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PAGE 14 PRESS-REPUBLICAN MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20,1995 Jets' Hail Mary ending Esiason's two-point attempt thwarted By BARRY WILNER AP Football Writer AP Photo New York's Adrian Murrell crosses the goal line after catching Boomer Esiason's desperation pass at the end of Sunday's game with the Bills. QB combo sinks Giants ri . EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - j Had it been a Super Bowl, New |'York's 2-point conversion would have worked, then the Jets would have beaten the Buffalo Bills in overtime. This, however, was a regular- season game, and the Bills win lots of those, while the Jets lose most of theirs. So Buffalo held on for a 28-26 victory Sunday that kept the Bills (8-3) atop the AFC East. Thomas. Smith knocked down Boomer Esiason's 2-poiht conver- sion pass to Adrian Murrell with time expired, just moments after New York (2-9) completed a 99- yard drive with no timeouts, capped by a 41-yard desperation pass that was tipped and landed in Murrell's arms for a TD. \I thought they were going to run the ball for 2,\ Smith said. \We were in a goal-line defense. I saw the back come out and he was open for a second. Thank God I've got long arms,\ Smith's play made the im- pressive work of backups Billy Brooks, Steve Tasker and Darick Holmes on offense, plus Matt Darby and Greg Evans in the secondary pay off. \I was the only one in the game who started the season,\ cornerback Smith said. \We had lost three defensive backs who played together all year.\ With Jim Kelly throwing for 316 yards, Brooks making seven receptions for 103 yards and Tasker having the best receiving game of his 11-year career, it should have been easier for Buf- falo. \I'm not smiling too much,\ said Kelly, who threw two touchdown passes to Brooks and hit Tasker four times for 91 yards, including a 43-yarder that was the longest, of his career. \When you win the way we did today, it kind of throws you back a little bit.\ ' - • Not that things ever seem easy for Buffalo, which is getting' ready for a push toward yet another AFC championship after winning the title from 1990-93, but losing in the Super Bowl each year. With star receiver Andre Reed still sidelined by a hamstring injury, the Bills led 21-3 at halftime, 28-10 in the third quarter. Holmes teamed with Thurman Thomas to balance the attack. Holmes converted a screen pass into a 47-yard gain one play after Darby's interception and 37-yard return in the third quarter. Holmes scored untouched on a 6-yard jaunt on the next play. Thomas was held to 43 yards — he averaged 5.0 yards a carry and 86 yards against the Jets entering the game. He did cap a 90-yard, 17-play drive in the sec- ond quarter with a 12-yard TD run. Brooks did the rest of the damage in the opening half with TD catches of 45 and 18 yards, both times beating safety Victor Green, who was overmatched in coverage by the 10-year veteran. \Maybe they don't know us and we surprised them,\ Brooks said of the contributions by sec- ond-stringers. \This is a team game and everyone on the team is expected to contribute.\ Tasker normally contributes on special teams, where he has been one of the league's best for a decade. So Sunday was very dif- ferent for him. \The hardest part was know- ing where to line up,\ Tasker said. \I was running around a lit- tle bit out there.\ By JOHN F. BONFATTI AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA - Randall or Rodney? It doesn't seem to matter who the Philadelphia Eagles have at quarterback, they continue to win — and put pressure on the NFC East- leading Dallas Cowboys. For the second time in five weeks, Randall Cunningham took over in the second half for an injured Rodney Ppete and led the Philadelphia Eagles over the New York Giants, this time 28- 19. \They do the same things regardless of who is at quarter- back,\ Giants coach Dan Reeves said. Peete threw two touchdown passes, both to Fred Barnett, in the first half and did not return after halftime with a sore hip. Ricky Watters had two short touchdown runs to give the Eagles (7-4) their sixth win in seven games and hand the Giants (3-8) their fourth loss in five games. Cunningham, who lost his starting job to Peete three weeks into the season, saw his first ac- tion since the Eagles beat New York 17-14 on Oct. 15. He finish- ed 4 of 7 for 61 yards. \Rodney played well, and I thought Randall did a good job' also,\ Eagles coach Ray Rhodes said. \Both guys are effective, as far as moving the football.\ Cunningham credited his solid play to running the Eagles' \scout\ offense, which is suppos- ed to give the Philadelphia defense the appearance of the opposing offense in the practice week leading up to the game. \It's so tough running against the defense because they cover up all the routes,\ Cunningham said. \When I got in the game, it just seemed a little bit easier. And I said, Wow, maybe I should run the scout team more.'\ Reeves credited the backfield duo of Watters and Charlie Garner, who combined for all but five of the Eagles' 38 rushes. \Garner and Watters run really hard,\ he said. \We just weren't able to stop them at critical times.\ The Giants, trailing 21-7 when Peete came out, rallied with a field goal, safety and touchdown, but Watters' second touchdown, Philadelphia's only score of the second half, sealed the victory. Philadelphia, which got six sacks in the first meeting, had a season-high eight sacks, with the seventh knocking Dave Brown out of the game late in the fourth quarter. \You get the sense that the defense wants to rise to the occa- sion,\ said Eagles safety Greg Jackson, the former Giant. \We want to show the people out there that we are the third-rank- ed defense.\ Tommy Maddox, who also had to sub for Brown in the first meeting, replaced Brown, and, on his first play, was sacked and fumbled, ending any chance of a Giant comeback. Mike Mamula, who missed most of the second half with a dislocated shoulder, had three sacks and Andy Harmon had two. The Giants were also hurt by four turnovers, The Eagles said Mamula would probably n>iss two weeks, while Peete is expected back for next week's game at Washington. \I'm very concerned about those two injuries,\ Rhodes said. \They are two key guys on our football team, but they both should be able to go in a week or two.\ Watters had 20 carries for 84 yards and touchdown runs of 3 and 1 yards, while the Giants' Thomas Lewis, subbing for the injured Mike Sherrard, had 126 yards and a touchdown on seven catches in his first NFL start. A 44-yard field goal by Brad Daluiso early in the third quarter cut the Giant deficit to 21-10, but the Eagles answered with a 1- yard TD run by Watters late in the quarter. The Giants drove 66 yards in 12 plays to cut the Eagle lead to 28-17 on Rodney Hampton's 1- yard run three seconds into the fourth quarter and added two more points when Michael Strahan blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety a little less than four minutes later. Philadelphia's Ricky Watters takes off on a 57 during the first quarter of Sunday's game. AP Photo •yard run Associated Press It Bowl picture slowly coming together M The Top Twenty Five teams in Associated Press college football The poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, re- cords through Nov on 25 points for a f one point for a previous ranking: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Nebraska (44) Ohio St. (13) Florida (5) Northwestern Tennessee Florida St Notre Dame Colorado Texas Kansas St Kansas Oregon Virginia Tech Penn St. Texas A&M Auburn Southern Cal Michigan Virginia Washington Alabama Syracuse Arkansas Clemson Miami Others receiving 18, total points based rst-plarce vote through 25th-place Record 1O-0-0 ll-0'O 10-0-0 10-1-0 9-1-0 9-1-0 9-2-0 9-2-0 8-1-1 9-2-0 9-2-0 9-2-0 9-2-0 7-3-0 7-2-0 8-3-0 8-2-1 8-3-0 8-4-0 7-3-1 8-3-0 8-2-0 8-3-0 8-3-0 7-3-0 vote, Pts 1,529 1,477 1,458 1,326 1,315 1,262 1,152 1,108 1,043 934 847 818 743 729 684 643 528 476 390 358 288 286 243 217 107 votes: Toledo Michigan St. 39, UCLA 30, Arizona S and Pv 1 2 3 5 4 6 8 9 10 7 15 16 20 19 18 21 11 12 13 22 17 23 14 24 25 53, . 20 By RICK WARNER AP Football Writer Colorado and Oregon are going to the Cotton Bowl and UCLA is headed to the Aloha Bowl. Washington is bound for the Sun Bowl, while Nebraska and Notre Dame have earned spots in the Fiesta-Orange-Sugar alliance. The bowl picture is coming into focus, although many pieces of the postseason puzzle still aren't in place. The Cotton Bowl became the first New Year's game to set its matchup. No. 8 Colorado earned its berth Saturday with a 27-17 victory over No. 10 Kansas State, while No. 12 Oregon gained the other invitation with a 12-10 win over Oregon State. UCLA's 24-20 win over No. 17 Southern Cal sent the Bruins to the Aloha Bowl, where they may play No. 11 Kansas. No. 20 Washington got a Sun Bowl bid after defeating Washington State 33-30. The Huskies' opponent is expected to be Michigan State or Iowa. Top-ranked Nebraska didn't play Saturday, but the Cor- nhuskers clinched the outright Big Eight title and a spot in the alliance when Colorado beat Kansas State. The Huskers will play for the national championship in the Fi- esta Bowl if they beat Oklahoma on Friday. Their opponent should be the winner of Saturday's game between No. 3 Florida and No. 6 Florida State. No. 7 Notre Dame, which lock- ed up an alliance bid by beating Air Force 44-14, appears to be headed to the Orange Bowl to play No. 25 Miami or No. 13 Virginia Tech. Miami will get the bid if it beats No. 22 Syracuse. If the Hurricanes lose Saturday, Virginia Tech should be Notre Dame's opponent. That would leave' the Sugar Bowl with a matchup between the Florida-Florida State loser. and the Southwest Conference champion (No. 9 Texas, No. 15 Texas A&M or Baylor). Of course, the Orange and Sugar lineups could change if Florida State beats Florida and the Gators defeat No. 23 Arkan- sas the following week in the Southeastern Conference title game. Then the Orange might take homestate favorite Florida, leaving Notre Dame in the Sugar. There's also the remote chance of Florida losing to Arkansas and dropping completely out of the alliance, whicn awards berths to the SEC, SWC, Atlantic Coast, Big Eight and Big East champi- ons, along with Notre Dame if it finishes in the Top 10. Despite its loss to UCLA, Southern Cal is going to the Rose Bowl as Pac-10 co-champion. The Trojans finished with the same league record as Washington, but they earned the Rose Bowl trip with a better overall record. Southern Cal's Big Ten oppo- nent in Pasadena will be No. 2 Ohio State or No. 4 Northwest- ern. It will be Ohio State if the Buckeyes beat No. 18 Michigan. If the Buckeyes lose, Northwest- ern goes to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 1948 season. Northwestern (10-1) passed Tennessee (9-1) in the rankings this week afEer the Vols struggl- ed to beat Kentucky 34-31. Northwestern concluded its reg- ular season with a 23-8 victory over Purdue. Nebraska, Ohio State and Florida remained 1-2-3 in The AP poll. Nebraska (10-0), which didn't play Saturday, received 44 first- place votes and 1,529 points from a nationwide media panel. Ohio State (11-0) got 13 firsts and 1,477 points after beating Indiana 42-3. Florida (10-0), which downed Vanderbilt 38-7, received five firsts and 1,458 points. Still, Kelly knew where to find him. \Steve can do it all,\ Kelly said. \If he had to play defensive back, he could probably do it. Or maybe play quarterback and run the option.\ the Jets (2-9, the NFL's worst record) rallied behind Esiasonj in his first action since Oct. 8, when he suffered a concussion on a hit by Buffalo's Bruce Smith. Esiason found Johnny Mitchell on a 43-yard TD pass that was the Jets' longest of the season. That made it 21-10 just 1:24 into the second half. Esiason also connected with Fr$tW3axter for a 6-yard score in the fourth quarter, drawing New York within 28-20. And his long pass to Murrell to complete a 99-yard drive almost produced a miracle finish, only to have Thomas Smith spoil the 2-point try to force overtime. \We knew when we started at the 1, we had nothing to lose,\ Murrell said. \We kept scrat- ching and scratching. We had momentum. \We're happy to make the play, but there is no satisfaction unless you get the win. That (2- point) play fell short.\ Esiason was 24-for-43 for 312 yards, three TDs and two in- terceptions. \ When you have a young team, you make them aware it is not over until it is over, to use an old cliche,\ he said. 'What, we were able to do that last drive was exhilarating. But it is still very disappointing.\ The Jets couldn't overcome their three turnovers, which was in character for them; the Jets entered the game leading the league in giveaways. Yet they nearly took this one away from the Bills. s Brown fans vent their frustration CHUCK MELVIN AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND - The huge billboards flanking the Cleveland Stadium Scoreboard were black- ed out Sunday, because com- panies in Cleveland don't want their names associated with the Browns any longer. Black paint also covered most of the ads in the concourse, ad- ding to the gloom as the subdued crowd of 55,388 watched their lame-duck team lose to the Green Bay Packers 31-20. It was the first home game since Art Modell announced his plan to move his franchise to Baltimore next season. Modell, who had not missed a home game in 35 years as owner, stayed away from the Nov. 5 game and was at his home in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sun- day. Mayor Michael White and Gov. George Voinovich had sent con- flicting messages to Browns fans during the week, with White en- couraging a big turnout at the game and Voinovich suggesting a boycott. Voinovich appeared to win out: There was more activity outside the stadium than inside shortly before kickoff, and more than 17,000 people with tickets chose not to attend. \We're not,going in the stadium,\ said Lee Jones, 24, of Berea, who was setting up in the parking lot with a friend to listen to the game on radio. \We're go- ing to party out here. We can't just leave them cold turkey like Modell did to us. It's not the players. You can't blame them. It's the NFL.\ Hundreds of fans rallied in a downtown park an hour before the game. Dozens of signs sup- porting the Packers and criticizi- ng Modell were scattered throughout the stadium, in- cluding one that read, \Go Green Bay! Beat Baltimore!\ Among the others: — \Hey Baltimore, all sales are final. No refunds.\ — \Santa bring us an NFL team.\ — \Modell is colder than Green Bay.\ The atmosphere seemed strange even to the Packers, and it was especially so to receiver Anthony Morgan, a Cleveland native. \I grew up here in Cleveland, and to see the Browns leave, it's tough,\ Morgan said. \I'm not the owner. I'm not the mayor of this city. I'm just from Cleveland, Ohio.\ MONDAY, NOV By HOWA AfcSpo FOXBORO, IV Faulk knotted brown tie arou straightened hi white dress sh Harbaugh sat taped around r grass stains on The flashy blue-collar qua led Indianapoli Sunday over 1 helped the Col and may ha England's. The Colts two-game losii key AFC East triots (4-7) previous two g four. Cowboy I tercept a Elv MIAMI one of \Tr ABC-TV pi Grbac. 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