Bills Keep Following Flutie to Victory

Doug Flutie has been hearing for years about all of his alleged limitations. Winning doesn’t appear to be one of them.

“I can’t throw deep. I’m too old. I’m too short. I can’t play in the cold. I’ve heard it all,” Flutie said after he led the surging Buffalo Bills to a 30-14 victory over winless Carolina on Sunday night.

One week after his last-minute touchdown run on a busted play helped Buffalo knock off undefeated Jacksonville, Flutie completed 18 of 22 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns to Eric Moulds to lead the Bills (4-3) to their fourth consecutive victory.

The Bills’ longest winning streak in two years has moved them within one game of first place in the AFC East. Three of Buffalo’s victories have come with the 36-year-old Flutie at quarterback while Rob Johnson is sidelined with injured ribs, creating a question about who the starter will be when Johnson is healthy.

For now, Coach Wade Phillips is sidestepping the issue. Team owner Ralph Wilson, who signed both Flutie and Johnson in the off-season, said the fact that Johnson has the bigger contract doesn’t necessarily mean the Bills should play him.

“It has nothing to do with money,” a smiling Wilson said in the Bills’ locker room.

Flutie said he’s not interested in being involved in a controversy.

“When Rob is healthy and he comes back, I’m going to be his biggest cheerleader and his biggest fan,” he said, “because the bottom line is getting this team into the playoffs and going toward the Super Bowl.”

Flutie converted all four of his third-down passes in the first half for 120 yards, and had touchdown passes of 20 and 82 yards to Moulds, who had five receptions for 145 yards.

The Panthers (0-7) lost their ninth consecutive game and their sixth in a row at Ericsson Stadium. Carolina won its first nine games in the facility in 1996 but has lost nine of 11 since, hurting itself with turnovers, penalties and poor execution.

“You get what you earn in this league,” cornerback Eric Davis said, “and we’ve gone out on the field and earned seven losses.”