Rams News

Rams come from behind to beat Buffalo, 34-33
09/20 06:51 PM


ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- This time, Tony Banks made sure he got over the goal line.

Banks, stopped less than a yard short of the end zone on the final play against Minnesota last week, scored on a 2-yard run with 11 seconds left Sunday to give St. Louis a 34-33 victory over Buffalo.

``Anytime you're able to come away with a win instead of a loss, there's justice there,'' said Banks, who finished 13-of-27 for 235 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. ``But we'd like not to have it so close every game.''

Last week, Banks dived for the end zone but came up just short of the tying touchdown as time ran out in the Rams' 38-31 loss to the Vikings.

This week, he scored easily in the closing seconds. But the victory could prove costly for the Rams.

Greg Hill, who rushed for a career-high 158 yards and two touchdowns, broke his right leg in the fourth quarter and will miss 6-8 weeks.

Trailing 33-28, the Rams began the winning drive on their own 20 with 3:57 left. After they moved down the field with a 34-yard completion to Ricky Proehl and a 14-yard shuffle pass to Amp Lee, Banks ran in for the go-ahead touchdown.

The Rams (1-2) then went for the 2-point conversion, but the run failed.

St. Louis trailed 28-10 in the third quarter before a pair of turnovers by Buffalo (0-3) allowed the Rams to make a comeback.

``We stayed confident and poised even though we fell behind and were on the verge of being out of the ballgame,'' Lee said. ``We'll take the win, especially after having some close calls the last two weeks.''

After recovering a fumble, the Rams made it 28-13 on a 25-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins. Rob Johnson was intercepted on the Bills' next possession by Dexter McCleon and Banks took advantage, finding Lee for a 23-yard TD.

Steve Christie's 36-yard field goal increased Buffalo's lead to 31-20, but the Rams came back again.

A pass interference call against Ken Irvin helped set up Hill's 1-yard TD plunge, and the Rams added a 2-point conversion to make it 31-28.

``We should have won this game,'' Irvin said. ``That's three games we should've won and didn't. Basically, we beat ourselves again. ... This will hurt more than the other two.''

On the Rams' next series, Hill was injured when he was tackled in the end zone by Ted Washington for a safety that put the Bills up 33-28.

``Our offensive line did a great job and I think we dominated their defensive unit,'' Banks said.

The Bills took command early in the third quarter with a pair of touchdowns less than one minute apart.

Thurman Thomas' 14-yard scoring run on Buffalo's first possession of the second half gave the Bills a 21-10 lead. After an interception by Kurt Scultz, Johnson connected with tight end Jay Riemersma 27 seconds later on a 16-yard touchdown pass.

Then the Bills defense continued to struggle.

``Our run defense was absolutely horrible,'' said coach Wade Phillips. ``They have a good running back but I guess we're reading our press clippings on how we are going to stop the run.''

Johnson got a mild concussion midway through the fourth quarter and didn't return for the final series. He left the first game of the season against San Diego with the same injury.

The Bills took a 7-0 lead midway though the first quarter on Johnson's 5-yard touchdown pass to fullback Sam Gash. The score was set up by a 32-yard run by Johnson, the longest of his career.

The Rams cut the deficit to 7-3 on a 27-yard field goal by Wilkins early in the second quarter and took their first lead of the season when Hill scored from 12 yards out with 5:05 left in the first half.

Antowain Smith led the Bills with 118 yards on 22 carries.

Notes:@ Attendance for Buffalo's home opener was 65,199, the smallest since Sept. 2, 1984 when 48,528 showed against New England. ... Isaac Bruce, the NFL's leading receiver, did not play for the Rams because of a hamstring injury. ... Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed each topped 500 career points with touchdowns, becoming the only Bills' non-kickers to reach that plateau. ... St. Louis still hasn't scored a point in the first quarter. ... Rams lost defensive starters Kevin Carter (calf strain) and Lorenzo Styles (groin). Both did not return. ... Buffalo's Andre Reed suffered a separated shoulder and is expected to miss 2-4 weeks. ... With the loss, the Bills are 0-3 for the first time since 1985, Bruce Smith and Reed's rookie season.

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