Norwood Gives Bills Lift, 16-14 : His Third Field Goal Beats Patriots, Helps Buffalo to 3-0 Record

After three straight victories, the big man for the Buffalo Bills has not been Jim Kelly, but Scott Norwood.

Norwood’s third field goal of the game, a 41-yarder with 11 seconds left, rallied the Bills to a 16-14 victory over the New England Patriots Sunday.

“That’s the third game we’ve won when the kicker provided the winning margin,” Bills Coach Marv Levy said. “But our defense played superbly.”

The Bills (3-0) sacked Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan four times and also intercepted two passes, while holding New England scoreless in the second half.

Buffalo snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Patriots, dating to a 19-10 victory on Dec. 13, 1981.

Norwood’s winning kick came after Kelly moved the Bills from the Patriots’ 47-yard line on a drive that began with 1:50 left in the game.

“I had no doubts about kicking it,” Norwood said. “We got the good side of the field. It isn’t a case of being nervous, it’s a case of concentration on the field.

“That was probably more exciting than the first two games.”

Norwood kicked two field goals in Buffalo’s 13-10 victory over Minnesota and three in a 9-6 win over Miami.

The Patriots (1-2) built 14-3 a halftime lead on Steve Grogan’s two touchdown passes before the Bills rallied in the second half.

“It was a hard-fought game,” Patriot Coach Raymond Berry said. “We figured on a close match and we weren’t disappointed. We were disappointed in the final score. But I never saw a loss that I liked.”

Norwood’s third field goal of the game came after Kelly brought the Bills to within 14-13 with his first touchdown pass of the season, a 3-yard toss to Robb Riddick with 9:15 left in the game. Prior to that, Buffalo went 10 quarters without a touchdown.

“Jim Kelly knew what the situation was. He had it perfectly under control,” Levy said. “We were thinking field goal all the way (at the end).”

Grogan (15 of 20 for 195 yards) took the Patriots to a 14-3 lead on touchdown passes of 41 yards to Cedric Jones and a 19-yarder to Stanley Morgan with 11 seconds remaining in the first half.

Norwood’s 44-yard field goal with 3:22 left in the third quarter got Buffalo to within 14-6.

Then Kelly (21 of 33 for 170 yards) took control by hitting 12 consecutive passes at one point in the second half.