Bills Come From Behind to Beat Jets, 23-20 : AFC: Thomas catches 13 passes, including one of 15 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 4:14 left.

The New York Jets performed superbly on defense Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

But even a great effort was not enough to entirely stop the Bills and running back Thurman Thomas.

Thomas, perhaps the NFL’s most dangerous back, caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Jim Kelly with 4:14 left that gave the unbeaten Bills a 23-20 victory.

The touchdown catch was Thomas’ 13th reception of the game.

“My job is to get open over the middle or the outside or whatever the play calls for,” said Thomas, who had 112 receiving yards and also rushed for 62 yards. “Jim will get me the ball.”

Kelly, who completed 27 of 37 passes for 275 yards, did just that.

“It’s just a matter of the quarterback and the receiver reading the coverage and reacting,” Kelly said. “The only route open was to split the middle. He did that. All I had to do was just get the ball to him.”

The Jets (1-2), who have lost eight consecutive games against the Bills, almost tied it at the end, but Pat Leahy was short on a 51-yard field goal with 23 seconds left.

The Jets held the Bills (3-0) 254 yards below their 559.5 average, but they couldn’t stop the defending AFC champions on fourth and six with under five minutes remaining.

Kelly, who connected with James Lofton on a 20-yard pass play early in the winning drive, hooked up with Lofton for 10 yards on the fourth-and-six play. Lofton’s 79 yards lifted him past Charlie Joiner into second place on the NFL’s career receiving yardage list, behind only Steve Largent.

The Jets sacked Kelly four times and held Buffalo to 305 yards, making a close game out of what was expected to be a rout.

“We weren’t afraid of them,” said fifth-year nose tackle Scott Mersereau. “We knew we could play with them. It probably was the best defensive game we’ve played since I have been here.”

The Jets controlled the clock and were leading for most of the game.

They went ahead, 7-0, when Freeman McNeil scored the 50th touchdown of his career on a one-yard run to end an 85-yard, eight-minute drive.

The Bills made the score 7-3 when Scott Norwood kicked a 52-yard field goal, the longest of his seven-year career.

The Jets came right back when Ken O’Brien, who completed 21 of 35 passes for 237 yards, connected with Rob Moore for a 53-yard pass play to the Bills’ 31. Leahy, at 40 the oldest player in the NFL, kicked a 32-yard field goal that increased the lead to 10-3 and moved Leahy past Mark Moseley into fourth place on the all-time scoring list.

Andre Reed scored for the Bills on a seven-yard pass from Kelly with 49 seconds left in the half to tie the score, 10-10. A 25-yard field goal by Norwood early in the third quarter gave the Bills their first lead.

The Jets regained the lead on a five-yard touchdown pass to Blair Thomas, but Norwood cut the margin to 17-16 with a 44-yard field goal.

The Jets responded again, however, when James Hasty recovered a fumble by Thomas at the Bills’ 41.

Leahy kicked a 39-yard field goal three minutes into the fourth quarter to give the Jets a 20-16 edge.

That set the stage for Thomas, who caught Kelly’s pass for the winning score.