Norwood, ’91 Super Bowl Goat, Is Given the Boot by Buffalo

Scott Norwood went from hero to goat to unemployed as the Buffalo Bills announced Tuesday they had cut the kicker, who had become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.

Norwood, whose clutch kicking helped establish the Bills as an AFC power in the late 1980s, will be best remembered, however, for missing what would have been the winning field goal in the Super Bowl two seasons ago.

With four seconds to play and the Bills trailing the New York Giants by 20-19, Norwood lined up for a 47-yard field goal. His kick went about four feet wide of the right upright.

Norwood, Buffalo’s all-time scoring leader with 670 points, realized his time was up when Buffalo signed former Tampa Bay kicker Steve Christie to a lucrative contract early in this year’s Plan B free agent signing period.

In his seven NFL seasons--all with the Bills--Norwood made 72% of his field-goal and 97% of his extra-point attempts. But his field goal percentage dropped steadily from 86% in 1988 to 62% last season.