Bills’ Christie Makes Field Goals to Leave Jets Out in Cold, 16-14

Steve Christie ignored frozen feet, a frozen field and a frozen ball to kick a 40-yard field goal that gave the Buffalo Bills a 16-14 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.

The victory also gave the Bills their fifth AFC East title in the last six years. Four times the title-clinching victory has come against the Jets.

“I’m just feeling my toes now,” Christie said. “I couldn’t feel the ball. You know where the ball is, you think you know where your foot is. Hopefully, the two will meet.”

It was the coldest game in Bills’ history. The game-time temperature of nine degrees combined with a steady breeze for a wind chill of 28 below.

The difference was Christie’s field goals and Jet kicker Cary Blanchard’s misses. Christie made all three of his field-goal attempts; Blanchard missed on all three of his, including from 42 yards with 53 seconds left.

Blanchard said his final attempt “looked like it was going right down the middle and then it started drifting off left.”

“I’m not going to blame anything on the wind,” said Blanchard, whose final kick was into the wind. “(Christie) was making 35-, 38-yarders, there’s no reason I can’t.”

In a duel of field goal kickers in such harsh conditions, Christie said the home kicker usually has the advantage.

“We practiced Thursday (indoors) and after practice, we came out on the turf, which was frozen, and we realized we had to change a few things,” Christie said. “I had to change my alignment. I take a sharp angle to the ball and I couldn’t do it. It was too slippery.”

Christie’s field goals put Buffalo (11-4) into the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. The Bills, losers of the last three Super Bowls, are desperate for a fourth shot.

“That was just the first step in what we’re trying to achieve,” Bill center Kent Hull said. “Other than winning the division, we haven’t done anything.”

The loss dropped the Jets to 8-7 and they can’t win the division. If Miami beats San Diego tonight, the Jets are out of the playoffs.

“I know Cary feels bad, but we all made enough mistakes today that went into this loss,” Boomer Esiason said.

The Bills drove to a touchdown after taking the game’s opening kickoff, scoring at the end of a 71-yard, 10-play drive. Thurman Thomas finished the drive with a two-yard run, but appeared to lose control of the ball before he got in the end zone. The loose ball trickled out of the back of the end zone, but officials ruled Thomas had scored.

The Jets tied it two drives later, with Johnny Johnson scoring on a 24-yard play after taking a screen pass from Esiason.

The Jets scored the game’s only other touchdown on a six-yard pass from Esiason to former Bill Chris Burkett in the third quarter.