Buffalo Waits Until Desperation Time, Wins Again, 30-27 : AFC: Kelly throws a 14-yard touchdown pass to Mueller with 19 seconds left to turn back the Jets, who can’t hold another lead in final minutes.

Like a prizefighter who looks for one big punch rather than piling up points, the Buffalo Bills wait for the knockout--and get it.

Jim Kelly’s fourth touchdown pass, a 14-yarder to Jamie Mueller with 19 seconds left, gave the Bills their third consecutive comeback victory, 30-27, Sunday over the New York Jets.

“It always takes us a while to get going,” defensive end Bruce Smith said after the Bills rallied from a 14-0 deficit. “We have to find a solution to that and correct it in a hurry because we just cannot do that every single ballgame.”

Pat Leahy kicked a 25-yard field goal to give the Jets (2-5) a 27-24 lead with 2:46 left, but the Bills (5-1) came back to win as they did in their games against the Raiders and Denver Broncos.

Kelly drove the Bills 71 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with Mueller, the only fullback on the Buffalo roster, getting his first touchdown of the season.

“We’ve got to get better because we’re not going to have to rely on a comeback in the fourth quarter every week,” said Kelly, who completed 19 of 32 passes for 297 yards.

“You have to put the ball in the end zone in the first quarter, the defense is going to have to stop them in the first and second quarter. One of these days, we’re going to come out and you’re going to see offense, defense and special teams all pull together and we’re going to blow somebody out.”

Kelly threw two touchdown passes to Andre Reed and connected with James Lofton on a 60-yard play, while Scott Norwood, who missed an extra point, kicked a 29-yard field goal as the Bills rallied.

Ken O’Brien, who completed 14 of 28 passes for 210 yards, threw touchdown passes to Mark Boyer and Al Toon, while Freeman McNeil scored on a five-yard run, but the Jets dropped their seventh consecutive game against the Bills.

Buffalo climbed back into a 24-24 tie midway through the third quarter when Lofton beat John Booty deep and caught a bomb from Kelly for a 60-yard touchdown.

It was the third time this season the Jets couldn’t hold a lead in the final quarter.

“We’re tired of getting beat at the end of the game,” Jets Coach Bruce Coslet said. “It’s not acceptable any more.”

The three-point margin of defeat was a distinct improvement over the 30-7 Monday night blowout the Bills inflicted on the Jets earlier this season, but the Jets found no consolation in that.

“We don’t deal in moral victories,” defensive tackle Dennis Byrd said. “A loss is a loss. We knew it would come down to defense and we had to stop them.”

But they didn’t.

Kelly ran out of the pocket and was just about to be sacked when he got off his touchdown pass to Mueller, who was cutting across the middle of the end zone.

“I was supposed to block, but my man wasn’t there so I just checked down,” Mueller said. “Jim was scrambling and I saw that so I found the open hole and he found me.”

Trailing, 14-0, Buffalo came alive on a 64-yard scoring drive, with Kelly connecting with Reed on a 19-yard touchdown pass play.

The Jets regained their 14-point lead on their next drive, with a 17-yard pass from O’Brien to Al Toon on fourth-and-five sustaining the drive. Three plays later, O’Brien hooked up with Toon again, this time for a 19-yard scoring play.

Once again, the Kelly-to-Reed combination clicked to slice the Jets’ lead. After a reverse by Reed went for 26 yards, he caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to make it 21-14.

Norwood kicked his field goal to pull the Bills to within 21-17 at halftime.