard miss from Miami's Olindo Mare that bounced off the right upright, spoiling another long pass.

Miami had just gotten the ball back with 15 seconds left after Marion picked off a Flutie pass on Miami's 1-yard line. Buffalo had driven 71 yards on 12 plays and was facing a 3rd-and-four from the Miami 5 when Marion stepped in front of a pass intended for receiver Andre Reed and returned it 19 yards. A 15-yard facemask penalty against Moulds gave the Dolphins the ball on their own 35, trailing by a point.

Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino took the snap out of the shotgun formation and fired a Hail Mary-type pass downfield, where receiver Oronde Gadsden pulled it in between two Buffalo defenders for a 52-yard gain. Thinking it would be the last play of the half, Gadsden flipped the ball into the air as he went down, and Miami receiver O.J. McDuffie took the lateral another 4 yards to the Buffalo 9-yard line.

Mare then lined up for a 26-yard kick, which turned out to be only his sixth miss of the season. In the first 12 weeks of the season, Mare was perfect from inside 50 yards, but he missed a 28-yarder against the Jets on Dec. 21. His only other miss inside 30 yards came in his second NFL game, when he missed a 25-yarder against the Oilers last season.

Reed's frustrations grew only worse, however. He lost a fumble in the second half as he fought for yardage -- he argued with officials that his forward progress had been stopped, but Miami converted the fumble into a what would be the game-winning touchdown.

With the Bills down 10 points at the Miami 10-yard line with less than two minutes to play, Flutie fired a pass to Reed, and the receiver went down right at the goal line, where officials called him down at the 1-yard line. Reed appeared to bump into an official as he stood up, and the veteran was assessed a 14-yard penalty and ejected. This backed the Bills up to the 15, and Buffalo had to settle for a field goal to pull within seven points. When the Bills drove for what could have been the tying score, they did so with untested rookie Kamil Loud on the field, because Reed was stuck on the sidelines.

 

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