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McGahee leads the way in Bills first win
By RICK ANDERSON, MOP Squad Sports Staff Writer
Oct 18, 2004 - 7:17:00 PM

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The Bills-Dolphins rivalry got the spark it needed Sunday in Buffalo when the two teams played a surprisingly interesting game. It was surprising as there were zero wins between the two teams entering the game. The Bills emerged a 20-13 winner, thanks to the running of rookie Willis McGahee and a defense that came together in the second half and shut down the Dolphins offense.

While on paper the game appeared to be a ho-hum after thought in appeal, it turned out to be quite entertaining for the sellout crowd and the televison audience. Willis McGahee made his first ever NFL start and it was all what the Bills hoped it would be, and then some.

McGahee, after over a year of rehabilitation on his reconstructed knee, got to show his stuff against his home town team in his first-ever NFL start. McGahee was impressive as he cracked off 111 yards rushing and 31 receiving and led the Bills to their first win. McGahee showed power running, using his big 236 pound frame to get extra yards when he seemed to be stopped. His showing also sparked a torrent of calls for the Bills to trade Travis Henry to Oakland before the trading deadline. That would be an unwise move as the Bills would not improve themselves for this year by dealing Henry. In fact, if McGahee went down (and he limped off the field at the end of the 4th quarter, only to come back) it would put the Bills in a bad spot.

Willis is ready and willing to give the starting job back to Henry as soon as he is healthy.

"I'm still not the starter," put in McGahee sincerely. "Travis Henry is the starter. He was out this week and I'm pretty sure he'll be back, and I'm looking forward to playing with him."

Henry was surprised that so many people were penciling McGahee a the starter after just one game.

"What did you think I wasn't the starter, off one game" asked Henry in amazement.

However, the Bills should be happy that McGahee is on track to become the running back they hoped he would be when they selected him as their No. 1 pick a year ago.

Takeo Spikes got the Bills on the scoreboard when he picked off a short pass by Jay Fiedler for an 11-yard TD. That was all the Bills could score until they got a 43-yard field goal by Rian Lindell. Bledsoe finally got the Bills in the endzone with a 5-yard pass to Mark Campbell. The Bills were knocking on the door when time ran out, thanks to a 31-yard run by McGahee.

Bledsoe had a good game considering the windy weather conditions. With the wind gusting from between 35-45 mph, it was tough day for both quarterbacks and kickers. Bledsoe seemed to do better throwing into the hurricane rather than with it at his back. In the first and third quarters when the wind guiding the ball, Bledsoe overthrew his receivers on many occasion. In the 4th quarter, Bledsoe seemed to be able to thread the needle more and helped the Bills dominate in time of possession in that quarter when Buffalo had it for 13:22 of the possible 15 minutes. Bledsoe had 212 yards and one strike, and was only sacked once. Bledsoe’s game rating was in impressive 90.2. He also was the main ingredient in a new play the Bills coaches put in, a shovel pass to McGahee. Bledsoe was able to execute it to perfection and it sprung the Bills rookie runner twice.

In the last six minutes and 22 seconds, the Bills drove 93 yards down the field and had the ball on the goal line when the clock ran out. Bledsoe was able to mix the run with the pass perfectly.

"That's what you have to do to win," Bledsoe said. "When you can line up with them knowing you're going to run the ball and you're still able to do it and run six and a half minutes off the clock, that's how you win ball games in this league."

Bills Talk

McGahee was a little tired from all the work. Being his first start since the horrific knee injury he suffered over a year ago, it will take a while before he’s completely in the groove.

"I'm a little banged up," admitted McGahee after the game. "I haven't carried the ball that much in a long, long time, so I'm a little sore. I'm going to go home and lay down." 

"I knew it was going to be a tough game," McGahee went on. "I knew I wasn't going to go out there and bust the first run. You got to get into a rhythm. Like I said before, a running back has to get into a rhythm in order to make something happen." 

There was a scare after McGahee ripped off a long gainer that got the ball down inside the 5 yard line. Miami safety Antuan Edwards had a late hit on McGahee and pushed him into a television camera cart. McGahee unintentionally got even with Edwards during his 31-yard scamper when he stiff-armed him and Edwards had to leave the game.

"I didn't know it was the same guy," said McGahee. "I was just trying to get into the end zone."

Bills owner Ralph Wilson was celebrating his 86th birthday and he couldn’t have asked for a better present. He always enjoys victories over the Dolphins. Seeing McGahee run for big games was an added treat.

"He has a chance to be a great back," lauded Wilson. "He hits that line hard and he might get stopped, but he winds up barreling through for another three or four yards."

Bills coach Mike Mularkey, celebrating his first NFL victory, was also impressed by McGahee.

"He made a lot of yards after first contact," said Mularkey. "He kept some of those runs going just by second effort, and by second effort of some of the guys around him finishing plays. You saw the pile and surge of the line moving."

"I wasn't going to let one person tackle me," McGahee emphasized. "That's my motto. One person cannot tackle me. It's got to be two or three."

Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Taylor was impressed with McGahee.

"He's a little bigger than I thought, a little thicker than I thought," said Miami's Taylor. "He ran hard. He did the things he did in college."

Spikes picked off Jay Fiedler’s screen pass and was untouched for the 11 yard touchdown.

"We had been going over the play all week," described Spikes. "I knew once the fullback went to pick up Pierson, his body language showed he didn't really want to block. So looking at what I saw on film all week, I said I'm going to undercut it and either he's going to throw it over my head or he's going to throw it right to me."

 Copyright © 2004 Bills Thunder & Rick Anderson, all rights reserved.


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