It’s Only Business as Usual as Bills Dispose of Jets, 25-22

They haven’t been to the Super Bowl since the 1993 season, when they lost their fourth in a row. Yet they still feel and act like champions.

On Sunday, the Buffalo Bills overcame their problems to hand the New York Jets their eighth consecutive loss this season and 12th overall, 25-22. They did it mainly because they have done it so many times before.

“We’ve been in that situation for a number of years, and we’re confident in them,” Thurman Thomas said. “We didn’t have a lot of time on the clock and we were tied and we came through. We haven’t done that a lot in the first six games.”

Thomas rushed for 97 yards, surpassing O.J. Simpson’s Bill career record with 10,218 yards rushing.

Buffalo’s second consecutive uneven performance still wound up as a victory. Steve Christie’s sixth field goal, a 47-yarder with 10 seconds to go, not only gave him a career best for one outing, it gave the Jets a forgettable half season.

“It was a struggle,” said Christie, who has made 16 of 18 field goals this year. “This year, it has sort of been that way for us and I’m getting a lot of action. That’s good--if I make them.”

Darick Holmes gave Buffalo (5-2) a 19-15 lead before Christie added a 33-yard field goal, but former Bill quarterback Frank Reich engineered an 80-yard drive in nine plays with no timeouts left to tie it. Wayne Chrebet made a diving 21-yard touchdown catch with 1:43 to go.

But the Bills surged back for their ninth victory in the last 10 road games against the Jets. Passes of 17 and 14 yards by Jim Kelly to rookie Eric Moulds set up Christie’s winning kick.