Folk's field goal stuns Bills as Cowboys win 25-24
09.10.2007 06:00
Sport and Travel
- Source: USA Today
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Not since 1994 had the powers at Monday Night Football deemed the Buffalo Bills worthy of such a prime-time slot at home, and both the fans and the players at Ralph Wilson Stadium were determined to put on a worthy show.
GAME REPORT: Cowboys 25, Bills 24 No matter that the high-flying Dallas Cowboys came in with the league's top offense and the lowly Bills with the league's worst defense. Put on a show the Bills did — and what a show it was. They intercepted Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo five times — two of them returned for touchdowns. Terrence McGee returned a kickoff 103 yards for another score, and the Bills thought they had held off the previously unbeaten Cowboys to pull off the biggest upset of the NFL season. But the Cowboys weren't through. Nathan Jones recovered an onside kick and after two completions, Folk nailed his fourth field goal, shocking the sellout crowd that came to celebrate the first Monday night home game for Buffalo (1-4) in 13 years. But the Bills had called a timeout. Folk tried again, and made it again at the final gun to give the Cowboys a heart-stopping 25-24 victory. "Oh, it's great," Folk said. "It shows you how good we can be and what we can do if we don't make mistakes. And even if we do make mistakes and we stick together as a team, we still stay in the game." For 59 minutes, though, this was the Bills' night. You name it, they did it. "I think our team, outside of me, played an outstanding football game," Romo said. "They dug me out of it. It was tough to grow through that, especially on Monday night. No one is going to care when it's all said and done how you won the game." And his recollection of all the picks? "Too many to remember," he said with a smile. It was the second last-second loss on a field goal this season for the Bills; Denver did almost the same thing in the opener. "It was embarrassing, embarrassing," Bills receiver Lee Evans, on the verge of tears, kept repeating in the somber locker room. "We had opportunities to put the game away, put some points on the board, give us a little more cushion. Couldn't do it. It's embarrassing." It was the second last-second loss on a field goal this season for the Bills; Denver did almost the same thing in the opener. And the win kept the Cowboys as the NFC's only unbeaten team heading into a megamatchup with 5-0 New England next week in Texas Stadium. There was the successful fake punt on the Bills' first possession. There was the interception returned for a touchdown and a 7-0 Buffalo lead shortly thereafter. There was the amazing leap, tip and grab in the end zone of a Romo pass by Bills defensive end Chris Kelsay late in the first half that put Dallas down by 10 and made it difficult to hear in an already reverberating stadium. There were the four first-half interceptions of Romo — the ninth time one team has robbed another so many times in an initial two quarters. This latest victory was one of the most incredible in the Cowboys' illustrious history. Buffalo made nearly all the big plays, including interceptions for TDs by Wilson and Kelsay and a 103-yard kickoff runback by Terence McGee. Yet through all that, the Bills led 17-10 at halftime. And then more of the same, including McGee's kickoff return that put the Bills up 24-13 and added a magical moment that eventually ended in heartbreak for upstate New York. Folk also made field goals of 47, 29 and 37 yards. Contributing: Wire reports
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